IDIOT OF THE YEAR: The worst of 2021

In 2021, following the franchise’s worst efficiency in it’s 26-year historical past, the Jacksonville Jaguars lastly bought severe. They used that No. 1 general draft decide on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and removed coach Doug Marrone, who took them to an AFC Championship recreation in 2018. Proprietor Shad Khan went for a giant identify to exchange him — school soccer teaching legend City Meyer. Nice identify to go together with the marquee draft decide, besides the Khans made a giant mistake. For a rookie effort on a subpar staff, Lawrence was wonderful, however with Meyer they forgot the one rule of capitalism: unsuccessful organizations can’t align themselves with rotten individuals.

There are many rotten individuals doing properly in America. The individuals who run the prison-industrial complicated, the banking business, which within the 2020s continues to be getting sued for discrimination, and hell, the way in which it’s trying now, Donald Trump would possibly develop into the one president apart from Grover Cleveland to get voted out after a primary time period after which win once more 4 years later.

Meyer will not be essentially the most rotten individual in America, however that’s like saying fudge is sweeter than ice cream — each can nonetheless destroy your enamel. He had the job of his desires at Ohio State, however needed to step down. Why? As a result of he rehired a domestic abuser from his days at Florida.

Maybe three years after that fiasco, maybe Meyer, as a 57-year-old man, had realized his lesson. It shortly turned clear that was not the case, although, because the City period started in Duval. He employed a energy coach who had been fired from Iowa — the place he was the highest-paid energy coach in America — after he was accused of creating racist statements in opposition to his gamers. Meyer, a pacesetter of execs, determined to rent that individual. Chris Doyle resigned less than 48 hours after signing on with the team in February.

As an alternative of humbling himself and making an attempt to teach the Jaguars in a method to construct some credibility, he proceeded to run his staff in a means that mirrored a saying from the good thinker Eric Cartman: “No matter, I’ll do what I need.”

Meyer introduced in Tim Tebow of ESPN and minor league baseball fame to play tight finish, a place he’d by no means performed earlier than. Keep in mind watching Tebow try to block within the preseason? School basketball gamers changing to tight finish have struggled whereas studying to dam, however yikes. Additionally, they will excessive level footballs ultimately zone, which may also help negate blocking struggles.

Earlier than the common season, to assist Meyer make choices on cuts, he introduced in a system with him from his school days known as “winners and losers.” This analysis course of charts what number of instances a participant wins and loses in one-on-one drills, a document Meyer would then issue into his cut-making course of, similar to how he organized his depth chart in school.

Meyer’s logic behind this: “I consider in, ‘what’s your document?’” he informed ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. “Each man’s bought a document. What’s it? You’re what your document [is]. If you happen to lose lots however you have got plenty of potential, that’s not actual good.

“Simply over the course of my profession, I can provide you instance after instance [of players who] possibly they’re a bit of gradual, however they only by no means lose.”

Yeah, each crimson flag was there, however the Khans had been pot dedicated. They couldn’t hearth this loon earlier than the season began, in order that they merely needed to hope Meyer would alter to the sport and never be such a dope.

Everyone knows how that labored out. Not flying again with the staff out of Ohio, getting photographed whereas showing intoxicated and a lady who’s not his spouse dancing in his lap, dry snitching on his quarterback to defend himself, berating coaches, kicking kickers, and simply general taking completely no stock of himself nor his actions.

From Day 1 in Jacksonville, Meyer approached the job like Joe Clark in Lean on Me with a baseball bat. Besides in that film, Clark ultimately realized that pissing off a complete city will not be the easiest way to restore a nasty group. Meyer introduced out a lot sick will in Jacksonville that despite the fact that the Jaguars have doubled their win whole from final 12 months with three video games remaining, Meyer didn’t even make it to Week 15.

I hope all you aspiring capitalists on the market realized a useful lesson from the Khan household’s mistake. In case your group is in a nasty place, that’s not the time to place a rotten individual in a management place, regardless of how profitable that individual has been up to now. Your group isn’t robust sufficient to deal with an individual like that, and also you’ll end up ready the place your group is much more embarrassing than it was instantly following a 1-15 season.