NFL: Fritz Pollard Alliance's Rod Graves: Jacksonville Jaguars' hiring of Chris Doyle 'simply unacceptable'

playahaitian

Rising Star
Certified Pussy Poster
Fritz Pollard Alliance's Rod Graves: Jacksonville Jaguars' hiring of Chris Doyle 'simply unacceptable'


5:19 PM ET

  • Michael DiRoccoESPN Staff Writer


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Fritz Pollard Alliance blasted the Jacksonville Jaguars and head coach Urban Meyer for hiring Chris Doyle, a former strength coach at the University of Iowa who was accused of making racist remarks and belittling and bullying players, to be the team's director of sports performance.

Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves released a statement on Friday that called Doyle's hiring unacceptable and Meyer's defense of the hire an example of the problems minority coaches face in the NFL.


"At a time when the NFL has failed to solve its problem with racial hiring 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 tenure riddled with poor judgment and mistreatment of Black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for University of Iowa.
"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."

The Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization devoted to championing diversity in the NFL. It comprises scouts, coaches and front office personnel in the NFL as well as other sports professionals.

Doyle's hiring drew immediate backlash on Thursday, when the team announced the move as part of Meyer's complete coaching staff. Doyle had been Iowa's director of strength and conditioning from 1999 until last summer, when he and the school reached a separation agreement after numerous former Iowa players spoke out about mistreatment within the Iowa program.

A number of the allegations came from Black players and concerned the way Doyle treated them and his use of racist language. Meyer said he researched Doyle, had some intense conversations with him and is confident that there will not be problems in the future.
"I vet everyone on our staff and like I said, the relationship goes back close to 20 years and a lot of hard questions asked, a lot of vetting involved with all our staff," Meyer said. "We did a very good job vetting that one.

"... I met with our staff and I'm going to be very transparent with all the players like I am with everything. I'll listen closely and learn, and also there's going to have to be some trust in their head coach that we're going to give them the very best of the best, and time will tell. ... The allegations that took place, I will say [to the players] I vetted him. I know the person for close to 20 years and I can assure them there will be nothing of any sort in the Jaguar facility."

Some of the issues raised by the numerous former Iowa players who spoke out on social media last year were: Black and white players were held to 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 dress and behavior. Their complaints sparked the university to hire a Kansas City law firm to conduct an external investigation into the football program.
The issues were not strictly related to race.

Former Iowa offensive lineman Jack Kallenberger said last June on Twitter that he retired from football in January 2019 after he became despondent because of what he described as bullying related to a learning disability. Doyle was among the coaches he named who harassed him.

The university placed Doyle on administrative leave on June 6 in the wake of those allegations. One day later, Doyle defended himself in a statement posted to Twitter that read, in part: "At no time have I ever crossed the line of unethical behavior or bias based upon race. I do not make racist comments and I don't tolerate people who do."

On June 14, it was announced that Doyle was out at Iowa. Doyle, who was the nation's highest-paid strength coach at $800,000 annually, received 15 months' salary (roughly $1.1 million), and he and his family were awarded benefits from Iowa for 15 months, or until he found employment elsewhere, which he did this month with the Jaguars.
 

playahaitian

Rising Star
Certified Pussy Poster
Jacksonville Jaguars' Urban Meyer defends hiring controversial Chris Doyle



Feb 11, 2021

  • Michael DiRoccoESPN Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer is defending his hiring of Chris Doyle, a former strength coach at the University of Iowa who was accused of making racist remarks, belittling and bullying players.

Meyer's decision to hire Doyle as the team's director of sports performance came to light Thursday when the Jaguars announced his 28-member coaching staff. Meyer also confirmed the hiring of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, defensive coordinator Joe Cullen, and former Louisville, Texas and South Florida head coach Charlie Strong as assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach.

But it was the hiring of Doyle, who had been Iowa's director of strength and conditioning from 1999 until this past June, that drew the most attention. Over the past year numerous former Iowa players spoke out about mistreatment within the Iowa program. A number of Black players said that Doyle used racist language and treated them differently based on their race.

Meyer said he researched Doyle, had some intense conversations with him, and is confident that there will not be problems.
"I vet everyone on our staff and, like I said, the relationship goes back close to 20 years and a lot of hard questions asked, a lot of vetting involved with all our staff," Meyer said. "We did a very good job vetting that one.

"... I met with our staff and I'm going to be very transparent with all the players like I am with everything. I'll listen closely and learn and also there's going to have to be some trust in their head coach that we're going to give them the very best of the best, and time will tell. ... The allegations that took place, I will say [to the players] I vetted him. I know the person for close to 20 years and I can assure them there will be nothing of any sort in the Jaguar facility."

Meyer said that he knows Doyle from when he coached Utah and Doyle was the No. 1 strength coach, but Meyer was head coach at Utah from 2003 to 2004 and Doyle was there for one year in 1998 before moving on to Iowa.

Some of the issues raised by the numerous former Iowa players who spoke out on social media last year were: Black and white players were held to 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 dress and behavior. Their complaints sparked the university to hire a Kansas City law firm to conduct an external investigation into the football program.

The issues were not strictly related to race.

Former Iowa offensive lineman Jack Kallenberger said last June on Twitter that he retired from football in January 2019 after he became despondent because of what he described as bullying related to a learning disability. Doyle was among the coaches he named who harassed him.

The university placed Doyle on administrative leave on June 6 in the wake of those allegations. One day later Doyle defended himself in a statement posted to Twitter that read, in part: "At no time have I ever crossed the line of unethical behavior or bias based upon race. I do not make racist comments and I don't tolerate people who do."

On June 14, it was announced that Doyle was out at Iowa. Doyle, who was the nation's highest-paid strength coach at $800,000 annually, received 15 months' salary (roughly $1.1 million) and he and his family were awarded benefits from Iowa for 15 months, or until he found employment elsewhere, which he did this month with the Jaguars.

Cornerback Greg Mabin is the only former Iowa player on the Jaguars' roster. He played for the Hawkeyes from 2014 to 2016 and responded to a June 5 tweet from former Iowa offensive lineman James Daniels that said there were too many racial disparities within the Iowa program with a tweet of his own that read: "We appreciate the opportunities the Iowa program brought us, but I do hope bringing these issues to light can stimulate positive change."

Meyer said he doesn't believe there will be any problems between the players and Doyle and that he's not concerned that Doyle's presence could hinder the Jaguars' chances of attracting free agents next month.

"If I was, I wouldn't have hired him," Meyer said. "Once again, I'll explain that if that becomes a question. The one thing I'm very confident is that I would imagine within a year or two we'll have the best sports performance team in the National Football League."
 

playahaitian

Rising Star
Certified Pussy Poster
Meyer have to let that coach go this is not college......he is going to find out the hard way

and he has proven himself a f*cking LIAR yet again


Urban Meyer, Chris Doyle never previously worked together
Posted by Mike Florio on February 12, 2021, 8:14 PM EST



When getting grilled in a way that he was never really grilled in Gainesville or Columbus, Jaguars coach Urban Meyer defended his decision to hire controversial former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle by citing a past working relationship with him.

“I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years. Our relationship goes back to when I was at Utah, and he was the No. 1 strength coach,” Meyer said Thursday.
While Meyer was indeed the head coach at Utah and Doyle was indeed the strength coach, their time at Utah never actually overlapped.

Doyle spent one year at Utah, in 1998. Meyer didn’t arrive at Utah until 2003, five years later. The duo never otherwise worked together.

It’s a bizarre claim, given the ease with which it was debunked. And it’s a powerful contention, given that it’s far easier to vouch for Doyle if Meyer had actually worked with Doyle. As it turns out, Meyer never actually worked with Doyle.

That doesn’t mean Meyer didn’t know Doyle. Meyer presumably did. But it’s one thing to know a guy and it’s quite another to acquire the more intimate knowledge that would come from spending time in the same program, grinding away day after day.

Meyer’s success has allowed him to compile political equity in his prior stops. He arrived in Jacksonville with a certain amount of that same vibe. But the Doyle hire quickly has shrunken Meyer’s overall leeway.

Indeed, the Fritz Pollard Alliance has pivoted from praising the Jaguars for their hiring processes regarding Meyer and G.M. Trent Baalke to condemning the decision to hire Doyle. Others may begin to feel the same way, putting even more pressure on Meyer to win quickly or risk having a Nick Saban-style short stay in the NFL.
 

playahaitian

Rising Star
Certified Pussy Poster
this was the definition of white privileged arrogance

look at that screen shot?

Look racist cac up in the dictionary...

5d57416952969.image.jpg


THERE you go.
 

playahaitian

Rising Star
Certified Pussy Poster
Fritz Pollard Alliance calls Jaguars' hiring of Chris Doyle 'unacceptable'
By The Athletic Staff

Jacksonville's hiring of former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle is "unacceptable" and a "failure of leadership" by the Jaguars, the Fritz Pollard Alliance said in a statement Friday.

"At a time when the NFL has failed to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches," executive director Rod Graves said in the statement. "Doyle's departure from the University of Iowa reflected a tenure riddled with poor judgment and mistreatment of Black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for University of Iowa. 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."

Doyle, 52, was recently hired to be the Jaguars' director of sports performance. He worked at Iowa from 1999 until June, when he and Iowa reached a separation agreement after multiple former players accused Doyle of racist remarks and complained about how they were treated by Doyle.

Meyer, the Jaguars' new head coach, said Thursday he vetted the hire "thoroughly."

"Lot of hard questions asked, lot of vetting involved with all our staff," Meyer said. "We did a very good job vetting that one."

The Fritz Pollard Alliance is a non-profit organization that promotes equal opportunity in the NFL, including the hiring of minority candidates for coaching and personnel positions.
Why this statement matters
Lindsay Jones, senior NFL writer: Graves did not tread lightly with this statement, and it's a sign of just how frustrated he and many of his colleagues are at the league's hiring practices. Graves and the FPA, who are working with league execs on diversity hiring matters, directly called out both Meyer as well as the Jaguars' organization as a whole.

The move to hire Doyle is emblematic of a problem many Black coaches and executives will point to: While head coaching decisions are up to ownership, the reason so many staffs lack diversity in key positions is because of the men those head coaches choose to hire. Many jobs come through what Graves described as the "good ol' boys network."

Players notice it, too. "Is there something nefarious going on? Is there nepotism going on? These all are things that eventually we can come to an understanding about. We have a long way to go," NFLPA executive committee member Ben Watson, a longtime NFL tight end, said last week.

The Doyle-Meyer relationship
Scott Dochterman, Iowa beat writer: Doyle never worked directly with Meyer, but both briefly spent time at Utah and they became familiar with one another's accomplishments from afar.

Doyle was college football's highest-paid strength coach, building Iowa into a competitive program that relied upon performance indicators to shape lightly recruited talent into a tough, physical squad. Meyer faced Iowa with Doyle three times, winning the 2006 Outback Bowl while at Florida 31-24. Twice Meyer's Ohio State squad played the Hawkeyes, winning 34-24 in 2013 and losing 55-24 in 2017. While Meyer's teams were more physically gifted, Iowa always gave him problems.

How much weight does this statement carry with the league?
Jones: The Rooney Rule was expanded last year to include coordinator positions, but it does not apply to other assistant coaches, like Doyle. But this hire and the ensuing statement from Graves, a former NFL general manager who worked in the league office before joining the Fritz Pollard Alliance, should at the very least trigger questions about the process that led to Doyle's hiring. Meyer said he vetted Doyle, without offering specifics. The NFL and the league's diversity committee should demand to know more.

(Photo: Michael Allio / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
 

^SpiderMan^

Mackin Arachnid
BGOL Investor
Urban Meyer is an example of white privilege.
Had issues in Florida with "creating a toxic atmosphere".
Then he gets another prime job with Ohio State. He gets suspended from Ohio State for ignoring allegations about his wife beating coach.
He then retires in 2018 and gets an NFL job 2 years later.


GTFOH
 

DjMorpheus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Well....what Urban bout to find out is...you dealing with grown men now. Paid professionals. You wee paid millions to coach a free labor force that generated billions in college. You were dealing with kids who would do whatever it takes and put up with damn near anything for an opportunity to get to the NFL.

Now you bring your tone deaf racist bullshit ideology to the NFL.

You think it's gone be one way....
 

jack walsh13

Jack Walsh 13
BGOL Investor
and he has proven himself a f*cking LIAR yet again


Urban Meyer, Chris Doyle never previously worked together
Posted by Mike Florio on February 12, 2021, 8:14 PM EST



When getting grilled in a way that he was never really grilled in Gainesville or Columbus, Jaguars coach Urban Meyer defended his decision to hire controversial former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle by citing a past working relationship with him.

“I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years. Our relationship goes back to when I was at Utah, and he was the No. 1 strength coach,” Meyer said Thursday.
While Meyer was indeed the head coach at Utah and Doyle was indeed the strength coach, their time at Utah never actually overlapped.

Doyle spent one year at Utah, in 1998. Meyer didn’t arrive at Utah until 2003, five years later. The duo never otherwise worked together.

It’s a bizarre claim, given the ease with which it was debunked. And it’s a powerful contention, given that it’s far easier to vouch for Doyle if Meyer had actually worked with Doyle. As it turns out, Meyer never actually worked with Doyle.

That doesn’t mean Meyer didn’t know Doyle. Meyer presumably did. But it’s one thing to know a guy and it’s quite another to acquire the more intimate knowledge that would come from spending time in the same program, grinding away day after day.

Meyer’s success has allowed him to compile political equity in his prior stops. He arrived in Jacksonville with a certain amount of that same vibe. But the Doyle hire quickly has shrunken Meyer’s overall leeway.

Indeed, the Fritz Pollard Alliance has pivoted from praising the Jaguars for their hiring processes regarding Meyer and G.M. Trent Baalke to condemning the decision to hire Doyle. Others may begin to feel the same way, putting even more pressure on Meyer to win quickly or risk having a Nick Saban-style short stay in the NFL.
Lyin' muthafucka!!!!! I never liked Meyer. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

WtR0En.jpg
 

durham

Rising Star
Platinum Member
Well....what Urban bout to find out is...you dealing with grown men now. Paid professionals. You wee paid millions to coach a free labor force that generated billions in college. You were dealing with kids who would do whatever it takes and put up with damn near anything for an opportunity to get to the NFL.

Now you bring your tone deaf racist bullshit ideology to the NFL.

You think it's gone be one way....
NFL players are soft as fuck, bet they don't do shit, except go along for the disrespect.
 

playahaitian

Rising Star
Certified Pussy Poster
Free agents could use this as an advantage because they want to make Trevor Lawrence look good you have to have good players around him so the free agents have all the bargain in the world.

they COULD...

the question is ..

WILL THEY?
 
Top