While the Jacksonville Jaguars are several months removed from Urban Meyer’s disastrous tenure with the team, they still can’t quite shake the stench he left on the organization completely. Tuesday was proof of that as the Tampa Bay Times reported that former Jags kicker Josh Lambo filed a lawsuit against the team to recoup his $3.5 million salary from 2021, in addition to damages for emotional distress.
The lawsuit is a result of the incident that the Tampa Bay Times reported back in mid-December, when Lambo alleged that Meyer kicked him before warmups in a preseason game against Dallas. In addition to kicking him, Lambo says Meyer called him outside of his name after the veteran struggled to consistently perform during the preseason.
“I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back,” Lambo said to Stroud. “… Urban Meyer, while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey Dips–t, make your f–king kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg.
“It certainly wasn’t as hard as he could’ve done it, but it certainly wasn’t a love tap. Truthfully, I’d register it as a five (out of 10). Which, in the workplace, I don’t care if it’s football or not, the boss can’t strike an employee. And for a second, I couldn’t believe it actually happened. Pardon my vulgarity, I said, ‘Don’t you ever f–king kick me again!’ And his response was, ‘I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f–k I want.’”
Not too soon after the story was reported, First Coast News of Jacksonville aired an interview with Lambo where he discussed why he came forward to speak about Meyer, who had long been a problem for the organization.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the lawsuit states that Lambo’s struggles were a result of the kicking incident and Meyer’s verbal abuse. The lawsuit also states that Lambo reported the incident immediately through his agent Richard Irvin.
At the time of the initial report, both Irvin and the Jags confirmed that the team’s legal counsel was notified and they offered the veteran kicker an opportunity to meet with them. Lambo said that he had “no recollection of being able to speak with the Jags’ legal team.”
“Jaguars legal counsel indeed acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Josh Lambo’s agent Friday, Aug. 27, 2021,” the Jaguars organization told the Tampa Bay Times. “Counsel offered to speak with Josh, or to assist Josh in speaking with coaching or any other football personnel, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. Any suggestion otherwise is blatantly false.”
Meyer, who many media outlets reported was fired a few hours after the Lambo report, is going through a legal situation of his own with the Jags. According to USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell, the team and Meyer still haven’t reached a settlement agreement after he was fired for cause. Bell also stated that Meyer’s contract with the Jags was a five-year deal worth $10-12 million annually.
Meyer’s alleged incident with Lambo was just one of many that were reported when he was with the Jags. The most notable incident occurred after the Jags’ Week 4 loss in Cincinnati when Meyer stayed behind as the team flew back to Jacksonville. During the weekend that followed that game, video surfaced of Meyer with a woman dancing in his lap at a bar.
Meyer also had many questioning the Jags organization when he hired former Iowa University strength coach Chris Doyle after he was accused of racial incidents with multiple Black players. He was also fined along with the Jaguars last July for violating a no-contact rule during offseason practices, in addition to other incidents.
