"Who's this 99 guy on the Rams?" - Jaguars staffer reveals Urban Meyer had no idea who Aaron Donald was
Former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer had a short time as the Jaguars head coach, and an article by The Athletic this morning highlighted how Meyer didn't know about star players on other teams in the league.According to The Athletic, Meyer wasn't familiar with the stars of the NFL, including Rams All-Pro star defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The report states that Meyer reportedly asked one of the Jaguars staffers who Aaron Donald was ahead of the Jaguars' week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
"Who's this 99 guy on the Rams? I'm hearing he might be a problem for us," Meyer reportedly asked about Super Bowl winner Donald.
URBAN MEYER! 🤯 🤯
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Future Hall-of-Famer Donald recorded a sack and a forced fumble in the Rams' week 13 victory.
Not only was Meyer unfamiliar with the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, but he didn't know who All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel was as well as Seahawks All-Pro safety, Jamal Adams, ahead of their matchup last season against the 49ers and Seahawks.
To make matters worse, it was reported in the same article that Meyer used to threaten to fire players/coaches who weren't doing a great job. Former Jags wide receiver DJ Chark went on the record explaining the situation.
"He feels like threats are what motivates... I know he would come up to us and tell us if the receivers weren't doing good, he wasn't going fire us, he was going to fire us, he was going to fire our coach. He would usually say that when the coach was around," said Chark.
Jacksonville Jaguars fired Urban Meyer after a 2-11 start with the team
The Urban Meyer era didn't last long at all in Jacksonville. Following a successful collegiate career in which he won three national championships, Meyer wanted to try coaching at the next level in the NFL. On January 14, 2021, Jaguars owner Shad Khan hired Meyer to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars on a five-year $45 million deal.
After a horrendous 2-11 start to the 2021-2022 season, the Jaguars relieved Meyer of his duties by firing him on Dec. 15, which ended his short tenure in the NFL.
Meyer was full of controversy during his time in Florida. Before the season started, his coaching staff originally featured Chris Doyle, a strength and conditioning coach previously accused of abusing players at a prior post in Iowa. Meyer was later accused of physically confronting former kicker Josh Lambo and kicking him during warmups. At one point in the season, Meyer got into a heated argument with wide receiver Marvin Jones and called some coaches losers.
#Jaguars Urban Meyer had heated argument with Marvin Jones, called his assistant coaches losers.
Tensions are boling per @nflnetwork and it could be one and out for Urban Meyer. #DUUUVAL
#NFL #NFLRumors https://t.co/yKjvxeM6mp
Perhaps his most notable controversy came when the former Buckeye coach went viral for the wrong reasons following a September loss to Cincinnati. A video went viral on social media, which showed Meyer dancing at a bar with a woman who was not his wife.
Meyer is no longer apart of the Jaguars or the NFL and it seems like he won't have a coaching career again any time soon or ever, at least in the NFL.