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After firing Doug Marrone following a 1-15 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars will have former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer as its new coach. Meyer initially said that he was done coaching after the Buckeyes won the 2019 Rose Bowl, but revealed that he felt the “time was right” for him to return to coaching.
Meyer revealed that Jacksonville winning the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft also played an important role in his decision to take the Jaguars head coaching job, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
#Jaguars coach Urban Meyer on if the No. 1 pick played into it: “Huge. I think Shad and the organization is positioned and it’s not by accident. It’s primed to put together a good team.” Says he wouldn’t enter into a situation where he couldn’t win.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2021
Urban Meyer, who is one of just three coaches to win a college football national championship at two different universities, admitted that he wouldn’t have taken on the Jaguars’ head coaching job if he didn’t have a chance to win in his first head coaching stint in the NFL. The team will likely select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State signal-caller Justin Fields with the first overall pick in the draft, which could form the foundation of a much-improved team that the 56-year old mentor is expected to assemble in Jacksonville.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan, meanwhile, revealed that the management is working closely with Meyer to not just fill out the team’s roster, but also in determining the team’s next general manager.
#Jaguars owner Shad Khan declines to say who will have final say on the roster, but says Urban Meyer will be working with him to find their new GM. “Everyone will be carrying out Urban’s vision."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2021
Aside from the first overall pick and a chance to draft a talented quarterback, the Jaguars will have a lot of cap space and 11 draft picks, making it easier to understand why becoming the team’s head coach was an attractive option that was enough to lure Meyer out of retirement.