Jacksonville Jaguars fans are upset after former Jags quarterback Mark Brunell ran what could be called an off the field "foot in mouth" play during an appearance on ESPN's Mike & Mike radio program.
In the final moments of his seven minute appearance yesterday morning, Brunell was asked whether he thought the Jaguars were on the short list for a much rumored NFL franchise move to either Los Angeles or London.
He told the show he wouldn't be surprised if the team moved across the pond to London permanently based on conjecture among insiders and team owner Shad Khan's other sports team, English soccer team Fulham Football Club.
Listen to Mark Brunell's statements on the Jaguars potential to move to London below:
The comments set off a wave of criticism on Twitter from Jags fans, some of which you can read below.
Good job Mark, just what we needed. Somebody telling those clueless people at ESPN what they wanna hear. #Jaguars
— James Johnson (@SportsGrind_Don) October 29, 2013
Oh Mark Brunell, saying what ESPN is telling him to say. sigh.
— Mike James (@navybirddog) October 30, 2013
mark brunell's comments on ESPN got desired effect network looking for. All kinds of media talking about remark u can bet was planned out
— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) October 30, 2013
This new @twitter is still better than Mark Brunell's poop mouth.
— Ryan Day (@ryaneatscake) October 29, 2013
Why Brunell, Why? http://t.co/taQYOg4tSw
— Intuition Ale Works (@IntuitionAle) October 29, 2013
Hours after he made the remarks, Brunell himself weighed in via Twitter:
The tweet may have proved to be too little too late for some fans; replies to Brunell included the hashtags #backtracking and #NoPrideForBrunell.
Based on his tweets from the day, Brunell's appearance on Mike & Mike appears to have coincided with a planned business trip to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. He is slated to join the team at ESPN as an NFL analyst after the conclusion of the varsity football season at Episcopal School of Jacksonville, where he has served as head coach this year.
This morning, Brunell appeared on Jacksonville sports radio station 1010XL 92.5 FM to apologize for the remarks, saying he regretted them and he would get more chances to defend both the team and Jacksonville on ESPN.
The second apology has also garnered a lukewarm response from some Jags fans:
@1010XL Nah. Only thing I want to bury is all the Brunell memorabilia.
— ii V I Lenin (@bassplaysdave) October 30, 2013
There were those who said Brunell was entitled to his opinion and didn't need to apologize.
Brunell is scheduled to be inducted into the Jaguars hall of fame — the Pride of the Jaguars — at their December 15 home game against the Buffalo Bills.
You can follow Patrick on Twitter @patrickhdonges.
