JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Jacksonville Jaguars sporting director Chris Doyle, a former strength coach at the University of Iowa who has been accused of making racist remarks and downplaying and intimidating players, resigned late Friday night after the organization was ripped off for being employed by the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
Head coach Urban Meyer issued a statement saying the team did not properly consider the impact of Doyle’s hiring, which had reached a separation agreement with Iowa in June, following allegations made by several black players.
“Chris Doyle came to us tonight to resign and we agreed,” Meyer’s statement said. “Chris didn’t want to be a distraction from what we were building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, we should have paid more attention to how his appointment could have affected everyone involved. the best as he progresses in his career. “
The move came hours after Fritz Pollard Alliance chief executive Rod Graves fired the Jaguars and Meyer for hiring Doyle.
“At a time when the NFL has failed to address its issue with racial engagement practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle to the NFL as a coach,” Graves said in a statement. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a permanence of poor judgment and ill-treatment of black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it is for the University of Iowa.
“Urban Meyer’s statement: ‘I’ve known Chris for almost 20 years’ reflects the network of good guys, which is why there is such a disparity in employment opportunities for black coaches.”
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization dedicated to promoting diversity in the NFL. It is made up of scouts, coaches and NFL office staff, as well as other sports professionals.
Doyle’s hiring generated immediate reactions on Thursday, when the team announced the move as part of Meyer’s full coaching staff.
A number of allegations came from black players and referred to how Doyle treated them and the use of racist language. Meyer said on Thursday that he had investigated Doyle, had intense conversations with him and is confident that there will be no problems in the future.
“I research everyone on our staff and, as I said, the relationship goes back almost 20 years and a lot of tough questions were asked, a lot of checks involved with all our staff,” Meyer said. “I did a very good job checking it out.
“… I have met with our staff and I will be very transparent with all the players, as I would do completely. I will listen carefully and I will learn and also there will have to be a certain trust in their head coach. we will give them the best of the best and time will tell … The statements that have taken place, I will say [Notes:to the players] I checked. I have known the person for almost 20 years and I can assure him that there will be nothing of any kind in the Jaguar installation. “
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 respected by different standards, black players were mistreated, Doyle and other assistants made racist remarks, and black players felt they had to conform to specific ways of dressing and behaving. Their complaints prompted the university to hire a Kansas City law firm to conduct an external investigation into the football program.
The problems were not strictly related to race.
Former Iowa offensive lineman Jack Kallenberger said in June last year on Twitter that he retired from football in January 2019, after becoming discouraged because of what he described as learning-related aggression. Doyle was among the coaches he named, who harassed him.
The university placed Doyle on administrative leave on June 6 following allegations. A day later, Doyle defended himself in a statement posted on Twitter that read, in part: “I never crossed the line of unethical behavior or racial prejudice. I don’t make racist comments and I don’t 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 the nation’s highest-paid coach at $ 800,000 a year, received a 15-month salary (about $ 1.1 million) and he and his family received benefits from Iowa for 15 months or until he found a job elsewhere, which he did this month with the Jaguars.