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Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Jaguars, Urban Meyer situation reportedly reaches 'crisis point'

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 10/6/21

Last week, the discussion surrounding the Jaguars' abysmal play through the first few weeks of the NFL season led to speculation it could cost Urban Meyer his first-ever NFL coaching job. It now appears his off-field antics over the past week have put him in his most precarious position yet.

Meyer hasn't fared well since he starred in two viral videos with an unknown woman at an Ohio bar following the Jags' 24-21 loss to the Bengals last Thursday. He's lost credibility with his team and even gotten publicly admonished by team owner Shad Khan.

Long story short: Meyer's behavior has sent the team into complete chaos mode. And it's fair to wonder if this train wreck impacts how long he stays employed.

According to veteran NFL journalist Mike Silver, Meyer canceled a team meeting scheduled for Monday morning instead of addressing his off-field behavior with the team. His decision not to address his players in a professional manner has reportedly driven a wedge into an already-fractured relationship he has with players in the locker room.

THREAD 1) The Urban Meyer situation in Jacksonville has reached a crisis point, especially in the locker room. One player told me, 'He has zero credibility in that stadium. He had very little to begin with.'
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021

2) Players were particularly put off by the fact that Meyer canceled Monday's team meeting, as he dealt with the uproar over the videos of him and a young woman getting cozy in that Ohio bar. 'He even canceled the team meeting. He was too scared,' a player said.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021

3) Instead Meyer 'only apologized to position groups individually.' He portrayed the woman in the videos as a random person who was 'just there dancing.' Suffice it to say, his audience was highly skeptical.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021

4) Said one player: 'We looked at him like, WTF? Right when he left everyone started dying laughing. And he knew it.'
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Meyer finally addressed the entire team on Wednesday, although that apology could be coming at too late of a time to regain trust from the players ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the visiting Tennessee Titans.

Surely, players aren't too thrilled their coach was being a distraction instead of helping them prep to host a team they have lost to seven of their last eight meetings. That's on top of Jacksonville losing 19 straight contests dating back to last season and being threatened with the second-longest losing skid in league history if Tennessee beats them this weekend.

Only time will tell if the Jaguars can move past this latest issue they've had with Meyer. But if they lose in Week 5 following his off-field antics, they may have to take more drastic measures.

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