Is the Urban Meyer Debacle a “Team Issue”?

Buyer’s remorse is abound in Jacksonville.

It was recently reported by Michael Lombardi that internal “closed-door” meetings have taken place over the past few days in the wake of a video showing Urban Meyer engaging in, what appears to be, some unsavory behavior with a woman at an Ohio bar.

Separate reporting from Michael Silver (have no fear, the Michaels are on the case), indicates Meyer has completely lost his credibility and respect in the Jaguar’s locker room.

After an 0-4 start, it certainly appears as though the Jaguars organization is experiencing some significant buyer’s remorse over the alleged 12 million dollar per-year contract given to Meyer in early 2021. And Meyer is likely feeling a fair amount of buyer’s remorse for buying into the decision to come out of retirement to coach in the NFL.

The backlash for Meyer’s conduct (that I will detail below) has been plentiful, and in this article I do not wish to add to this narrative. Instead, I’d like to ask whether Urban Meyer’s personal proclivities in this case should be considered a team issue. In other words, normally when a person of stature makes a morally inept, albeit personal decision, I advocate for privacy for the person and those who may be directly effected by their behaviors. That is, if a famous person chooses to cheat on their wife of 35 years, it is normally not my, or anyone else’s business.

In this case, however, there seems to be a potential direct impact on the Jaguar’s organization. I will discuss this in what follows and give my opinion on whether the Urban Meyer situation can be prescriptive for future head coaching hires in the NFL.

If you’re not on Twitter, here’s what happened with Urban Meyer…

After the Jaguar’s week 4 loss (their fourth straight), Urban Meyer was caught by a smartphone camera being quite friendly with a woman (who is not his wife), at an Ohio bar. Normally, this would not be news. After all, while monogamy is a norm in the United States, it is not a steadfast rule, and plenty of individuals choose to partake in polyamorous relationships. Meyer’s comments about the situation seem to suggest he and his wife are not engaged in such a relationship; however, that type of information is not for public speculation. This is precisely the reason I am not including the viral photo of Meyer and this woman in this article. It is my view that this instance is between Meyer and his family, and I have no place in continuing the spread of the photograph or any speculative narrative surrounding it.

Nonetheless, these events have put a spotlight on Jacksonville, and Meyer has since issued a public apology to the team, fans, and city. The question I’d like to explore in the wake of these incidents is whether Meyer’s antics should be considered a “team issue”.

Is this a “Team Issue”?

Urban Meyer’s dealings with the woman at the Ohio bar are definitely not a “team issue”. His choice to abandon (yes, abandon) his team after their fourth straight loss to start the season, is a “team issue”, however.

Meyer could have been doing anything during his jaunt to Ohio and his choice would still be one of abandonment. Whether he was with a woman at a bar, riding roller-coasters at Cedar Point, or even visiting the Hall of Fame in Canton, none of these things are what he should have been doing at the time–traveling with his team after a tough loss. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if Meyer wanted to cheat on his wife during his own time, that is his decision, and not for me to comment on. But, because his decision had a direct effect on his team (regardless of what he was doing), it was made into a “team issue”.

The timing here, is everything. The Jaguars are in trouble after starting 0-4, Trevor Lawrence quite obviously needs better guidance (not to mention a better offensive line), and Meyer has already felt hot water for some of the personnel decisions that have been made since his arrival.

Meyer has since hedged his apology with the excuse that he needed to get away and clear his head. While the clearing of one’s mind during stressful times is advisable and a healthy practice, the ways in which you choose to engage in this type of healing are important.

For example, if your idea of blowing off steam involves picking a fight with the first person on the street that looks at you the “wrong” way, then your methods of self-therapy are harmful to others and are in need of changing. Meyer was obviously not meaning to direct this type of a blow (no pun intended) with his actions; however, his actions did harm his team.

When the captain isn’t willing to go down with his ship, it eviscerates the crew’s confidence in the captain’s ability to be an effective leader–especially through stormy waters. By not traveling with his crew back to Jacksonville, Meyer likely demolished any remaining confidence his team had in him as a leader. What’s worse is that he did so during a period of stormy waters. Meyer effectively abandoned ship right at the moment his crew needed him the most. Whether he was doing so for his own mental health or not, he was not where he should have been–on the ship. Furthermore, there are an enumerate amount of other methods for one to “clear their head” that are commensurate with making the right decision for one’s team as a head coach.

How GM’s can avoid future Urban Meyer-like Hirings.

One thing I never quite understood about head coach hirings in the NFL is how quickly someone can be written-off for past struggles in different situations. If I were a general manager in charge of hiring, past struggles would not be automatic denials; instead they would be features of a candidate’s resume, provided the person in question handled the struggles effectively. This is especially true of college coaches who find nothing but success in the NCAA with big, talented college football programs.

It’s obvious that the NFL is a different beast than the NCAA and success in college does not necessarily translate to success in the NFL. In the NFL, consistent coaching is far more important as teams are more evenly matched and the game is played at a higher speed.

The team that wins the Super Bowl each year often is not the team with the most talent. Rather, it is the team that is firing on all cylinders at the right time. And to fire on all cylinders at the right time, a team needs a capable leader who can bring the most out of each individual player.

Therefore, while I am definitely not qualified to comment on general management decisions, it is my view that when hiring future head coaches, GM’s would be smart to avoid the spectacle of hiring an uber-successful former college coach. This is not to say that Meyer’s situation will translate to others. It is to say that there were plenty of other qualified candidates with NFL experience that Jacksonville could choose from at the time of the Meyer hiring.

What’s more, while Meyer had a proven track record of success in college, there were moments where his personal character were rightfully drawn into question that had a direct effect on his team at the time. These instances should have been giant red flags to the Jaguars front office. Similar red flags should be heeded by teams in need of a head coach in the future and not overlooked because of apparent success on the field.