The prophecy was spoken.
The Urban Meyer era came to an abrupt halt on Thursday, with Jaguars owner Shad Khan deciding to move on from the first-year head coach just 13 games into a reported five-year deal with the Jags.
It comes in the wake of another controversy, this time involving former kicker Josh Lambo, who said Meyer kicked him during a warmup in preseason.
URBAN MEYER: Timeline | Replacements | Contract
The constant drama has seemingly become an issue for Jaguars quarterback and wunderkind Trevor Lawrence, who has become increasingly vocal in recent weeks. That was especially apparent on Wednesday, when Lawrence told ESPN that the "drama" in the building needs to change:
"You're always going to have some form of drama. I've learned that the NFL is just more drama in general than college, no matter where you're at," Lawrence said Wednesday. "But you're right. There's been a lot. To your point, I do think that has to change and that's something that we need to work on for sure.
"So you can't always be in the headlines. You just got to go play football and that's where we're trying to get and I have no doubt we'll get there, but for sure [it has to change]."
While there's no guarantee that the drama will completely resolve itself the remainder of this season, there's no denying that Meyer, the match to the lighter fluid in the Jaguars 2021 season, was the culprit in the team's countless issues this season.
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Aside from the team's largely uninspiring on-the-field performances, the team's off-the-field controversies have persisted since Meyer's hiring. NFL insider Aaron Wilson reports that Meyer had "alienated all three levels of the building: players, coaches, personnel" in Jacksonville, certainly signaling a dysfunction Meyer vowed to avoid.
League source: 'Urban (Meyer) alienated all three levels of building: players, coaches, personnel. He told coaches every week he was going to fire their a--.' And now Meyer is fired instead.
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 16, 2021
That kind of environment would be tough for any young quarterback to thrive even, even one the caliber of a former No. 1 overall pick. Now, Meyer is unemployed and the Jags have a chance to heal.
For that, Meyer earned one more headline this season — and potentially, his last. That should be a relief to Lawrence.
