Frank Reich and the Indianapolis Colts might be struggling this season, but the Jacksonville Jaguars have taken things to a completely different level. Their decision to hire Urban Meyer, who came into the NFL with a complete lack of professional experience despite a stellar college career, is looking like an unmitigated disaster.
Let’s start with the positives. Jacksonville has Trevor Lawrence as their franchise quarterback, and every bit of data we have suggests he will be a tremendous player in the future. The negatives, unfortunately, include basically everything else, as the Jags are one of just two winless teams in the league.
Meyer’s problems on the field might not come close to what has happened off of it, as a video featuring Meyer getting very close to a woman who was not his wife has circulated around social media. Per some NFL insiders, Meyer’s response to the team has made things worse.
Mike Silver claims that one Jaguars player said Meyer has “zero credibility in that stadium” after this incident, adding in the fact that he “had very little to begin with.” Yikes.
THREAD 1) The Urban Meyer situation in Jacksonville has reached a crisis point, especially in the locker room. One player told me, 'He has zero credibility in that stadium. He had very little to begin with.'
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021
Surely it didn’t get worse, right? Think again!
Meyer canceled a team meeting, apologizing individually to position groups by claiming the woman in question was “just there dancing.” One player claims that the rest of the team was befuddled when he dropped that explanation, adding that everyone “started dying laughing” when he left the room.
4) Said one player: 'We looked at him like, WTF? Right when he left everyone started dying laughing. And he knew it.'
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021
The Colts should be thankful the Jaguars hired Urban Meyer.
Not only is jumping from college to the NFL like going from pre-algebra to advanced calculus from a schematic point of view, but Meyer no longer has the same authority he did at Florida or Ohio State. When players have some agency and the local media isn’t in his back pocket, he comes unraveled.
The Jaguars needed either an offensive genius that could help Lawrence shine, or an experienced, older coach that can get the rest of this roster into fighting shape. Instead, they took what was behind the mystery door in Meyer, and the results have been so chaotic that all Colts fans can do is sit back and laugh.
When the Jaguars decide to get Lawrence a genuine NFL staff, he will be a thorn in Indianapolis’ side for years to come. Unfortunately, as long as Jacksonville sticks with a coach in Meyer that has lost the locker room after a month, Indianapolis need not concern themselves with their foes in Duval County.
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