Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard reveals shocking truth about Urban Meyer’s tenure with NFL franchise

Urban Meyer coached the Jacksonville Jaguars for much of the 2021 season before he was relieved of his duties before the season ended. After a 2-11 record and getting complaints from multiple teammates, owner Shahid Khan fired Meyer on December 16, 2021, with three games left in the regular season.

Safety Andrew Wingard, who was a part of the 2021 roster, recently opened up about a time when Meyer threatened to cut him from the roster because he called him a rookie coach. Via golongtd.com, Wingard sppke about how Meyer really was as a 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.’ '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 the two met and Wingard told Meyer everything he wanted to hear. Fast forward to a season later (2022) and the Jaguars hired Doug Pederson to replace Meyer. Pederson led the Jags to the AFC South championship.

Urban Meyer reportedly kicked Josh Lambo during warm-ups during his tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars

Josh Lambo during Arizona Cardinals v Jacksonville Jaguars

Andrew Wingard wasn't the only player who had an unpleasant experience with Urban Meyer as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach.

Former kicker Josh Lambo recalled when Meyer once called him a dips**t and kicked his leg during pre-game warm-ups for struggling weeks before:

“It was ‘Kicker, Punter, Long snapper.’ Or 'S--tbag,' 'Dips--t' or whatever the hell it was. Urban Meyer, while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey Dips--t, make your f--king kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg."

It's safe to say that the Jaguars are no longer in the toxic environment that they were in with Meyer. Doug Pederson has elevated Trevor Lawrence and led the team to its first playoff appearance and victory since the 2017-2018 season. Moreover, The Jaguars are currently favorites to win the AFC South division this season.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Andrew Wingard, Josh Lambo, golongtd.com, the Tampa Bay Times, and H/T Sportskeeda.