Urban Meyer dismisses notion that he didn’t know who Aaron Donald was, says he plans to

Urban Meyer doesn’t want to spend too much time re-living his brief tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meyer, a three-time national championship coach in the college ranks, was fired following a 2-11 start that included poor on-field play along with off-field incidents and reports of in-house turbulence. 

The reports stemming from Meyer’s time in Jacksonville included him allegedly not knowing several star players from other teams that included three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Meyer recently dismissed the notion that he was unfamiliar with the Rams‘ star defensive tackle. 

“Someone told me that,” Meyer said of the report during an appearance on The Tim May Podcast. “I’ve heard silly things in my life. You shouldn’t even address things like that, it’s so silly.”

Meyer, 57, said he is currently “into some great stuff” that includes more time with his grandchildren. He also said that he plans to return to broadcasting, which is what he did between his time at Ohio State and Jacksonville.

“I really enjoyed it,” Meyer said of his previous work as a college football studio analyst. “I plan on being back in the fall doing something like that.”

Of his time in Jacksonville, Meyer said he learned “a tremendous amount.” Meyer feels his termination was based solely on what happened on the football field. 

“I believe we got fired because we didn’t win enough games,” Meyer said. “In my strong opinion, I hear people rip our roster apart. We had good enough players to win games. We didn’t do a good enough job. … We were 2-11, that’s terrible.”

Meyer thought the Jaguars’ Week 9 win over the Bills would be a turning point for the team. But what followed was a five-game losing streak that ultimately sealed Meyer’s fate. 

“We had some tough, tough injuries,” Meyer said of his final weeks in Jacksonville. “Our defense was playing well, but our offense went in reverse. It was hard to put your finger on it. 

“You can go on, like you said, I don’t know who Aaron Donald is, or what about this. I shake my head like, ‘What are you talking about?’ We just had to win more games.”

Meyer was also asked about Dwayne Haskins, his last quarterback at Ohio State, who tragically died this past weekend after being struck by a vehicle on a Florida interstate. Meyer said that Haskins, who led Ohio State to a Rose Bowl victory in Meyer’s final game as the Buckeyes’ coach, was his grandson’s favorite player. Meyer said he was numb upon hearing the news of Haskins’ death. 

“Here’s Dwayne Haskins, who was the nicest, and sincerely nice,” Meyer said. “I have a picture here of him holding my grandson. That is [his] favorite player at Ohio State. That’s not by accident.”