Urban Meyer’s ill-fated decision to hire Chris Doyle as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ strength and conditioning staff backfired immediately.
Doyle, who was let go at Iowa after 20 years following multiple complaints regarding abuse and racially insensitive comments toward players, was brought in as an assistant in Jacksonville last month.
The backlash to the move was immediate and spirited. Doyle lasted only a couple of days in the position before stepping down.
In a recent press conference, Meyer addressed the reason why Doyle resigned.
“I saw the impact of the decision and the distraction it caused,” Meyer said, via ESPN.com. “The most important part of the organization is and always will be our players, and I just — we both felt, we all felt, when I say both, [general manager] Trent [Baalke] and myself, and then Chris Doyle felt it was best, that this team didn’t need [any distractions]. Everything’s going too well. We hired an excellent staff. We don’t need a distraction, and [to] move forward is the best interest of all.”
It is sort of unbelievable to think Meyer and Baalke didn’t realize what the reaction would be to Doyle. Cynically, they may have just assumed they could get through whatever controversy followed the announcement.
The good news is that the error was corrected, and Doyle forfeited his position. It just would have been a bad look to employ the man after what he had been accused of.
The post Urban Meyer Explains Reason For Chris Doyle Resigning appeared first on The Spun.
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