Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars narrowly lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football last week. In the aftermath, the conversation surrounding the fact that the Jags did legitimately look like they have made some strides since Week 1 ended pretty quickly, as videos and photos of head coach Urban Meyer at his steakhouse in Columbus, Ohio ended up attracting a whole heck of a lot of attention.
The various things that went viral over the weekend show Meyer, while wearing Ohio State gear, cozying up to various women who are not his wife, and led to tons of questions about what, exactly, Meyer was doing. On Monday, the former Buckeye coach had his weekly press conference, and from the jump, he was asked about what he was doing.
“I just apologized to the team and staff for being a distraction,” Meyer said. “It was stupid. So I explained everything that happened and owned it, just stupid. Shouldn’t have put myself in that position.
“I stayed to see the grandkids and we all went to dinner that night at the restaurant,” Meyer continued. “There’s a big group next to our restaurant, and they wanted me to come over and take pictures and I did. Try to pull me out on the dance floor, screwin’ around, and I should’ve left.”
Meyer went on to say that he’s spoken to leaders on the Jags, his owner and general manager, and the entire team, and while he said that “they’re good” in reference to the response he got from the roster, he made it a point to stress that “the coach should not be a distraction.” Meyer also mentioned that he had discussed this with his family, saying that “they were upset.”
After spending essentially his entire coaching career at the college level and winning nigh everything a head coach can win during his stops at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, the 57-year-old Meyer decided to try his hand at coaching an NFL team when the Jaguars came calling this year. It’s been a rocky start to the season on the field, though, as the team finds itself 0-4.