Who knows what the Jaguars were thinking when they hired the controversial Chris Doyle as their director of sports performance? All and sundry got wind of their decision when they raised the curtain on newly appointed head coach Urban Meyer’s staff last Thursday. And while most of the names got rave reviews, one received significant pushback. Rightly so, to be sure; inked hadn’t yet dried on the divorce papers the former college fixture was forced to sign with the University of Iowa after allegations of his bias against African-American players surfaced. For a franchise that purports to being dead serious in turning the corner, adding a headache was the last thing it needed.
To argue that the Jaguars’ wound was self-inflicted would be to understate the obvious. True, Meyer had carte blanche in choosing his assistants, a big reason he agreed to accept the job in the first place. Nonetheless, he should have been more circumspect when it came to Doyle, just eight months removed from being forced out of an otherwise-cushy situation as the highest-paid strength and conditioning coach in the United States. So intent were the Hawkeyes in parting ways with their trainer of two decades that they actually paid for it to happen, and fast, instead of letting due process, evidently in their favor, play out.
If there’s any consolation, it’s that the Jaguars quickly realized the error of their ways. Hours after the influential Fritz Pollard Alliance weighed in with a stinging rebuke of the ill-advised decision, they came out with a statement effectively withdrawing the hire. Granted, they did so while making Doyle the hero of the course correction; he “came to us this evening to submit his resignation and we accepted. Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville.” Still, there can be no underestimating the value of their move. They could have dug in, just as Meyer initially did by saying “ I’ve known Chris for 20 years… We’ve had a relationship. I vetted him thoroughly, along with our general manager and owner.” Instead, they did the right thing, and it’s never too late to do the right thing.
Admittedly, not insignificant damage has been done. At the same time, it’s fair to argue that the development is but a reflection of how much work the National Football League needs to do when it comes to promoting diversity in this regard, Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves aptly noted, “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.”
Interestingly, the Jaguars’ announcement of Doyle’s resignation, issued via e-mail as a “statement from Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer” late Friday night, was then re-sent the next morning as a “statement from Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke.” Since all the information therein stayed the same, tongues could not help but start wagging. Perhaps the head coach refused to hang out to dry all by his lonesome. In any case, they’ll all need to be together and work as one from here on.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
