The headaches continue for Urban Meyer. No, not those headaches. The brain pain he experienced while coaching Ohio State has somehow dissipated, replaced by mental anguish of his own making.
To wit: a second video surfaced Monday that appears to show Meyer touching a woman’s bottom at his Columbus restaurant. Unlike the first nine-second video which went viral on Sunday, showing the Jacksonville Jaguars coach sitting behind an unidentified woman dancing almost in his lap, the second shorter video from the weekend shows the interaction from a different angle, with Meyer’s fingers seemingly making brief contact with the woman’s back side.
Both videos are a bad look for a coach who contends he has the utmost respect for women, and both are only the latest if also greatest threats not only to his current job security but also to future college coaching opportunities.
At least they should be. How does a coach who emphasizes “owning it” move past one more example of arrogant misbehavior?
And really that’s what this comes down to — Meyer tripping over his own pride and hypocrisy, the way we all do at times. But in Meyer’s case, his track record and the tenacity with which he expects his players to operate above reproach is coming back to bite him.
Social media is ablaze with the typical assortment of haters and hypocrites mixed among the more heartfelt posts concerning women’s dignity and abuse of power and privilege. The attacks mostly are hurtful words, not the sticks and stones of NFL employment suspension. Or worse.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan issued a statement Tuesday that admonished Meyer while stopping short of saying his job is in jeopardy.
“I have addressed this matter with Urban,” Khan’s statement began. “Specifics of our conversation will be held in confidence. What I will say is his conduct last weekend was inexcusable. I appreciate Urban’s remorse, which I believe is sincere. Now, he must regain our trust and respect. That will require a personal commitment from Urban to everyone who supports, represents or plays for our team. I am confident he will deliver.”
Forgive me if I don’t hold the same level of confidence. It’s not that I think Meyer is “a bad guy,” which is how he addressed an Orlando Sentinel reporter in 2010 when the reporter dared quote a Gators player who tossed mild criticism at Tim Tebow.
I actually think Urban is a decent person corrupted by an inflated ego and obsession with winning. Some may argue that marks him as a donkey’s derriere, a label that certainly at times holds true. But in my interactions with him over seven seasons at Ohio State I found him to be fair, if also having fallen prey to misplaced pride and strategic embellishment.
Case in point: Meyer’s headaches at OSU were real, but my suspicion is he also suffered headdrakes, a deep pain to his pride brought on when former Ohio State president Michael Drake suspended him the first three games of the 2018 season for failure to properly manage assistant coach Zach Smith in domestic disputes with former wife Courtney Smith.
Too big to fail? Maybe Meyer thought so. He left after the 2018 season.
When Ohio State hired Meyer in late 2011, I contacted a reporter who had covered him at Florida, to see what to expect.
“He’ll be fine to work with, as long as you kiss his feet,” the reporter jabbed.
I do think Meyer’s manner changed between leaving Florida in 2010 and arriving in Columbus. He dug deeper into his faith, thanks to his friendship with Tebow and former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman. But Christian belief and model behavior are not always bosom buddies.
To that end, Meyer’s current drama prompts veiled biblical comparisons to King David and Bathsheba, where a powerful ruler seeks pleasure over protocol, ultimately bringing shame upon himself and hardship upon others.
Is that stretching things? I don’t think so. Meyer hasn’t gotten anyone killed, as David did, but his behavior has been more than a mere “team distraction,” which is how he described it following the release of the first bar video. His reputation already was stained by his mishandling of the Courtney Smith controversy, and now he must answer for his non-family friendly actions at his own restaurant, which again hints at an above-the-law attitude.
Where do things go from here? It sounds like Meyer keeps his job with the 0-4 Jaguars. For now. But as much as I could see him bolting back to college — I suspect Southern California remains in play, despite Meyer insisting he has no interest in leaving Jacksonville — whatever school would hire him would do so knowing national ridicule comes with it.
That school would be getting a proven winner with three national championships, but also someone who is blunt without always being honest. There’s a difference. Many schools would take the risk. Would USC, still smarting from the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal?
I always felt Meyer either would succeed spectacularly in the NFL or fail miserably. Increasingly, the latter looks a safer bet, namely because pride goes before destruction. And cell phones chronicle the fall.
