Chris Doyle resigned from the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff just a day after his controversial signing was announced, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Doyle was hired by new coach Urban Meyer to serve as Jaguars’ sports performance director, and it was a decision that had serious repercussions. Because of this reaction, Doyle decided to continue with the new show was not in Jaguars’ interest.
On Friday night, Coach Meyer launched a demonstration claiming that Doyle had come to him to present his resignation, and that Jacksonville had accepted.
“Chris Doyle came to us tonight to present his resignation and we accepted. Chris did not want to be a distraction for what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, we should have given more consideration. about how his appointment may have affected everyone involved. We wish him the best as he progresses in his career. “
The former Iowa strength and conditioning coach was put on administrative leave after several African-American players claimed he treated them negatively and unfairly because of their race. Doyle left his position in Iowa last June.
Earlier on Friday, Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves released a statement who called Boyle’s hiring “unacceptable” and Meyer’s advocacy of hiring an example of the problems minority coaches face in the NFL.
“At a time when the NFL failed to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches. Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a riddled mandate of bad judgment and bad -treatments of black players. Your conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for the University of Iowa. Urban Meyer’s statement, “I’ve known Chris for almost 20 years,” reflects the good old boys network that is precisely the reason for this is a huge disparity in job opportunities for black coaches. “
The Fritz Pollard Alliance exists to defend diversity in the NFL through education and providing its members with resources that will help them succeed at all levels of the game, according to their official website. They were not the only organization to criticize Meyer’s hiring, as Doyle’s position in the NFL was discussed by several major sports outlets following the announcement of his hiring.
As the Fritz Pollard Alliance points out, on Thursday, Meyer defended the hiring of Doyle when discussing his team with reporters. He issued this statement about the decision, via NFL.com:
“I have known Chris for almost 20 years. Our relationship goes back to when I was in Utah, and he was the number one strength trainer. He was doing sports performance before he became a high priority in college sports. I met him. I We studied him, we examined him carefully, together with our general manager [Trent Baalke] is owner [Shad Khan]. Feel good about hiring, with your experience in that position. So, we examined it thoroughly. Sports performance will be a high priority. As in the last probably 10 years, certainly in Ohio, this has become, if not the most important – you know my relationship with the Coach [Mickey] Ohio State Marotti – but all of that, from the strength training room, physiotherapy, sports psychology and nutrition, everything falls under the umbrella of the sports performance team. And I wanted to get the best of the best. “
The Doyle era in Jacksonville came and went quickly, which is probably the best when it comes to an organization with an entirely new team, tasked with rebuilding not only the football program, but also its reputation.