05/18/26 02:17:00
Printable Page
05/18 13:29 CDT Former Jaguars coach Urban Meyer loses arbitration case against
NFL team, AP source says
Former Jaguars coach Urban Meyer loses arbitration case against NFL team, AP
source says
By MARK LONG
AP Pro Football Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) --- Former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer lost
his multimillion-dollar arbitration case against the NFL team that fired him
with cause in 2021, a person familiar with the legal outcome said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because both
sides signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from discussing the case
publicly. The person said the case was settled in 2025, although On3 first
reported it Monday.
The Jaguars declined comment, and a message to Meyer was not immediately
returned.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Meyer with cause in December 2021, hours after
former Jaguars player Josh Lambo said Meyer kicked him during practice months
earlier --- the latest in a long list of embarrassments over Meyer's 11-month
tenure in Jacksonville.
Meyer tried to handle a professional team like he was on a college campus. He
splashed slogans and catchphrases around the facility, instilled gimmicks in
practice and repeated his misguided belief that coaches coach for players and
players play for coaches. He brought in motivational speakers and kept blaming
assistants for the team's mounting losses instead of the grown men actually on
the field.
One of Meyer's most damning decisions came following a Thursday night game at
Cincinnati in late September. He chose to stay behind with family instead of
flying home with his team and then got caught on video the following night
behaving inappropriately with a woman at a bar in Columbus, Ohio.
Bailing on his players showed just how out of touch Meyer was with NFL norms.
And it was just one of many head-scratching choices for a coach who found so
much college success --- a combined three national titles --- at Bowling Green,
Utah, Florida and Ohio State.
Meyer challenged the firing, sending the dispute to arbitration. If successful,
Meyer would have received the remainder of his five-year contract worth roughly
$6 million annually.
Meyer and Lambo are still involved in a civil suit that is scheduled to go to
trial in early August. Lambo voluntarily dropped the Jaguars from the lawsuit
earlier this year.
Lambo is seeking more than $3.5 million in salary and damages for emotional
distress caused by Meyer. According to the lawsuit filed in the 4th Judicial
Circuit Court in Duval County, Lambo claims Meyer created a hostile work
environment and says his performance suffered as a result of being kicked and
verbally abused by Meyer.
Meyer, 61, is currently working as a college football analyst at Fox Sports and
was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in December.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
|
