JACKSONVILLE, Florida. Jacksonville Jaguars, director of sports performance, Chris Doyle, the former power coach at the University of Iowa, who is accused of making racist remarks and belittling and bullying players, resigned Friday night hours after the organization was criticized. for rent by the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
Urban Meyer, the Jaguars’ first-year coach, issued a statement saying the team could not properly consider the impact of Doyle’s appointment, who reached an Iowa severance agreement in June, due to allegations made by several black players were made.
“Chris Doyle came to us tonight to submit his resignation and we accepted it,” Meyer said in a statement. “Chris did not want to be a distraction from what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program, and we had to think back more about how his appointment could affect all involved. We wish him the best as he moves forward. moves in his career. ‘
The move came hours after Rod Graves, executive director of Fritz Pollard Alliance, blew up the Jaguars and Meyer for the appointment of Doyle.
“At a time when the NFL has not been able to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches,” Graves said in a statement. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflects a term of office with poor judgment and abuse of black players. His behavior should disqualify for the NFL just as much as for the University of Iowa.
“Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I have known Chris for almost 20 years’, reflects the good network for young boys which is precisely the reason why there is such a difference in jobs for black coaches.”
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization that strives to promote diversity in the NFL. It consists of scouts, coaches and front office staff in the NFL, as well as other sports staff.
Doyle’s appointment immediately fell back on Thursday when the team announced the move as part of Meyer’s full coaching staff.
A number of the allegations come from black players and dealt with the way Doyle treated them and his use of racist language. Meyer said Thursday he researched Doyle, had intense conversations with him and is confident there will be no problems in the future.
“I vet everyone in our staff and like I said, the relationship goes back about 20 years and a lot of hard questions are asked, and there are a lot of investigations involved with all of our staff,” Meyer said. “We did a very good job judging this one.
“… I have met our staff and I will be very transparent with all the players as I am with everything. I will listen and learn well, and there will also have to be confidence in their head coach that we will give them the best of the best give and time will tell … The allegations that have taken place, I will say [Notes:to the players] I watched him. I have known the person for almost 20 years and I can assure them that there will be nothing of any kind in the Jaguar plant. ‘
Some of the issues raised by the many former Iowa players who spoke out on social media last year were: black and white players were treated according to different standards, black players were abused, Doyle and other assistants made racist remarks and black players felt that they had to adapt to specific clothing and behavior. Their complaints prompted the university to appoint a law firm in Kansas City to conduct an external investigation into the football program.
The issues were not strictly related to race.
Former Iowa linebacker Jack Kallenberger said on Twitter last June that he retired from football in January 2019 after becoming discouraged due to what he described as bullying related to a learning disability. Doyle was among the coaches he named who harassed him.
The university placed Doyle on June 6 with administrative leave following these allegations. A day later, Doyle defended himself in a statement posted on Twitter, which read in part: ‘I have never crossed the line of unethical behavior or prejudice based on race. I make no racist comments and I do not tolerate people. who do. “
On June 14, it was announced that Doyle, who had been with the program since 1999, was in Iowa. Doyle, who was $ 800,000 the highest paid strength coach annually, received a 15-month salary (about $ 1.1 million) and he and his family received benefits from Iowa for 15 months, or until he got a job elsewhere, what he did month with the Jaguars.