Jaguars fire Urban Meyer: A timeline of the first-year NFL coach's tumultuous season

The Jacksonville Jaguars parted ways with head coach Urban Meyer early Thursday morning after a turbulent season riddled with issues both on and off the field ultimately resulting in a 2-11 record with little to show for his first year as an NFL head coach. 

The Jaguars fired Meyer following a tumultuous week marred by reports of in-house problems and a blowout loss against the Tennessee Titans. At the time, owner Shad Khan said the organization wasn’t rushing to any decision and would do "the right thing for the team" after careful consideration. 

URBAN MEYER FIRED BY JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AFTER JUST 13 GAMES

That decision came much sooner than expected after former kicker Josh Lambo came forward with a story on Wednesday regarding an incident back in August where he claimed that Meyer kicked him in the leg during warmups. 

It was the final nail in the coffin for Meyer. 

Read below for a timeline of Meyer’s career as an NFL head coach – all in 2021. 

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JANUARY 14

Meyer was announced as the new head coach after Doug Marrone was fired at the end of the 2020 season. He last coached at Ohio State in 2018 when he stepped down amid health concerns.

"Jacksonville has an enthusiastic fan base, and the fans deserve a winning team," Meyer said at the time. "With upcoming opportunities in the NFL Draft, and strong support from ownership, the Jaguars are well-positioned to become competitive. I’ve analyzed this decision from every angle—the time is right in Jacksonville, and the time is right for me to return to coaching. I’m excited about the future of this organization and our long term prospect for success." 

FEBRUARY 12

Newly hired strength coach Chris Doyle resigned a day after Meyer announced his role with the team after facing major backlash over his time as a former Iowa assistant where a dozen former players said he bullied and discriminated against them – resulting in a $1.1 million resignation agreement in June 2020.

"I feel great about the hire, about his expertise at that position," Meyer said prior to Doyle’s departure. "I vet everyone on our staff, and like I said, the relationship goes back close to 20 years and a lot of hard questions asked, a lot of vetting involved with all our staff. We did a very good job vetting that one."

APRIL 29

The Jaguars drafted Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, setting up the months of back-and-forth that was to come in the off-season with second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew. The team also drafted running back Travis Etienne following a terrific rookie year from James Robinson.

MAY 20

Meyer reunited with former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow after signing a one-year deal with the team where he was expected to play tight end. The decision to sign Tebow was met with heavy criticism as the one-time Heisman Trophy winner had not played in a regular season NFL game since 2012 and made a switch to Major League Baseball in 2016 where he played in the New York Mets organization until 2019 – failing to ever make the major league roster.

JULY 1

Meyer received a cold welcome to the NFL after being fined $100,000 for violating the league’s OTA rules. The Jaguars were also fined $200,000. 

AUGUST 17

Tebow’s NFL comeback came to an end before the season even began after being released just days after his disastrous debut in the Jaguars first preseason game. He played just 16 snaps and his performance garnered negative attention on social media after clips of his blocking went viral.  

AUGUST 25

Meyer officially named Lawrence the Week 1 starter after being criticized for dragging out the decision.

AUGUST 28

Minshew was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional 2022 6th round draft pick. Meyer previously praised Minshew during the preseason calling him a "warrior-competitor" before eventually going with the rookie. 

SEPTEMBER 1

The NFLPA launched an investigation after Meyer said he took players’ vaccination status into consideration when making final roster cuts. 

"Everyone was considered," Meyer said, via ESPN. "That was part of the [considerations such as] production, let's start talking about this, and also is he vaccinated or not? Can I say that that was a decision-maker? It was certainly in consideration."

The Jaguars released a statement clarifying Meyer’s remarks.

"Availability is one of the many factors taken into consideration when making roster decisions. We have vaccinated and unvaccinated players on our roster, and no player was released because of their vaccination status."

SEPTEMBER 12

Meyer loses his NFL debut against the Houston Texans after winning 17 straight openers as a college head coach. 

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SEPTEMBER 20

After going 0-2, the Jaguars released an unusual message from Meyer addressing Jacksonville’s frustrated fans.  

"Hang in there with us. We’re going to get better," the statement began. "The one thing about Jacksonville and the 904, go to sleep knowing there’s not going to be any group working harder to get this thing flipped." 

Meyer’s message prompted several reactions on Twitter with users asking – is it too soon? 

OCTOBER 2

After suffering another loss, this time against the Cincinnati Bengals, a video surfaced on social media showing Meyer at a bar in Ohio with a young woman dancing near his lap. He later apologized calling his actions "stupid."  

A second video surfaced days later that appeared to show Meyer groping the same woman’s bottom, prompting a series of apologies. The organization remained committed to the coach. 

OCTOBER 17

The Jaguars picked up their first win of the season with a 23-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins to end the team’s 20-game losing streak. 

DECEMBER 5

Star running back James Robinson, who rushed 1,000 yards as a rookie in 2020, was benched for the second game in a row after fumbling the ball in both games but Meyer declined to say he was benched, instead pointing to an injury. Robinson later said he felt the fumbles were the reason he was sidelined. 

Minshew also shined in his debut as the Eagles starter, winning 30-18 over the New York Jets as Lawrence’s struggles continued to take center stage. 

DECEMBER 9

Lawrence publicly went against the decision to bench Robinson, saying he voiced his opinion that the second-year rusher was needed on the field. 

"Bottom line is James is one of our best players and he’s got to be on the field and we addressed it, and I feel like we’re in a good spot and the whole team, we’re good. Whatever may have happened, I honestly don’t even know everything that went into it," he said. 

​​"I’m playing the game and stuff happens on the sideline with coaching decisions. I don’t really get into that, but I know and I voiced my opinion: James is one of our best players and he’s got to be in the game. I think we’re all on the same page, so there’s no confusion there. We’re going to move forward. I know James is a hell of a player, so I want him out there."

DECEMBER 11

With pressure to win undoubtedly building behind closed doors, a bombshell report from the NFL Network alleged that Meyer called himself a winner and his assistants losers, demanding that they defend their resumes. 

The report also documented a heated argument between Meyer and veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones and confirmed that Robinson was benched. 

Several players reportedly criticized the head coach for not treating them like adults. 

DECEMBER 12

Meyer fired back denying the characterization of his relationship between the players and coaching staff and threatened to fire the source of the leaks, if there was one. 

"What's the answer? Start leaking information or some nonsense?" he said. "No. No, that's nonsense. That's garbage. I've been very blessed. I've not really dealt with that. I've not dealt with, 'Well, did you hear what he said?' What? No. Let's improve on offense and get our quarterback in a position to be successful. That's our focus."

"What someone's brother said, or someone said, that will occupy very little of my time. And if there is a source, that source is unemployed. I mean, within seconds, if there's some source that's doing that."

DECEMBER 13

Khan addresses the reports circulating Meyer and his future with the team and says he won’t rush to any decision without first considering all the "facts."

"I want to do the right thing for the team. I want to do the right thing for the city," he said. "That, to me, is way more important than just acting helter-skelter on emotion. I think we have a history of really looking at the facts and then really doing the right thing." 

DECEMBER 15

Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him during practice in a Tampa Bay Times report. 

"I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back," Lambo told the newspaper. "Urban Meyer, while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, dips---, make your f---ing kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg."

"It certainly wasn’t as hard as he could’ve done it, but it certainly wasn’t a love tap," Lambo continued. "... in the workplace, I don’t care if it’s football or not, the boss can’t strike an employee. And for a second, I couldn’t believe it actually happened. Pardon my vulgarity, I said, ‘Don’t you ever f---ing kick me again!’ And his response was, ‘I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f--- I want.’"

DECEMBER 16

Meyer is fired shortly after midnight in the wake of the latest report criticizing his position as coach. 

"After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban's tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone," Khan said in a statement. "I informed Urban of the change this evening. As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen."

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and Dan Canova contributed to this report.