Former Jacksonville Jaguars receiver DJ Chark shed light on Urban Meyer's scare tactics that he resorted to over his brief tenure in charge. Chark, who left the Jaguars and signed a one-year, $10,000,000 contract with the Detroit Lions this week, was one of several current or former players and staffers to speak out on the coach's out-of-line style.
In The Athletic's article on Meyer's brief and tumultuous time leading the team, Chark claimed the former head coach threatened to fire positional coaches if the players weren't performing well enough.
“He feels like threats are what motivates… he would come up to us and tell us if the receivers weren’t doing good, he wasn’t going to fire us, he was going to fire our coach. He would usually say that when the coach was around,” Chark said.
The Jaguars fired Meyer in December after a 2-11 start to the year. But it wasn't his coaching shortcomings that garnered the majority of attention surrounding him. Controversial hires, poor treatment of his players, and a leaked video of Meyer getting up close and personal with a young woman ensured the accomplished college coach was in the news for all the wrong reasons during his brief time in Jacksonville.
DJ Chark, meanwhile, heads to Detroit on a “prove it” contract after being limited to seven games because of a fractured ankle in 2021. The former second round pick from LSU has topped 1,000 yards receiving once in his four-year career. A productive, injury-free season with the Lions could put him in line for a big payday next offseason.
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