Meyer promises not to miss any more Jags flights
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer promised Friday to not miss another team flight.
The last time he did, Meyer ended up embarrassing the franchise and drawing a public reprimand from owner Shad Khan after videos surfaced of the coach’s behavior in an Ohio bar.
Meyer, speaking outside London ahead of Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, had opted not to fly back with his winless team following Jacksonville’s 24-21 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 30, a Thursday night. It’s a highly unusual move for any coach, but Meyer said Friday that he had given the players three days off and his coaches two days off after the loss. He said he stayed in Ohio to visit his grandsons.
“Yeah, I look back now I talked to our GM about it. It didn’t seem like a big deal, but yeah that’s something I won’t do,” Meyer said Friday.
Instead of joining his team on the flight, Meyer remained in his home state of Ohio to see family members and went to dinner that Friday at his restaurant/bar in Columbus, Urban Meyer’s Pint House.
The first video shows a young woman dancing between the 57-year-old Meyer’s legs as he was sitting on a bar stool. The second, taken from a different angle, shows Meyer’s right hand on or near her bottom.
Khan publicly reprimanded Meyer for the coach’s “inexcusable” behavior and said Meyer must “regain our trust and respect.” Meyer had earlier apologized to his family, his team and
Khan for actions he called “just stupid.”
The Jaguars slipped to their 20th consecutive loss in a 37-19 defeat to the Tennessee Titans last Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence expressed confidence in Meyer on Friday when asked about the coach rebuilding trust in the locker room.
“He’s done a good job of handling the situation. Obviously he’s had conversations with the team and one on one, all of us,” Lawrence said. “Just him being the same guy, coming to work. Super hard worker, really cares about this team. No one can deny that. We’re in a good spot and we all respect him, and we’re just ready to go win some games.”
Meyer said he has spoken to Khan “several times” and that he’s working on rebuilding trust with the team.
Trivia question Eddie
On this date in 1983, Murray hit two homers and Scott McGregor pitched a fivehitter to give Baltimore a 5-0 victory, its fourth straight over the Philadelphia Phillies to give the Orioles the World Series in five games. Neither Murray nor McGregor was the World Series MVP. Who was?
He said it
From RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com: “Sportico says the Maple Leafs are worth more than any other NHL franchise at over US$2 billion. Who knew there was that much value in laughing stock.”
Trivia answer
Catcher Rick Dempsey batted .385 (5-for-13) with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored. Murray batted .250 but had two homers and three RBIs. McGregor was 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA, and was the only Baltimore pitcher to start two games. Philly won the first game 2-1, then scored seven runs in the final four games.