Advertisement

Ex-Jags K Josh Lambo says Urban Meyer kicked him at practice, called him 'dips***'

Former Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo says that head coach Urban Meyer called him derogatory terms and kicked him at practice prior to his release from the team early this season.

Lambo told his account to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times in a story published on Wednesday.

The alleged incident occurred during a preseason practice after Lambo had missed field goals in two preseason games.

“I’m in a lunge position," Lambo told the Times. "Left leg forward, right leg back. ... Urban Meyer, while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey dips***, make your f***ing kicks.’ And kicks me in the leg.

“It 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."

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, left, talks with Josh Lambo after Lambo missed his second field goal during a game against the Denver Broncos in September in Jacksonville. (STEPHEN B. MORTON | AP)
Josh Lambo, right, says that Urban Meyer kicked him during a preseason practice. (Stephen B. Morton, AP)

Lambo said that Meyer barked back at him when he confronted him about the kick.

"And for a second, I couldn’t believe it actually happened," Lambo continued. "Pardon my vulgarity, I said, ‘Don’t you ever f***ing kick me again’ And his response was: ‘I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f*** I want.'"

Lambo also said the Meyer doesn't refer to kicking-team specialists by their names.

“It was ‘kicker, punter, long snapper,’” Lambo said. “Or s***bag, dips*** or whatever the hell it was.”

Lambo told the Times that Meyer later threatened to cut him if he spoke to him like he said he did when he responded to Meyer's alleged kick.

"If you have an issue and don’t like me kicking you, well then you keep that to yourself, and you wait until after practice and after meetings and you come find me in the office and tell me privately,” Lambo says Meyer told him.

Meyer's response

Meyer denied Lambo's account when asked about it by the Times.

"Josh’s characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer told the Times. “(General manager) Trent (Baalke) and I met with him on multiple occasions to encourage his performance, and this was never brought up. I was fully supportive of Josh during his time with the team and wish him nothing but the best.”

Lambo told the Times that he reported the alleged incident to his agent Richard Irvin, who informed the Jaguars. Irvin and the Jaguars told the Times that the team offered Lambo a chance to meet with its legal counsel to discuss the allegation. Lambo told the Times he has "no recollection" of that offer.

"Jaguars legal counsel indeed acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Josh Lambo’s agent Friday, August 27, 2021,” the Jaguars told the Times in a statement. “Counsel offered to speak with Josh, or to assist Josh in speaking with coaching or any other football personnel, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. Any suggestion otherwise is blatantly false.”

Is Meyer's Jags tenure nearing an end?

Lambo told the Times he chose to speak out with his allegation after seeing a recent report of discord in the Jaguars locker room including a heated argument between Meyer and veteran receiver Marvin Jones and claims that Meyer has called his assistant coaches "losers."

Meyer told reporters this week that the reported incident between him and Jones "didn't happen." Jones told reporters on Wednesday that there was a conflict, but that he and Meyer "handled it like grown men." Meyer called the report "nonsense" and threatened to cut or fire anyone leaking information.

"If there is a source, that source is unemployed," Meyer told reporters on Sunday. "I mean within seconds."

Meyer is in his first season with the Jaguars and in the NFL after winning national championships as a college coach at Florida and Ohio State. The Jaguars are 2-11. The on-field struggles and off-field discord have fueled speculation that Meyer won't return for a second season in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars released Lambo on Oct. 19 after he missed his only three field-goal attempts on the season and connected on 5-of-7 extra-point attempts. Lambo, 31, is a seventh-year NFL veteran who spent four-plus seasons in Jacksonville prior to his release. He remains a free agent.