The Jacksonville Jaguars are working to move on from the short yet dramatic Urban Meyer era, but aren't there just yet. According to USA TODAY Sports, Meyer and the Jaguars have been unable to agree on a settlement. The five-year deal Meyer signed is reportedly worth $10-12 million per year, but the Jaguars naturally don't plan on paying since they say Meyer was fired for cause.
There were several reported instances of internal turmoil during Meyer's 11 months as head coach of the Jaguars (see timeline here), and other instances that were more public, such as what went down in a Columbus bar in October. After that specific event, Jaguars owner Shad Khan said that Meyer had to "regain our trust and respect." That did not happen.
"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."
During the 2022 NFL Draft, Khan spoke about the firing of Meyer more than he probably has publicly. While the college football legend went 2-11 in the NFL, Khan wanted to make it known his firing had nothing to do with on-field performance.
"It was not about wins and losses," said Khan, via USA TODAY Sports"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."
The Jaguars are now moving forward with Doug Pederson at head coach, who won the Super Bowl four seasons ago, and is fresh after taking a year off. Armed with two No. 1 overall picks from the last two years, Jacksonville will have a chance to get this rebuild on the right track.