OT: Adam Schefter of ESPN says Urban Meyer assembling staff, meeting with Jaguars
Per Schefter, just in case Urban ends up taking the job in Jacksonville, he has been assembling a staff. Nothing set in stone yet. I think it would be interesting to see if his system will have the same level of success in the NFL.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:06 PM ^
Enlighten me on the six wins that are guaranteed
January 9th, 2021 at 2:08 PM ^
I believe the Jags have a lot of cap space. So they may be more improved than you think if they can get the right FA's.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:41 PM ^
Also a good QB can turn things around in a hurry. If Lawrence plays as advertised they might get to 8-8. They have a good receiver in DJ Chark. A good running back who was in the top five in the league in rushing yards in a bad offense. They still have some pieces on defense but need to grab some more to be competitive but they aren't totally devoid of talent.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:57 PM ^
$81M to be exact. That plus Lawrence and Meyer might get them to 7-8 wins, which is probably our ceiling given next year's schedule.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
Your bet favors the ex-buck with 4 extra chances, so M at disadvantage from the outset. Seems about par for football.
January 9th, 2021 at 7:03 PM ^
Fair enough. Bets on higher winning percentage?
January 10th, 2021 at 1:58 AM ^
Jimmy
January 9th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
As recently as 5 years ago I would have outright said Urban would fail in the NFL. I’m not so sure anymore. The NFL has adapted so much on offense and Urban has shown the ability to adjust and adapt himself. I think there is a good chance he could be successful. I also think his personal style is better aligned with NFL success than Nick Saban. I would like to see it happen because I am curious. I would also like to see it happen because it hurts OSU. I still don’t believe Day isn’t significantly leaning on Meyer for his success in both game planning and recruiting.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:21 PM ^
There's a cultural thing here, too. J'ville is often said to be the most conservative city in the United States. A UF town, where he was already revered. He'll have strong community backing, and an opportunity to get it right. If I'm him, I'm establishing all of the conditions I can possibly imagine TO succeed, then insisting all or most of them are met before taking the job.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:28 PM ^
If Jacksonville ends up with a decent quarterback prospect who fits into whatever system Meyer runs (presumably Trevor Lawrence), I could see him being successful. If Lawrence ends up being a bust, I think he fails.
Many of the college coaches who've gone into the NFL have run into that. Pete Carroll had a wee bit of success with Drew Bledsoe at New England (with a couple of playoff appearances and a wildcard win), but his career didn't really pick up until he was in Seattle and they picked up Russell Wilson. Nick Saban had Gus Frerotte, Daunte Culpepper for about four games and Joey Harrington. Steve Spurrier would have been thrilled to have Joey Harrington.
But Meyer can start at Jacksonville knowing that he almost certainly has a prime QB prospect from the start.
(Can Jacksonville still fuck this up? I know the Lions could.)
January 9th, 2021 at 1:13 PM ^
Why exactly do people want him to fail? He’s a mercenary. If he does well it’s for the betterment of football anyway. Plus it means Ryan Day may leave OSU sooner if that style translates well.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Why exactly do people want him to fail?
Because he's a shitty human who has scandal where ever he goes and has now lied about having health issues to sneak out of bad situations twice now
January 9th, 2021 at 2:45 PM ^
Why?
January 9th, 2021 at 1:16 PM ^
I mean, millions of dollars and no pesky NCAA rules...is the perfect treatment for his health issues.
Stay away from those cheerleaders, Urban
January 9th, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
If he could take Kevin Wilson with him, that would be fantastic. I have thought for a while that he's the real mastermind behind their current offense. He arrived at the same time as Day to be co-OC and he's been elite at every stop. Day was pretty mediocre at every stop before OSU.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
This is 100% factual. Kevin Wilson won at Northwestern. He’s coached numerous heisman level offensive skill position guys. I think Kevin has much more to do with their success than people realize.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:40 PM ^
Then Wilson should be on our radar for after Harbaugh leaves.
January 9th, 2021 at 5:07 PM ^
Wasn't he let go from Indiana for player mistreatment?
I'm sure that would go over well.
January 9th, 2021 at 8:51 PM ^
The official reason was "philosophical differences" but there were complaints about his treatment of players, including at least one player with a concussion. See here.
January 9th, 2021 at 10:16 PM ^
I’m not going to go into many details because I was much too close to that situation, but Indiana believed Allen could carry forward what Wilson had started and be more of a players coach. So Wilson and IU agreed to move on from each other. Wilson is VERY much like Harbaugh when it comes to injuries. Wilson overall though is an extremely nice guy who wants the absolute best for each of his players. IU just saw an opportunity to take a guy that was under Wilson’s wing that would be much more of a players coach. Programs like IU need a players coach to get everyone to buy in. Much like a lot of the coaches that have been mentioned on here as potential Harbaugh replacements. Wilson and Harbaugh are much alike.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:24 PM ^
On the flip side, one could argue Meyer going to the NFL and being successful is good for OSU. It gives the Bucknuts a data point to say ‘see .. our system is successfully in the NFL and will be prepared for success. ‘
January 9th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
He may actually help out a bit by drafting OSU guys. Also, I would not be surprised if Haskins is the backup there next year.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:25 PM ^
Double post
January 9th, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
I’m not as concerned about his “system” translating to the NFL given the shift we’ve seen in pro offenses the last 5-7 years.
The question will be how he does in a place where roster construction is on a more level playing field. Nick Saban didn’t win when he couldn’t go into every game with a sizable talent advantage.
We saw Harbaugh could win in that reality. It remains to be seen if Meyer can/will.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
I think the sample size for Saban at the Dolphins is too small to say he failed. I think if he would have stuck it out he would have been successful. He didn't like dealing with the prima donna's on pro rosters. We all know how he made a lineman cry.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
Losing record overall. Worse in year two than year one. Then the reason for the small sample size is he quit.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:43 PM ^
Not sticking it out means he failed.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
Good coach but how's he going to do his running QB thing in the NFL?
January 9th, 2021 at 2:44 PM ^
Mike Vick, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Randall Cunningham, and Josh Allen would like a word with you. Keep in mind that OSU QB's don't run as much as you think. Maybe 10 times a game. The point is to make the QB a running threat so that the defense has to keep him in mind on every play. He doesn't have to be the primary runner.
January 9th, 2021 at 6:59 PM ^
His running QB style will be useless in the NFL, has he ever won by passing the ball?
January 9th, 2021 at 9:05 PM ^
Haskins had 50 touchdown passes in Meyer's last year at Ohio State and that team gained roughly twice as much yardage through the air as it did on the ground, so I'm going to say yes. Even if Meyer was suspended the first three games of the year.
I said elsewhere in the thread it looks like he's going into a relatively good situation if Jacksonville drafts Lawrence as expected. At the same time, he's not going to have a roster advantage like he did at OSU and Florida so we'll see if his can actually put together something that works in the NFL.
Also, if he succeeds in the NFL, then he may not go back to coach at the college level. Which would be good. He might also steal some of Ryan Day's top assistants, which would be even better.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:42 PM ^
I honestly don't know if his style of play will work in the NFL, but I am fairly certain he will not be remotely ready for the losing and having to motivate guys who make more money than him and are sophisticated enough to buy into all his bullshit. Like, most NFL coaches are full of it to some extent, but I have to imagine that a chunk of players will see through his sanctimony rather quickly
January 9th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^
I'm not sure he will need to bring the sanctimony to an NFL position. In college you need to recruit the whole family. Much of that stuff painted on the walls was as much for Mom & Dad as it was the kids.
In the NFL Urban simply has to tell his players to reference the NFL & Team guidelines. He can be who he is. Ultra focused on winning. That may not work with some guys, but I bet there are still enough in the NFL to build a solid team with.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:44 PM ^
Maybe, but a common thread at his two most recent stops was a gross disregard for the rules if it gave him a competitive advantage. And I think all NFL guys are hyper-focused on winning; I don't think that's unique at the HC level and if that's all you're focused on it's going to be hard to keep that going year-in/year-out as roster have huge turnover and it's virtually impossible to maintain a dominant team due to FA, guys retiring, etc. I think that's always been the problem for elite college coaches going to the NFL; you are not going to out-talent virtually every team you meet for any sustained period of time. And I think that's part of the reason why he did so well in college; he looked the other way on a bunch of transgressions because his teams were elite, and guys sort of ignored the rough patches because, again, you're winning a ton. But if you can't deliver on the wins then your personality and ability to work with the locker room kicks in, and I honestly don't know if Meyer has the personality to survive in that environment.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:22 PM ^
I don't think Urban's lose affinity for rules makes a difference in the NFL. In college you cheat to get the players you want. You may also encourage or create a culture of steroid use to gain a physical edge. Both of those have very real impacts on winning.
In the modern NFL, the only potential cheating I have ever heard of was either the Patriots filming other teams practices or teams trying to tamper with signing a free agent. I guess Meyer may get caught on the tamper with a free agent thing but it is a lot harder to hide that as NFL owners will rat out others unlike in college.
I think we are agreeing that Meyer will not be able to cheat his way to a talent advantage which leaves it on his ability to evaluate talent, game plan, adjust scheme, and motivate. I guess I'm saying I think Meyer's success has come just as much from those things as it does his talent advantage.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:21 PM ^
How many guys on an NFL roster make $12M a year? The qb and maybe 1 or 2 more players and thats it.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^
Jacksonville has some talent. A lot more than one might presume based on their record. Throw in a good draft, and I think they can improve fairly quickly. Better job than the Jets IMO.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:05 PM ^
Urban is not Chip Kelly, he will not try and fit a square peg into a round hole. He is a great football mind and is smart enough to know that his college system will not lead to NFL success. I for one think it will be interesting to see him mesh his system into an NFL system, thinking the Chiefs offense on steroids. On top of this, he has a great eye for football talent and has shown a great ability in player development. Like most NFL coaches his success or failure will be decided by the organizations ability to draft and sign players in free agency.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:55 PM ^
Urban's system is a little more run focused than the Chiefs. Good thing he'll have a good running back in Jacksonville if he takes the job. After taking Lawrence with the first pick he's going to want to solidify the O-Line and maybe add another running back in the later rounds. The defense can wait for now.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:30 PM ^
Isn't Fields also draft eligible? If so, wouldn't Meyer + Fields be a legitimate possibility at Jax?
January 9th, 2021 at 2:16 PM ^
Take Gattis.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:19 PM ^
Damn, I guess those health issues that made him quit his previous 2 jobs disappeared again...
What a funny coincidence
January 9th, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
Quack, quack. Who cares?
January 9th, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
As a CEO/organizer of talent, I think he will be fine. He’ll get desensitized to losing pretty fast too.
I don’t think he stays an NFL coach for too long, but I could see him having a nice 3-4 years in Jacksonville. If anything, he will be a great coach to see the Jags through the dark days ahead and at least set them up for success.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
Ryan Day would be a great offensive coordinator
January 9th, 2021 at 2:40 PM ^
We’ll see how long it is before those health issues come back. He’s probably going to lose more games next year than he did in his entire tenure at OSU. The NFL is a results-based business, much more so than college, and while Jacksonville is nowhere near as unforgiving a market as, say, New York or Chicago, he’s still going to be subject to a kind of criticism he’s never faced in his career once he starts losing.
Meyer has been able to thrive in college by beating teams because he is a far superior recruiter with far superior talent across the board. Well, he’s going to a team completely devoid of talent right now. A team that everyone else in the league is feasting on. Probably only the Jets have less talent. And recruiting prowress doesn’t mean shit in the league. It’s about how good of an X’s and O’s guy you are, as well as that of your staff.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:55 PM ^
Jacksonville is a good fit because the division is pretty poor and an opportunity exists to win it nearly every year. Seems like the best team rotates randomly among all four teams. Indy and Tennessee are obviously both in the playoffs, but Indy is going to need a new QB next year or the year after, and I don't think Tennessee will be a perennially dominant team with Ryan Tannehill. Houston has Watson but no picks this year so they're a few years away from competing. Meyer could draft Lawrence and get a solid staff and probably put together at least a playoff appearance within the first few years.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:37 PM ^
I think it would be interesting to see if his system will have the same level of success in the NFL.
I think it would be interesting to see his system sans at OSU, although that probably requires Day to move along as well, but it's a start.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:48 PM ^
Bringing back the old band, including Tom Herman and Zach Smith, for a tour of the Jacksonville strip bars.