Urban Meyer discusses his firing, apologizes to Jacksonville

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In an exclusive interview with NFL.com, Meyer spoke publicly for the first time since his firing and expressed his disappointment in how his Jacksonville tenure unfolded.

“I just apologize to Jacksonville,” Meyer said over the phone on Friday from Florida. “I love Jacksonville. It’s one of the reasons I took the job. I still think Shad’s a great owner. It’s heart-breaking. I just had a dream of it becoming a destination place with a new facility he agreed to build and some day to walk into that stadium where it’s standing room only. Because I know how bad the people of Jacksonville want it. So, I’m just heartbroken that we weren’t able to do that. I still believe it's going to be done. It’s too good of a place.”

In the 23-minute-long interview, Meyer said he was “devastated," denied all accusations made against him in his final days, explained why he benched star running back James Robinson against the Rams and detailed where it got away on the field.

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“I tell people, losing eats away at your soul,” Meyer said. “Once you start losing, it's hard on everybody. I thought at one point, when we won two out of three, there was some momentum, great energy, the defense was really playing well. We were running the ball and then when that dried up on us, then we started turning the ball over. We had that bye week and then James Robinson gets hurt.”

From that point, the offense stopped working.

Meyer’s frustration and angst were perfectly encapsulated in his post-game handshake with his former assistant, Titans coach Mike Vrabel, as it appeared Meyer wanted to be anywhere but there, after the Jaguars were shut out 20-0 in what would be Meyer’s final game with Jacksonville.

“Someone asked me about Vrabel’s [handshake], we’re really close,” Meyer said. “That had nothing to do with him. That’s probably one of my issues why I’ve thought some of the things I said: I can’t take losing. I try to accept it, it just eats away at my soul. And I believe our players deserve better.”

Asked what he’ll do next, Meyer said, “To be determined.” He has not heard from anyone in the coaching world about a possible job.

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