Fired shortly after the publication of a piece in The Tampa Bay Times detailing allegations of workplace violence made by former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo, ex-Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer is once again causing issues for his old employers.
Lambo, who claims Meyer kicked him in the leg while he was stretching during warm-ups before practice in August during the final week of the NFL preseason, has filed a lawsuit against the Jaguars seeking his $3.5 million salary for 2021 plus damages for emotional distress caused by his performance on the field suffering as a result of being booted and verbally abused by his former coach.
“I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back,” Lambo said at the time of the allegations. “[Meyer], while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey dipshit, make your fucking kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg.” Meyer allegedly responded: “‘I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the fuck I want.”
An employer physically striking an employee at work and then threatening to do it again in response to resistance is illegal under Florida civil and criminal law, per the lawsuit. As such, Meyer and the Jaguars allegedly created a hostile, and illegal, work environment for Lambo, per The Times.
The fourth-most accurate placekicker in NFL history, Lambo claims he was unable to sleep, practice and perform on the field the same way he had during his seven seasons in pro football as a result of the incident with Meyer. After uncharacteristically missing some difficult kicks, Lambo was released by the Jaguars on October 19.
As the lawsuit alleges, Lambo was not the only formerly successful player to underperform at his job, but he was the only player who faced repercussions for it. “Multiple skilled players missed assignments, dropped passes or otherwise failed to perform on-field directly resulting in the Jaguars’ game losses,” per the suit. “However, Mr. Lambo, the player who objected to the unlawful activity of Mr. Meyer, was the only player Mr. Meyer and the Defendant (the Jaguars) cut from the roster.”
Whether or not Lambo, who is seeking a jury trial and hopes to be awarded a judgement providing him with financial relief, wins his lawsuit or not, the filing is just further evidence of what a disaster the hiring of Meyer was for a Jaguars organization that was hoping to rebrand itself after drafting presumed franchise QB Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 overall out of Clemson last April.
Meyer, who was fired after going 2-11 despite having four years left on his contract, was a mess. The Jaguars, who replaced him with former Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson, are still cleaning it up.
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