THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Feb 22, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET AI 
Sponsor:  QWIKET AI 
Sponsor:  QWIKET AI: Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET AI: Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
4 Aug 2023


NextImg:Andrew Wingard: Urban Meyer threatened to cut me from Jaguars for ‘rookie’ comment

It apparently doesn’t take much to get on Urban Meyer’s bad side.

As details about the Jaguars’ disastrous 2021 season with Meyer at the helm continue to emerge, there is now another unflattering portrait of former head coach.

In an interview released Wednesday on the “Go Long” Substack, Jacksonville safety Andrew “Dewey” Wingard explained an anecdote from the infamous 2021 campaign that captured a slice of the tumult which characterized Meyer’s regime.

After a 31-7 blowout against the Seahawks in Week 7, dropping the team to 1-6, the Jaguars’ defense held a meeting in hopes of salvaging their season before it was too late.

During the meeting, Wingard said the defense had to take on more responsibility to help out Meyer, a rookie head coach, and Trevor Lawrence, the team’s talented first-year quarterback.

Urban Meyer’s stint in Jacksonville was a disaster.
Getty Images

Days later, Meyer used position coach Chris Ash’s phone to dial Wingard in a rage, berating him about the notion that he was a rookie head coach.

“He says, ‘Dewey, why the hell did you call me a rookie head coach? Tell me why. If it was anybody else right now, you’d already be cut,’” Wingard said. “Explain yourself to me is essentially what he said. So I had to freaking save face and tell him how much I love him and how he’s the greatest coach ever. … You’re sitting there on your off-night chilling and you get a call from your head coach: ‘Hey, I’m going to cut you if you don’t apologize for calling me a rookie head coach.’”

The next day, Wingard apologized as Meyer listed his achievements as a college coach, which included stints at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State before he got the Jaguars job in 2021.

Andrew Wingard
Andrew Wingard said Urban Meyer almost cut him for calling him a rookie head coach.
Getty Images

Meyer was fired midseason with a 2-11 record after dysfunction plagued every aspect of his tenure.

Numerous scandals emerged off the field, including hiring a coach accused of discrimination, a video of Meyer with a woman — who was not his wife — at a bar and an incident in which he allegedly kicked Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo.

Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence
Urban Meyer could not harness the talents of Trevor Lawrence.
Getty Images

Jacksonville then hired Doug Pederson, who led the team with Lawrence to a 9-8 record and the AFC South division championship in 2022.