Former Jaguars K Lambo said coach Meyer kicked him at practice
Former Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo says head coach Urban Meyer kicked him during training camp in August.
"I'm in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back," Lambo said, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. "Urban Meyer, while I'm in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, 'Hey, dipshit, make your f------ kicks!' And kicks me in the leg."
Lambo added, "(The kick) certainly wasn't as hard as he could've done it, but it certainly wasn't a love tap. ... Truthfully, I'd register it as a five (out of 10). Which, in the workplace, I don't care if it's football or not, the boss can't strike an employee. And for a second, I couldn't believe it actually happened. Pardon my vulgarity, I said, 'Don't you ever f------ kick me again!' And his response was, 'I'm the head ball coach, I'll kick you whenever the f--- I want.'"
The Jaguars fired Meyer several hours after the Lambo interview was published Wednesday night, ending the coach's tenure after just 13 games. Jacksonville went 2-11 over that stretch, and the interview was the latest in a long line of controversies.
The free-agent kicker said Meyer didn't call special teams players by name.
"It was 'kicker, punter, long snapper.' Or shitbag, dipshit, or whatever the hell it was," said Lambo, who added other players witnessed the kicking incident.
Lambo also said Meyer approached him the following day.
"He sees me, and I'm by myself, and he kind of cornered me and comes up to me and says, 'Are you going to put a smile on that face?'" Lambo said. "I said, 'I'll smile if you'll stop kicking me.'
"(Meyer's) response was, 'OK, you don't like me doing this, OK. If you don't like me doing that, fine. But if you ever speak to me like that again, you'll be out of here. You're the first player I've ever let speak to me that way in my career, and if you do it again, you're gone.'"
Meyer said Lambo's recollection isn't accurate.
"Josh's characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account," Meyer said. "(General manager) Trent (Baalke) and I met with him on multiple occasions to encourage his performance, and this was never brought up."
Lambo began the regular season with Jacksonville, but the team released him in October after he went 5-for-7 on extra-point attempts and 0-for-3 in field-goal tries. The 31-year-old then spent a week on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad in November but didn't make the active roster.
A recent report indicated tensions had grown within the Jaguars organization following multiple run-ins between Meyer and players and other coaches throughout the 2021 campaign.
Jacksonville currently sits last in the AFC South with a 2-11 record. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is taking over as the team's interim head coach following Meyer's departure.