Urban Meyer is officially back in the coaching ranks. Thursday saw lots of reports of him finalizing a deal to become head coach of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, and that deal became final Thursday night, with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network breaking the news and then the Jaguars’ official account and website following suit, and showing the scoreboard lit up in Meyer’s honor.
The deal is done: Urban Meyer is the next #Jaguars coach, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 14, 2021
Already lighting up the scoreboard.@CoachUrbanMeyer | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/mmvLrZZMsP
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 14, 2021
Meyer, 56, spent two seasons in the broadcast studio this time around. He retired from his role as Ohio State’s head coach after the 2019 Rose Bowl, and joined Fox Sports and Big Ten Network not long after that. And he was praised by many for his work on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff. It will be interesting to see if they bring in another former coach to replace him.
As for Meyer’s role with the Jaguars, it’s notable that he was announced as head coach before any announcement of a general manager. (The team previously parted ways with both head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell.) That suggests that he’ll have a lot of control over the roster, and that could be particularly interesting with the Jaguars holding the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. It’s the first time they’ve ever held the first-overall pick, and there’s been a lot of talk that Meyer will have them use that pick on star Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
This marks Meyer’s first NFL role, as all of his previous coaching experience comes from the collegiate ranks. That includes time as a head coach at Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-2018). He won national championships in 2006, 2008, and 2014. We’ll see how he does in the NFL.
[@Jaguars on Twitter]
