Urban Meyer apologizes for viral bar video, pictures

A video surfaced on social media Saturday night showing Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer sitting in an Ohio bar while a young woman, who does not appear to be his wife, appeared to be dancing against him.

A league source confirmed to the Florida Times-Union that the man in the video was Meyer. There was also a picture posted to social media that showed Meyer smiling next to two younger women, one of which appears to be the woman in the video. Meyer on Monday morning addressed the video in his press conference, saying he apologized to the team and labeled his actions “stupid.”

“I just apologized to the team and the staff for being a distraction,” Meyer said. “It was stupid. So, I explained to everybody what happened and owned it. It was stupid. I should not have had myself in that position.”

Jaguars coaches and players had the weekend off after dropping a Thursday night game to the Cincinnati Bengals last week to remain winless on the season. Their next practice was not scheduled until Monday.

Meyer confirmed Monday that he stayed in Ohio, his former home state, after the game, while the rest of the team returned to Jacksonville.

“I stayed to see the grandkids and we all went to dinner that night at a restaurant,” Meyer said Monday. “There was a big group next to the restaurant. They wanted me to come over and take pictures and I did. And they were trying to pull me out on the dance floor, screwing around, and I should’ve left.”

The video caught traction on Twitter just as photos from that night spread, one of which showed Meyer on a woman’s Instagram story with the caption, “Who is this he keeps flirting with me.”

“I’ve always been so defensive of them,” Meyer said of his players in his press conference. “I remember when Trevor told me he was going to go to [Las] Vegas for his bachelor party, I remember I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, man, be careful. Surround yourself [with the right people.]’ Because I’ve seen this happen. The team — I spoke to a bunch of leaders one-on-one, I spoke to all the players. They’re good. We’re focused on Tennessee. I apologized again for being a distraction. A coach should not be a distraction.

The Jaguars did not issue a statement or provide further clarification regarding the video or Meyer’s involvement. Meyer said he also apologized to his family for his actions.

“Of course I did,” Meyer said, when asked if he apologized to his family. “That’s not me, and they were upset.”

Meyer said Monday his team is not focused on the video. Rather, the Jaguars are looking ahead to the Titans and the AFC South, which remains wide open with the first-place Titans just 2-2.

Urban Meyer transitions from college to NFL

The 2021 season marks Meyer’s first as an NFL head coach. He spent 17 seasons as a head coach in the college ranks, where he saw immense success at four different schools.

Meyer received his first head-coaching job in 2001, when he became the head coach at Bowling Green. While at Bowling Green, Meyer wasted no time in executing an immense turnaround, coaching a team that went just 2-9 in 2000 to an eight-win 2001 season, then a nine-win 2002 season. After two seasons at Bowling Green, Meyer spent two seasons at Utah, where he led the Utes to a 22-2 record over two years. At Utah, Meyer won back-to-back Mountain West Championship trophies, a Mountain West Coach of the Year Award and led the Utes to a BCS Championship bid in 2004.

After Utah, Meyer spent six seasons as the head coach at Florida, where he amassed a 65-15 overall record. He went 5-1 in bowl games with the Gators, including two BCS National Championship victories in 2006 and 2008. Meyer created a mini dynasty of sorts in Gainesville, winning two SEC Championships and three SEC East titles, too. He resigned from Florida after the 2010 season following reports of a toxic culture, and he became the head coach at Ohio State in 2012. His success in seven season at Ohio State certainly rivaled that of his Florida tenure, as Meyer went 83-9, won another BCS National Championship and won three Big Ten titles.