Jaguars hire Chris Doyle, who was accused of racial bias while at Iowa

Chris Doyle was dismissed as Iowa’s strength coach after accusations of racial bias were brought against him last year.
Urban Meyer’s coaching staff for the Jacksonville Jaguars is complete, but all of the attention is one specific hire.
Jacksonville’s new director of sport performance is Chris Doyle. If that name rings a bell, it’s for one of two things: Doyle being the strength coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes since 1999, or that his tenure ended amid a racial bias scandal.
The accolades, on the surface, are quite impressive. Doyle played a role in getting Iowa to 16 bowl games in two decades, and sent 55 players to the NFL Draft. That’s what the Jaguars wanted everyone to focus on when announcing his hiring, not the racial disparity allegations that came against Hawkeyes Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and Doyle.
As many as 50 players came out with such allegations, including Cornerback Matt Hankins. He recalled a perplexing encounter with Doyle that involved being scolded after spitting on the field during a workout and told demeaning things about his value to the team.
Jaguars hiring of Chris Doyle didn’t sit right with anyone except Urban Meyer
While the Jaguars may have propped up Doyle’s accolades as a smokescreen, few forgot how his tenure with Iowa ended.
If you think it's embarrassing that Urban Meyer would hire Chris Doyle, just wait til you hear about the Iowa coach and athletic director who had him on staff for *20 years* and are still living consequence-free in their jobs
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) February 11, 2021
Reporters, when you get on these Zoom calls with Urban Meyer, please don't ask him about his "controversial" hire of Chris Doyle. Ask him why he hired a guy who was fired after 20 years for multiple allegations that he made racist remarks against the players he was hired to help.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) February 11, 2021
why did we hire this guy pic.twitter.com/GMTh6nz8bM
— Vegas Jags fan (@Jag28fan) February 11, 2021
Since the NFL has a racism issue this seems very fitting of a hire. Truly disappointed in the @Jaguars but not at all surprising.
— Chris Hennessey (@chrishennessey) February 11, 2021
Chris Doyle’s workouts put 13 Iowa players in the hospital. He wasn’t fired. He got an award & became CFB’s highest-paid strength coach.
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) February 11, 2021
Doyle was accused of racial bias by multiple Black players. He got a $1.1 million separation package & only took 8 months to find a new job. https://t.co/vritP8sAQg
Former Hawkeye/current Viking Jaleel Johnson on the new Jaguars strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) February 11, 2021
I guess we can cross Jacksonville off the list of potential destinations he might want to go to in free agency. https://t.co/YtuYup8MVo
It’s a truly disappointing hire by Meyer, who has a history of hiring problematic people who happen know something about football. It’s also an incredibly tone deaf hire in the era of athlete empowerment. Players are no longer viewed as pieces on a gridiron chessboard expected to exist to produce and keep quiet.
Given the very recent history of Doyle’s racial bias coming to light, his hiring doesn’t speak to building an environment where the players can both perform well and be respected as human beings.
Next. Charlie Strong joining Urban Meyer’s Jaguars staff as LB coach. dark