The Urban Meyer Jacksonville Jaguars experiment has more skeptics than believers
The Houston Texans were the laughingstock of the NFL offseason. Then they opened the regular season by blowing out the Jacksonville Jaguars and officially passed the baton.
Urban Meyer’s grand Florida experiment is threatening to collapse in fantastic fashion. The Jaguars were 1-15 last season and this year actually looks worse.
Meyer’s discomfort with the NFL is so evident — and his reputation for double talk is so entrenched — that his name began trending on social media the second USC fired head coach Clay Helton last Monday.
Few bought Meyer’s half-hearted refutation of reports and rumors that he might jet for Southern California, either.
“No chance,” Meyer said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down to avert eye contact. “I’m here, committed to try to build an organization.”
The reality, however, is that there is widespread skepticism of Meyer, 57, and his desire and ability to stick it out in the pros. Meyer has fueled all of it himself.
Some of Jacksonville’s players reportedly “aren’t thrilled” with some of Meyer’s methods, per CBS Sports, and he’s rubbing both coaches and players on his team “the wrong way.”
Denver Broncos defensive end Dre’Mont Jones, who played for Meyer at Ohio State, laughed when asked if he was surprised that NFL veterans might bristle at his former college coach.
“Am I surprised by it? No,” Jones said with a chuckle. “Why? I just know how he is. I’m not gonna go into any great detail about it. But it doesn’t surprise me.”
“A lot of his philosophies were [primarily] college-based, and you can’t do that with 30-plus men or even 25-plus men who’ve been around the league,” Jones added. “They know what they’re doing now and they’re well established. So you gotta shake things up with how you coach.”
After a preseason loss to the Browns, Meyer publicly complained about his own assistant coaches keeping their play calls too vanilla. Airing out assistant coaches to the media is a good way to create some anonymous sources who won’t mind spilling dirt.
“I think sometimes coaches [say], ‘We can’t show this, we can’t show that,’” Meyer said. “And I’m like, ‘Why? Tell me. Explain to me why.”
So Meyer reportedly has had “repeated issues” with coaches on his staff and there is a “disconnect” among coaches on his staff with pro experience and those who only know college, per CBS. A source also told CBS that Meyer’s temper “has everyone looking over their shoulders” and that he “becomes unhinged way too easily.”
Then there was former NFL GM Michael Lombardi’s tweet that”there is something brewing” after the USC firing and that his sources in Columbus, Ohio, say Meyer “might love going back to college.”
It makes sense why he would, too: College athletes’ ability to rake in endorsement money under the NCAA’s new Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) has completely shifted the recruiting landscape.
A decorated coach like Meyer now could wield his full Rolodex of connections to compete with any program to assemble a perennial powerhouse.
He also would be able to micromanage and tower over the program of so-called ‘amateurs’ as he pleases, compared to the NFL, where managing grown men is different.
The Tim Tebow signing and release was a red flag. He’s lucky he didn’t keep him in training camp past first cuts. It was an insult to any player trying to make a roster.
Then Meyer split reps between No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew in a manufactured quarterback competition during training camp, only to trade Minshew to Philadelphia for a conditional sixth-round pick.
Then Meyer showed no filter when he admitted publicly that players’ vaccination status had been considered during final cuts.
Even if his honesty was refreshing, it was a rookie mistake by a coach who is supposed to be Jacksonville’s experienced savior — not the reason for NFLPA investigations.
And it actually prompted a statement from the Jaguars organization walking back Meyer’s comments which, knowing him, would not sit well that he had lost control of the situation.
The Jaguars’ decision to give Meyer the keys to their kingdom was a gamble from the start.
Owner Shad Khan hired Meyer despite a checkered past of college scandals and controversies, with three national championships to his name but no NFL experience on his resume.
Maybe Meyer will get this turned around eventually, but that’s not where this looks to be headed. This looks like one of the many college coaches who just couldn’t cut it in the pros.
Only this time everyone has their eyes locked on Meyer, and no one would be surprised if he pulled the plug before the team did.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
No team caught the NFL’s attention more than the Arizona Cardinals in a 38-13 Week 1 road beatdown of the Tennessee Titans. Quarterback Kyler Murray made at least three video game plays with his legs and arm that arguably no one else in the league is capable of (with the possible exception of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes). And edge rusher Chandler Jones had a stat line for the ages: five sacks, six QB hits, six tackles, four tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles. Kliff Kingsbury’s team now will host the Minnesota Vikings in a favorable Week 2 matchup before annihilating Meyer’s Jaguars on the road in Week 3. The Cards could easily be 3-0 for their Week 4 division clash with the L.A. Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., the site of Super Bowl LVI. …
Tua Tagovailoa has received some misplaced praise for the Miami Dolphins’ Week 1 win over the New England Patriots. Remember when the Giants’ Daniel Jones got shredded for committing one red zone turnover in a Week 1 loss to Denver? Tagovailoa, holding a 17-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter, threw a horrendous interception on 3rd and 7 to the Patriots’ Jonathan Jones. It gave New England first down at the 50 with 8:07 remaining. And Bill Belichick’s offense drove and looked to have the game won, until Damien Harris fumbled on the Dolphins’ 9-yard line. Tagovailoa and Miami’s offense then ran the clock out on a victory. It’s just important for football fans to understand the context of these mistakes and why they matter in the evaluations of these quarterbacks, sometimes in spite of the result. …
Eagles center Jason Kelce turned back the clock in Nick Sirianni’s first win as Philadelphia’s head coach over the Atlanta Falcons. Kelce, 33, is getting up there and only signed through 2022, but the Super Bowl champion looked as agile and imposing as ever charging upfield and taking on linebackers on the second level. …
There’s no telling if the Eagles are good, but their debut certainly seemed to serve notice that they’ll be competitive at least in the NFC East, rather than the presumptive bottom-feeder projected before the season. …
Philly is hosting the San Francisco 49ers, who spent the week practicing at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia in between games for a second straight season. They were coming from a win in Detroit, where Dan Campbell’s Lions definitely showed more fight and ability in the second half than expected from that roster. ...
It’s only one game, but Eagles receiver and 10th overall pick DeVonta Smith wasted no time scoring his first NFL touchdown. And Chargers 13th overall pick and left tackle Rashawn Slater looked great in a Week 1 road win over Washington. The Eagles, remember, traded with the Cowboys to jump the Giants and draft Smith. Then the Giants traded back from 11th overall to 20 with Chicago. The Bears took QB Justin Fields and the Giants selected Kadarius Toney. …
For all of Russell Wilson’s offseason discontent, by the way, Seattle’s opener in Shane Waldron’s offense served notice: look out. Wilson’s top highlight was a 69-yard bomb of a TD throw to Tyler Lockett on a 2nd and 20. A ridiculous talent …
Finally, what a TD catch by the Steelers’ Diontae Johnson last week in Buffalo, and what a statement early win by Pittsburgh on the road. Now time to back it up against Jon Gruden’s Raiders, whose sloppy and head-scratching Monday night overtime win over the Ravens was only outdone in drama by the Giants and Washington on Thursday night.
