Dec 12, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

With reports swirling that Urban Meyer is almost certainly heading back to his old job at Fox Sports, his most recent employer is saving the Fox folks the trouble of calling for a reference.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan went on the record with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell today, not holding back his distaste or Meyer and citing his own patience with prior incompetent coaches as a sign that Meyer was truly impossible to keep around.

Here’s the money quote, though there’s more:

“When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that?” Khan told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not possible.”

That’s spoken about how you’d expect from a guy currently attempting to fire Meyer with cause and avoid paying out the rest of his contract. And while NFL ownership doesn’t exactly have a glowing history of acting in good-faith, from the outside this feels like one case where it’s pretty easy to side with management.

Meyer, though, seems set to land back at Fox, sliding right into an analyst role as if nothing ever happened. (Ironic given nonchalance on camera is a big part of why he’s in this position.)

Khan went further, noting that his firing of Meyer was based on his off-field activity rather than the on-field disappointment, mentioning that in the past he’s given coaches time to try and work through losing seasons or slow starts as long as they were professionals off the field.

“It was not about wins and losses,” said Khan, whose two coaches previous to Meyer, Doug Marrone and Gus Bradley, posted records of 25-44 and 14-48, respectively.  “I think when you know someone is not truthful, how can you be around someone, OK? We had Doug Marrone here four years. We had Gus Bradley here four years. I have nothing but the utmost respect and friendship with them. That’s why they got the time, because it wasn’t a matter about respect or truth. It was a matter of wins and losses over four years. This is much bigger than that.”

Anyway, you can (probably, given all known reporting, though you never know) catch Meyer’s college football analysis this fall on Fox! We’ll have to see if his second image rehabilitation tour goes as well as his first one did.

[USA Today]

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.