Jacksonville coach Jaguars defends controversial coach hiring

The NFL team announced on Thursday that it had hired Chris Doyle, the former strength and fitness coach at the University of Iowa, to be the team’s sports performance director.

Doyle, who was on the University of Iowa team from 1999 to 2019, was placed on school administrative leave in June after several former Iowa players accused him of racism. Shortly after, the university and Doyle agreed to separate.

However, Meyer, who was hired by the Florida team in January after Doug Marrone’s resignation, defended the hiring, saying his relationship with Doyle goes back 20 years.

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Meyer watches during the Big Ten Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats while working as a TV analyst.
“I feel very good about hiring, with his experience in that position,” Meyer said during its media availability on Thursday.

“I examine everyone on our team and, as I said, the relationship goes back almost 20 years and many difficult questions have been asked, many investigations involved with our entire team. We have done an excellent job of looking at this.

Meyer has previously worked as a college technician at the University of Utah, University of Florida and, most recently, Ohio State.

Meyer added: “I have known the person for almost 20 years, and I can guarantee that there will be nothing of any kind at Jaguar’s facilities.”
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Meyer said he did not believe that the racism charges attributed to Doyle in Iowa will prevent Jacksonville from attracting free agents.
Shortly after being placed on an administrative license in Iowa in June 2020, Doyle posted a statement on Twitter – which has since been deleted – saying the charges about his behavior “are not true”.

Other hires Meyer made on his first NFL team include former Detroit Lions coach Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator and Joe Cullen as defensive coordinator.

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