Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer addressed his entire team Wednesday morning and apologized for his behavior last week.
The first-year coach told reporters that he had a “very pointed conversation” with the players, “owning a stupid mistake.”
Meyer’s apology to the team came one day after Jaguars owner Shad Khan publicly reprimanded Meyer for his “inexcusable” actions last week at an Ohio bar.
Meyer also publicly commented on the situation Tuesday night on his radio show on 1010XL in Jacksonville, acknowledging that he needs to regain the organization’s trust.
“I made a comment when I got here about the logo, about an owner who wants to win in the worst way,” Meyer said. “That’s one of the reasons I came here. I just, I admire that guy so much. … And so, that’s what makes me so angry at myself that I lived that, I believe that and I failed.”
Meyer, 57, first apologized Monday morning for his actions on Friday, one day after the Jaguars’ 24-21 loss at Cincinnati. Meyer said he and family members went to his restaurant — Urban Meyer’s Pint House — and that people at a nearby event asked to take photos with him. Meyer said he should have left when people tried to get him to dance with them.
A nine-second video showing Meyer sitting with his back to the bar in an Ohio State pullover while a young woman danced close to his lap was posted to social media Saturday night.
Roughly an hour after his Monday news conference, however, another video emerged on social media that appeared to show Meyer touching a woman’s bottom while he was sitting at the bar. The woman appeared to be wearing the same clothes — jeans and a white top — as the woman in the first viral video.
Meyer said Tuesday on his radio show that the conversations he’s had with people inside the organization about what he did have been “horrible.” He also reiterated his concern that he’s not sure how the incident will impact his ability to lead his team.
“The fact that I became a distraction, I’ve got to earn their trust back from that,” Meyer said.
Meyer is in his first year with the Jaguars after leading Florida and Ohio State to three national titles. The slogan he has chosen for the rebuild of one of the league’s worst franchises is “Own it.”
The Jaguars are 0-4 and have lost 19 consecutive games dating back to their victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2020 season opener. The Jaguars host Tennessee on Sunday; they have lost seven of the past eight meetings with the Titans. A loss to Tennessee would give the Jaguars the second-longest losing streak in NFL history — only Tampa Bay has a longer losing streak (26 consecutive losses over the 1976 and 1977 seasons).
ESPN’s Michael DiRocco contributed to this report.
