"It's so silly" - Urban Meyer claps back at Aaron Donald rumors
During Meyer's tumultuous season last year as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was reported that he was unaware of who the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was in Donald.
He has now come to the forefront to squash these allegations as rumors, saying the following:
"Someone told me that. I've heard silly things in my life. You shouldn't even address things like that, it's so silly."
Urban Meyer addressed the rumor that he didn't know who Aaron Donald was:
"I've heard silly things in my life. You shouldn't even address things like that, it's so silly."
via @TIM_MAYsports https://t.co/G7supcjet1
Urban Meyer once again found himself in the headlines. But this time, it was to refute rumors of comments he reportedly made behind the scenes about the Los Angeles Rams' All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
There were so many reports on the former Ohio State University head coach that it was often difficult to know what was real and what wasn't. One thing that is known is that last season was an absolute travesty for the former Jaguars head coach.
Urban Meyer's brief tenure as Jaguars head coach did not go as planned
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan had six words to say at a press conference introducing Urban Meyer as the head coach that will now live in infamy. Khan stated:
"This time, I got it right."
With what we know now, that had to be one of the most tone-deaf quotes in sports history. The dubious tenure began in controversy by hiring Chris Doyle as the team's strength coach.
Doyle was previously accused of racism and bullying as a strength coach at the University of Iowa. Doyle resigned 48 hours after being hired as the backlash was immediate.
There was then the head coach's decision to sign Tim Tebow to the team to try out at tight end. Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback under Meyer while both were at the University of Florida back in 2007.
Tebow was away from the NFL for six years at the time and his former coach gave him a chance to play a position that he'd never played in college or the pros.
Many NFL fans were upset over the move and felt as if Tebow was taking away a genuine chance for a tight end with experience to make the team. After a disastrous audition in the preseason, Tebow was released during the first round of cuts.
The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back may have been when the Jaguars lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on a Thursday night in Ohio. The head coach elected not to fly back with the team and stayed in Ohio, his old stomping grounds.
It was later revealed per video that Meyer went to a nightclub that same night and danced inappropriately with a woman who wasn't his wife. The video made the news, forcing him to apologize to his team.
Jaguars Coach Urban Meyer Apologizes for Dancing with Woman at Bar
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It was reported that the act placed a divide between the team and the former head coach that was never mended. He was ultimately fired after reports of physically 'kicking' kicker Josh Lambo during the preseason.
Lambo told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times about the incident and Meyer was fired just hours later by the Jaguars.
Here's to hoping that Meyer's next chapter will be much better than his most recent one in Jacksonville.