Urban Meyer and the Jaguars are in advanced talks as the two sides seek to finalize a deal that would make Meyer the team’s new head coach, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora confirmed. A significant part of the negotiation focused on upgrading and staffing, according to Albert Breer Monday morning quarterback.
The two sides are reported to have met on Wednesday, five days after Meyer met Jaguar owner Shad Khan on Khan’s boat in Florida. Shortly after Meyer’s first meeting with Khan, La Canfora reported that the longtime college football coach was the favorite to become the Jaguars’ next coach.
Meyer, 56, has never been a professional coach. A defensive back at the University of Cincinnati, Meyer burst into high school ranks in 1985 before spending two years as a graduate student at Ohio State. He spent the next 15 years as a varsity assistant before becoming head coach of Bowling Green in 2001. He spent two years there before helping Utah (also led by quarterback Alex Smith) at finish with a 12-0 record in 2004. Meyer then moved to Florida. , where he helped the Gators win the national championship in 2006 and 2008.
After a one-year hiatus, Meyer became Ohio State coach in the fall of 2011. In seven years at Columbus, Meyer led Ohio State to a record 83-9, the 2014 national title. and another college football playoff appearance in 2016. Meyer announced his retirement from Ohio State ahead of the Ohio State Rose Bowl victory over Washington on January 1, 2019. Meyer passed the last two years as a college football commentator.
In his 17 years as a college head coach, Meyer’s success was only matched by Nick Saban of Alabama and Dabo Swinney of Clemson. Meyer has won 85.4% of their matches during that span, the third-best winning percentage in FBS history. One of three coaches to have won a national title at two different schools, Meyer is the only coach in major college history to have four winning streaks of at least 20 games.
As coach of the Jaguars, Meyer would share a division with Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who served as Meyer’s staff defensive assistant at Ohio State from 2011 to 2013. Vrabel has often credited Meyer for his success as a coach. coach after a successful 14-year career as an NFL linebacker. Vrabel is grateful that Meyer gave him a second chance after calling their first interview in 2011 “brutal” and “horrible.”
“I’ve called him before every interview I’ve been in,” Vrabel said of Meyer in 2018, via Eleven Warriors. “I said, ‘No interview will ever be worse than this one’ and realized that it is better to be prepared and that it is better not to take things for granted. So I appreciate that, and that’s one of the reasons that helped me get to where I am today. “
Despite a 1-15 record in 2020, the Jaguars have some positive things that Meyer should be able to build on. The Jaguars have the No.1 pick in the 2021 draft, a pick many expect will be for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The current Jaguars roster includes several promising players, including running back James Robinson, receivers Laviska Shanault Jr., DJ Chark, Keelan Cole, guard Andrew Norwell and center Brandon Linder, tackle Jawaan Taylor, linemen. defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson and DaVon Hamilton (who played for Meyer at Ohio State) linebackers Josh Allen, Joe Schobert and Myles Jack, and cornerback CJ Henderson.
Meyer is said to be looking to follow in the footsteps of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as a successful longtime college coach in the NFL. Other notable college coaches who have had success in the NFL include 2020 Hall of Fame inductees Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil. The first coach to win a National Championship and a Super Bowl, Johnson only needed three years to transform a team of 1-15 Cowboys into consecutive champions. Vermeil, after leading UCLA to a Rose Bowl victory over Woody Hayes and the Ohio State Buckeyes, guided the Eagles to their first NFC title before leading the Rams to their first Super Bowl victory.
