Getty Image / Andy Lyons
It’s no secret that things were pretty terrible in Jacksonville during Urban Meyer’s tenure as head coach of the Jaguars.
Meyer was a distraction throughout the season and the team struggled badly throughout the year.
After starting his first season as an NFL coach with a 2-11 record and at one point kicking his kicker, Meyer was fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In the year since Meyer was fired things have gotten a lot better for the Jags.
Doug Pederson’s first year as head coach saw the team win the AFC South and win their first round matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Go Long’s Tyler Dunne recently spoke to Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard for an article about the resurgence of the Jags and Wingard revealed an unbelievable new story about how awful things were with Meyer in charge.
Life under Urban was worse than you think. But under Doug Pederson, this is a blueprint. Now, the #Jaguars are ready to make their Super Bowl move. https://t.co/wAAwnxpeoD
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) August 2, 2023
“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.’”
This story is jut further proof that there weren’t many worse options for the Jacksonville Jaguars when they chose to hire Urban Meyer.
Luckily, the Jaguars quickly fixed their mistake quickly and Pederson has gotten the franchise back on track.
Things also worked out for Andrew Wingard. He remains a member of the Jags’ roster despite seeing his role shrink in 2022.
At least now he won’t have to worry about being cut for using an accurate label to describe his head coach.