JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Jacksonville Jaguars athletic performance director Chris Doyle, a former Iowa University strength coach who was accused of making racist comments and belittling and intimidating players, resigned Friday night just hours after the organization was started by contracted by Fritz Pollard Alliance.
Head coach Urban Meyer issued a statement saying the team did not properly consider the impact of hiring Doyle, who had reached an Iowa separation agreement in June as a result of the complaints from several black players.
“Chris Doyle has come to us this evening to present his resignation and we have accepted,” Meyer’s statement said. “Chris didn’t want to distract what we’re building in Jacksonville. We’re responsible for every aspect of our program, and in retrospect, we should have been more mindful of how his appointment might have affected everyone involved. We wish him the best. advancing in his career “.
The move came hours after Fritz Pollard Alliance CEO Rod Graves blasted the Jaguars and Meyer for hiring Doyle.
“At a time when the NFL has not solved its problem with racial recruitment practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches,” Graves ’statement read. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a mandate full of bad judgment and mistreatment 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 nearly 20 years,’ reflects the network of good guys that’s precisely why there’s a disparity in black coaches’ job opportunities.”
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization dedicated to advocating for diversity in the NFL. It is made up of scouts, coaches and front office staff in the NFL, as well as other sports professionals.
Doyle’s hiring sparked an immediate reaction Thursday, when the team announced the move as part of Meyer’s full coaching staff.
Some of the allegations came from black players and referred to the way Doyle treated them and their use of racist language. Meyer said Thursday that he investigated Doyle, held intense conversations with him and is confident there will be no problems in the future.
“I see all of our staff members and, as I said, the relationship goes back nearly 20 years and a lot of difficult questions were asked, a lot of research related to all of our staff,” Meyer said. “We did a very good job examining her.
“… I met with our staff and I will be very transparent with all the players as if I was with everything. I will listen carefully and learn and you will also have to have some confidence in your head coach we will give them the best of the best and the time he will say it … The statements that were made, I will say [Notes:to the players] I examined him. I have known the person for almost 20 years and I can assure you that there will be nothing of any kind at the Jaguar facilities. “
Some of the issues raised by the many former Iowa players who spoke on social media last year were: Black and white players had different rules, black players were mistreated, Doyle and other attendees made racist comments, and black players felt they had to adapt to specific ways of dressing and behaving. His 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.
Jack Kallenberger, a former Iowa offensive lineman, said last June on Twitter that he retired from football in January 2019 after becoming heartbroken over what he described as harassment related to a learning difficulty. Doyle was one of the coaches he noted he pointed out.
The university put Doyle on administrative leave on June 6 as a result of these allegations. A day later, Doyle defended himself in a statement posted on Twitter that said, in part, “At no point have I ever crossed the line of behavior or ethical bias based on race. I don’t make racist comments and I don’t tolerate people who it does “.
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 strength coach with $ 800,000 a year, received a 15-month salary (approximately $ 1.1 million) and he and his family were granted Iowa benefits. for 15 months or until he found work elsewhere, which he did. but with the Jaguars.