Chris

Doyle

Jaguars coach Urban Meyer hired Doyle on Thursday despite a reported track record of questionable training techniques and racist behavior. Last year, Iowa fired Doyle after sending more than a dozen student athletes to the hospital over two decades of coaching and after making a threat about sending a student athlete “back to the ghetto.” Meyer “vetted” Doyle prior to hiring him this offseason, but he either glossed over his history or simply didn’t care. Obviously the latter. As to why he resigned, Doyle said he “did not want to be a distraction.” This is strike one for Meyer, who has brought off-field issues to each team he’s been a part of recently.

Doyle is best known as an Iowa strength and conditioning coach who allegedly used racist language and whose workouts put more than a dozen Iowa players in the hospital during his two decades at the university. Doyle received a $1.11 million contract buyout in June 2020 after racial bias accusations surfaced, and will now join a coaching staff in a league where nearly seven in ten players are black. Last June, former Iowa defensive back Diauntae Morrow tweeted, “Doyle made a comment about sending back to the GHETTO.” Former Hawkeyes linebacker Terrance Pryor alleged Doyle told him, “Maybe you should take up rowing or something, you know? Oh wait, Black people don’t like boats in water, do they?” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer “vetted his hire, and he is confident there will be no issues with Doyle.” Meyer’s backing of a coach with a well-documented racist history could make the Jaguars a less desirable landing spot for free agents this offseason.