Less than a year after he was brought to Duval County in a splash move, Urban Meyer's tenure as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars came to a predictable end just after midnight on Wednesday. The National Championship-winning head coach at both the University of Florida and Ohio State was fired after going 2-11 as Jaguars head coach in a season that also featured various scandals, including Meyer reportedly berating players and coaches.
From start to finish, Meyer's reign as head coach of the Jaguars was a disaster on and off the field. And while he will remain an esteemed coaching figure in the college football ranks, Meyer has now achieved a level of infamy in the NFL reserved for those who found themselves headed out the door just as quickly as they came in -- a number of whom, just like Meyer, were big-time college coaches and big-time hires.
Here is a look at some of the shortest head coaching tenures in NFL history.
Bill Belichick - New York Jets (24 hours, 2000)
At first glance, it's odd to put arguably the greatest coach in pro football history in the same category as other coaches who quickly imploded. But as it happens, Belichick's tenure as head coach of the New York Jets meets the criteria.
By now, the story is well-known: After Bill Parcells stepped down as Jets head coach following the 1999 season, the arrangement had been that Belichick would be promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach. But at his introductory press conference, Belichick quickly turned the tables and stunned the organization by announcing his resignation as head coach.
For their part, the Jets have never gotten over Belichick's resignation nor lived it down. Belichick became the head coach of the New England Patriots shortly thereafter, and the Jets have been mostly terrorized by Belichick's Patriots teams over the last 20 years.
George Allen - Los Angeles Rams (Two preseason games, 1978)
In 1978, George Allen returned to the Los Angeles Rams -- where he had won NFL Coach of the Year honors in 1967 and overseen the Fearsome Foursome -- after a split with Washington. However, the dynamics of his role with the Rams were not quite the same as they had been at his last team.. He did not have full control over personnel, and players bristled at his disciplinary tactics and autocratic approach.
As a result, Allen only lasted two preseason games before he was fired by team owner Carroll Rosenbloom. Defensive coordinator Ray Malavasi took over as head coach, and the Rams would end up making it all the way to the NFC Championship Game. Allen's failed second stint with the Rams had little impact on his legacy, as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Pete McCulley - San Francisco 49ers (Nine games, 1978)
After serving as a receivers coach for Ted Marchibroda and George Allen, Pete McCulley was hired as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1978. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, McCulley had made a point to try and improve the Niners' woeful offense, but his methods did not work quite as intended.
During the offseason, the 49ers made a splash move by trading for former USC star and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson, despite the fact that Simpson was aging and coming off of knee surgery. The trade for Simpson, and the 1978 season as a whole, was a colossal disaster: The 49ers were the worst team in the league at 2-14, scoring the fewest points in the league with 219 while also turning the ball over an NFL record 63 times. McCulley only lasted nine games before being fired, posting a 1-8 record.
The 49ers did not even get the No. 1 overall pick in the Draft for their troubles, as they had dealt their 1979 first rounder to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Simpson. However, not all was lost -- for the 49ers. McCulley would be succeeded as 49ers head coach by Bill Walsh, who turned the team into a dynasty and established a legacy that the franchise still follows today.
Lou Holtz - New York Jets (13 games, 1976)
Before achieving great fame as the National Championship-winning head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a young Lou Holtz was hired as head coach of the Jets in 1976 after successful tenures at William & Mary and NC State. His lone season as Jets head coach has since become regarded as one of the worst in franchise history. Holtz had little knowledge of the NFL, and his team subsequently floundered with an aging Joe Namath and Holtz's insistence on the option offense he had run at NC State.
The Jets finished 3-11, with their only wins coming against the 2-12 Buffalo Bills and the 0-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Holtz resigned prior to the season finale to become head coach at the University of Arkansas. He never again coached in the NFL.
Bobby Petrino - Atlanta Falcons (13 games, 2007)
The cautionary tale of Holtz's failure in the NFL was not one that the Atlanta Falcons heeded when they hired University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino in 2007. Petrino was brought aboard to improve the Falcons' offense and refine dual-threat quarterback Michael Vick, but things quickly went south when Vick was suspended and later sent to prison for his role in an illegal dog fighting ring.
The timing was horrible, as the Falcons had traded backup quarterback Matt Schaub to the Houston Texans in March, leading Petrino to have to rely on three journeyman quarterbacks with predictable results. Petrino's team played poorly and received his methods poorly, and Petrino subsequently got out of dodge by resigning after 13 games to become head coach at Arkansas.
