After a several-day waiting period, the Jaguars-Urban Meyer deal is finalized. The former national championship-winning Florida and Ohio State coach agreed to terms with Jacksonville.
Long the frontrunner for this position, Meyer spent the past few days closely connected to his first-ever NFL foray. He ultimately decided to accept the Jaguars’ offer. The team has announced the hire.
“I’m ready to coach the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Meyer said. “Jacksonville has an enthusiastic fanbase, and the fans deserve a winning team. With upcoming opportunities in the NFL Draft, and strong support from ownership, the Jaguars are well-positioned to become competitive.
“I’ve analyzed this decision from every angle — the time is right in Jacksonville, and the time is right for me to return to coaching. I’m excited about the future of this organization and our long term prospect for success.”
Meyer, 56, won three national championships while in Gainesville and Columbus — in 2006, 2008 and 2014 — and helped develop Alex Smith into a No. 1 overall pick while at Utah. Meyer was a college coach from 1986-2018, coaching briefly at the high school level in the mid-’80s. This will be a new challenge for the well-regarded coach, who has appeared on the NFL radar during past hiring periods.
Factoring in his previous stops at Utah and Bowling Green, Meyer has a lifetime 187-32 record in the college ranks. With Ohio State alone, he went 83-9 across seven seasons. He will almost certainly have the chance to coach Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence to start his NFL run. Working as a Fox analyst since stepping down as Ohio State’s HC, Meyer rated Lawrence as his No. 1 quarterback — over Buckeye passer Justin Fields — entering this season (video link). Lawrence has been expected to go No. 1 overall for a long time now, and the Jaguars’ 1-15 season locked them into the 2021 top slot.
Conflicting reports emerged about Meyer’s salary demands, with one putting them in the $12MM range. Given the Jags’ interest in Meyer, it is likely he will be one of the NFL’s highest-paid head coaches. The lengthy delay between the Jaguars’ interview with their preferred candidate and his acceptance, however, did reportedly frustrate the team. Meyer has stepped away from coaching on multiple occasions, doing so more than once at Florida, so it will be interesting to see how long he will stick around in Jacksonville.
It will also be interesting to see how Meyer and owner Shad Khan coexist. Khan took on a greater say in personnel matters last year and confirmed he will remain heavily involved in roster decisions going forward. Considering the franchise’s strong interest in Meyer, he will almost certainly have a significant say in personnel matters as well. The Jaguars have yet to hire a GM, but the to-be-determined executive will now walk into a situation featuring two high-profile power brokers.
Meyer has been linked to multiple assistants already, including former Texas HC Charlie Strong and Texans DC Anthony Weaver, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo and Fox 26’s Mark Berman (Twitter links).
Old news
Merry late christmas to any jags fans you guys finally got a competent coach
Good luck with that.,the minute it starts to go bad he will have health concerns.
ehhhh he always wins it all at least once before he bails…I bet Jags fans would be ok with that lol
long way to go before that’s a realistic possibility
That was in college. He won and then quit when allegations of cheating or breaking rules came up. Won’t have the ability to break recruiting rules in the NFL
Dead on.
4-12 first season 5-11 second season 3-10 third season when he gets fired
He will be having a heart attack the forst game on the sideline when he is down 40. He will then say due to my momma, and my wife’s health I need to step away. He won’t be there long enough to do his usual cheating which is why he usually as an “ ailment”.
Cheating worked for 20 years in New England
6 rings baby
The coordinators he brings in will really determine if he is successful or not
should go very well or very badly
I give it 2 years
I think it will work out well. He’s going to have Trevor Lawrence one of the best young QB prospects in a long while.
Lawrence will have two really nice young WRers in Shenault and Chark. They have a nice young defence upfront and CJ Henderson at CB, I think Meyer and Lawrence could be good draw cards for FA’s too. They definitely need to upgrade the O-Line and look for backfield help and a RB but I think it could all work out.
I think they go 5-11 first year, 7-9 second year and then 10-6 the third.
Does he take the job without Lawrence very doubtful
What are you on about? He’s already taken the job and the Jags already have the first picked locked up…. your comment is so pointless
actually the comment makes sense. I think what they’re trying to say is that maybe he told the jags he’s not coming unless he has a say in the draft pick
Or more likely he is saying that if the Jags didn’t have the first pick he wouldn’t have accepted the job. Or had much interest in the first place. Far from pointless. In fact beyond money it was probably the most important factor of all. Cheer up dude you don’t have to get your panties in a twist about everything.
I see purple saying it won’t work and a few saying it will. I think it’ll work. He’s a good coach, he’s getting a team that’s got good picks and a good amount of cap space. First year will be all about laying the foundation but it’s not far fetched to think they’ll be way better by year two especially compared to this season. Just getting Lawrence alone changed things there but then you add additional picks and free agents. I really think he’s gonna have success there. Don’t think he will stay too long but I don’t think his time there will be looked at as a failure that’s for sure.
He’s a good recruiter. He surrounds himself with good coaches. I’m not sure he’s a good enough coach to manage the NFL game.
I guess we shall see. I’m not a Jags fan but I’m pulling for him. I see the potential there with that first picks and other good picks plus all that cap space. There’s some good free agents this off season too. Really curious to see if Lawrence does great in the NFL also
This is a nice change of pace for Urb…it’s usually scorched earth when he leaves, not when he gets there…
Meyer left Florida for health reasons & then he left Ohio State for health reasons so what makes anybody think he won’t have to leave Jacksonville because of health reasons
Who cares “why” he leaves when he leaves?
All that matters is what happens while he’s there and the Jags have nowhere to go but up!
Urban just visited the library and checked out the book, “How to successfully cheat in the NFL”.
… for dummies
He can add it to the college version, which he wrote the forward of.
You guys sleeping? Saleh got hired by the Jets but haven’t seen anything lol. Man, thought for sure he would land a better gig than the Jets. Hopefully he can be a apart of them turning it around. IMO losing him is huge even though some fans think it’s easy to replace a coach or coordinator, née hire or promoting from within doesn’t always pan out. Actually goes wrong more times than that it works out. Wish the rug nothing but success but I’ll miss his energy and what he brought to the team
I’m glad the Jets finally got some stability. That franchise has been laden with turmoil for far too long, but Saleh’s positive attitude will be welcomed to the lockerroom. He did well to get the most out of many San Fran defenders.
However, this is just one piece to the puzzle. The Jets still need to either surround Darnold or whatever draft pick with better weapons and find a competent offensive coordinator, since that obviously is not Saleh’s area of expertise. I actually like Joe Douglas and he did well to find some late sleepers such as Javelin Guidry, Bryce Hall, and John Franklin-Myers (acquired from LAR). I believe Saleh can work in sync and help turn the culture around.
The only worry would be Saleh being the second coming of Todd Bowles. I’m still not sure if a defense-first coach is the best option in an offensive-driven league, but if NYJ can acquire the right coordinator, they’ll be in good hands
Yeah, I for sure thought that Saleh could have garnered a better gig than that. I suppose he welcomes a challenge-and I agree with wagner. This is better for the Jets than it is for Saleh.
On the other hand, the AFC East has, for the moment, the weakest depth in terms of opposing quarterbacks of the teams to have had interest. That’s sure to change, but maybe it factored into Saleh’s ultimate decision.
Good for Saleh. Jets need a coach with that kind of fire.
You know when you watch someone trying to back out out of a blocked driveway, very, very slowly, and you just keep thinking to yourself “don’t do it, don’t do it, just progress forward, and pick a different strategy”? Well, this is not like that, because this has commercials.
Just here for the chest pain jokes
Poor guy will be offering LESS $$$$ to players now at the Jags…O-State could offer way more pay!!!
You got an owner who’s convinced he’s the only guy smart enough to make decisions. Good luck Urban…your going to need it.
I really don’t see Urban Meyer being successful.