JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Jaguars director of sports performance Chris Doyle, the former strength trainer at the University of Iowa who was accused of making racist slurs and belittling and bullying players, stepped in late Friday night, hours after the organization was torn for hiring by the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
Head coach Urban Meyer released a statement saying the team did not properly account for the impact of hiring Doyle, who had reached a divorce agreement with Iowa in June due to allegations from multiple black players.
“Chris Doyle came to us tonight to tender his resignation and we have accepted it,” said Meyer’s statement. “Chris didn’t want to be a distraction from what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and should have thought more about the implications of his appointment for everyone involved. We wish him the best of luck. advances in his career. “
The move came hours after the director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, Rod Graves, humiliated the Jaguars and Meyer for hiring Doyle.
“At a time when the NFL has not resolved its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle to the ranks of NFL coaches,” said Graves’ statement. Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a tenure of poor judgment and mistreatment of black players. His behavior should be as disqualifying to the NFL as it was to the University of Iowa.
“Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I’ve known Chris for nearly 20 years,’ reflects the good old boy network which is exactly why there is such inequality in employment for black coaches.”
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization committed to diversity in the NFL. It consists of scouts, coaches, and front office personnel in the NFL, as well as other sports professionals.
Doyle’s hiring was an immediate backlash on Thursday when the team announced the move as part of Meyer’s entire coaching staff.
Some of the allegations came from black players and concerned the way Doyle treated them and his use of racist language. Meyer said on Thursday that he has investigated Doyle, had intensive talks 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 there are a lot of difficult questions asked, and a lot of research has been done on all of our employees,” said Meyer. “We have examined that very carefully.
“… I have met our staff and I will be very transparent towards all players as I am with everything. I will listen and learn well and there will also have to be some confidence in their head coach that we are going to give them the very best of the best. and time will tell … The charges that took place, I will say [Notes:to the players] I’ve vetted him. I have known the person for nearly 20 years and I can assure them that there will be nothing of any kind in the Jaguar facility. “
Some of the issues raised by the many former Iowa players who spoke on social media last year were: black and white players were held to different standards, black players were abused, Doyle and other assistants made racist remarks and black players felt that they had done so to conform to specific ways of dressing and behavior. Their complaints prompted the university to hire a Kansas City law firm to conduct an outside investigation into the football program.
The problems were not strictly race related.
Former Iowa offensive lineman Jack Kallenberger said on Twitter last June that he retired in January 2019 after becoming despondent over what he described as bullying related to a learning disability. Doyle was one of the coaches he named who harassed him.
The university placed Doyle on administrative leave on June 6 in the wake of those allegations. A day later, Doyle defended himself in a statement posted on Twitter that read, in part, “I’ve never crossed the line of unethical behavior or racial bias. 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 highest paid strength trainer in the country 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 with the Jaguars for months.