Urban Meyer hires former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle despite allegations of racism and bullying

Chris Doyle left the Iowa football program with a payout of over $1 million back in June.

Doyle was the highest-paid strength and conditioning coach in college football at the time, and had been with the Hawkeyes for over a decade. He was forced out after allegations of racism and bullying by Black players who had left the program, including some NFL players.

https://twitter.com/leellxvii/status/1269287521034350593

Now, less than a year after those claims surfaced, Doyle has a new job, joining Urban Meyer’s staff in Jacksonville. Doyle was named the team’s director of sports performance.

It’s hard to imagine this being well-received in the Jaguars locker room, or even around the league. One of the main reasons Doyle was able to get away with the kind of behavior he was alleged to exhibit at Iowa for years was due to the inherent power imbalance between college players and coaches.

There’s still an imbalance in terms of player power at the professional level, to be sure, but it’s much less pronounced, and players will absolutely be aware of Doyle’s history heading into the year. Meyer trying to slip this hire in feels completely unnecessary. There are a lot of qualified strength and conditioning coaches without this on their record, and the Doyle hire seems likely to at the very least potentially put Meyer’s relationship with pro players on the wrong foot from the start.

Expect Doyle, Meyer, and the Jags to put out some kind of statement about how Doyle is a changed man, or even one that denies most of the allegations, which he has done so far. Either way, it’s not going to just slip through the cracks.

UPDATE: A day later (late on a Friday night), Chris Doyle has resigned.

Urban Meyer released a statement:

“Chris Doyle came to us this evening to submit his resignation and we have accepted. Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his career.”