Chris Doyle, the Jacksonville Jaguars director of sports performance, resigned today from his position. Doyle was accused of stating racist remarks, belittling and bullying players when he coached at Iowa.
Earlier during the day, the Jaguars were criticized for hiring Doyle in the first place.
Recently, Jacksonville hired Urban Meyers as its new head coach. Meyers addressed the media on the latest development of Doyle.
“Chris Doyle came to us this evening to submit his resignation and we have accepted. Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his career… I met with our staff and I’m going to be very transparent with all the players like I am with everything. I’ll listen closely and learn and also there’s going to have to be some trust in their head coach that we’re going to give them the very best of the best and time will tell. … The allegations that took place, I will say [to the players] I vetted him. I know the person for close to 20 years and I can assure them there will be nothing of any sort in the Jaguar facility.
Rod Graves, Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director didn’t hold back on the hiring of Doyle. Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization devoted to championing diversity in the league.
“At a time when the NFL has failed to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches. Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a tenure riddled with poor judgment and mistreatment of Black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for University of Iowa. Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years’ reflects the good ol’ boy network that is precisely the reason there is such a disparity in employment opportunities for Black coaches.”
