What’s Urban Meyer’s Plan for Jacksonville?
The first year coach already appears to be in over his head
There was supposed to be hope for the Jacksonville Jaguars after last season. Despite finishing with a 1–15 record, Jacksonville had a light at the end of the tunnel. That light was quarterback prospect Trevor Lawrence. The now number one pick was supposed to be the main building block for new head coach Urban Meyer and the Jaguars. Jacksonville was set up this offseason with plenty of cap space and draft capital to build the best possible team around Lawrence.
But instead of that, it’s been about how many ways Urban Meyer can go wrong.
The first time NFL coach appears to be on a power trip. In college it was always Urban’s call. Whatever he wanted for his program he got it. Meyer now is trying to bring that approach to the NFL. Good luck.
While Jacksonville has historically been a losing franchise, you seldom heard about it due to a lack of media interest. But now with Lawrence and Meyer in the fold, a lot more stories are going to be coming out of the Jaguars. And the way things are going so far, those stories are going to be a mess.
Urban Meyer was hired to be Jacksonville’s new coach in January. Since then there hasn’t been a shortage of head scratching moves. The first coming when Meyer decided to hire former Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle. The move was given high criticism and for good reason. Doyle was let go from Iowa after multiple players said he bullied and discriminated against them. Meyer and Jacksonville were put under the fire, leading to Doyle resigning a short time after his hire. When asked about the situation, Meyer said “We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved.”
The confusion surrounding the Jags doesn’t stop there either. Fast forward to the NFL Draft. It’s widely known the team is going to select Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick. A move even Meyer wouldn’t screw up. But then comes the rest of the draft.
When you finish 1–15, there’s clearly multiple holes on the roster. On offense, the Jaguars finished in the bottom-five in total yards per game (fifth-fewest) and points per game (third-fewest). On defense they finished in the bottom-two in total yards allowed per game (second-most) and points allowed per game (second-most). But even bad teams have a few talented players. That’s no difference for Jacksonville.
Rookie running back James Robinson was one of the lone bright spots for the team last year. He finished fifth in the NFL in rushing while playing only 14 games. So you would think the Jaguars wouldn’t select a running back early in the draft.
Well not with Urban’s Jaguars. Instead of addressing many other glaring needs with the 25th pick, Jacksonville decided to draft running back Travis Etienne. The team could’ve improved their bottom-six pass defense by drafting cornerback Greg Newsome or safety Trevon Moehrig. They could’ve protected their new QB by drafting a tackle like Teven Jenkins or Liam Eichenberg. What about fixing a league-worst pass rush (1.1 sacks per game) by selecting defensive tackle Christian Barmore or edge rusher Azeez Ojulari.
The point is the Jags made a mistake. With so many holes on their roster, there’s no excuse for the team to select a position that is one of their only strengths. But the circus surrounding Etienne and Jacksonville doesn’t stop with the selection.
It’s now being reported that Meyer is going to have Etienne spend his entire rookie minicamp at wide receiver. Cause why wouldn’t you select a running back to be receiver when actual receivers like Rashod Bateman and Elijah Moore are still on the board. While the move in and of itself is already ridiculous, it becomes more head scratching when you consider the Jaguars don’t even need a gadget type guy. Last year’s draft pick Laviska Shenault is already that. Shenault caught 58 passes while also taking 18 carries throughout last season. But somehow Meyer still thought the right move was selecting Etienne.
The show’s not over either. As the offseason goes on so does the noise coming out off Jacksonville. And perhaps the most confusing move is the one that’s going to cost Urban Meyer the locker room before he even has it. It’s been reported that the Jaguars are going to sign Meyer’s former college quarterback Tim Tebow to play tight end. A move that most simply can’t wrap their head around.
Tebow, who hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2012, is going to attempt a whole new position. Despite being 34 years old, and never having caught a single pass in the NFL, Meyer decided bringing in Tebow was the right move. It’s never been more blatantly obvious that it’s about who you know. The move isn’t talent based whatsoever, which is already causing debate inside Jacksonville’s locker room. According to Jeff Darlington, “Not everybody — obviously Urban Meyer is the one behind all of this — but not everybody in the Jaguars building is thrilled with this. They don’t think that it necessarily sends the proper message to the rest of the team in the locker room and the guys trying to make this team.” But just like in college, whatever Urban wants goes.
Jacksonville is proving to be must see TV and for all the wrong reasons. They had the number one pick. Trevor Lawrence was supposed to be the main attraction. But instead the news surrounding Jacksonville is everything but their new QB. There’s a reason the Jaguars are a historically bad franchise. Best of luck Trevor.
