Report: Urban Meyer Inks Deal to Coach Jacksonville Jaguars

Meyer compiled a 187-32 record as a college coach but has never coached in the pros

Report: Urban Meyer Inks Deal to Coach Jacksonville Jaguars
Urban Meyer seen during the Big Ten Championship game.
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

According to Michael Lombardi of The Athletic, Urban Meyer and Jacksonville have an agreement in place for him to become the next coach of the Jaguars.

Though the terms of the contract, or the deal itself, have yet to be officially announced, it appears Meyer will be taking over a team that has the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and multiple other selections as well as plenty of money and cap space to use in free agency.

That combination was enough to convince him to pick Jacksonville over the Los Angeles Chargers, the other team he met with about their coaching vacancy. The Chargers have a rising star at quarterback in rookie Justin Herbert and decent talent on both sides of the ball, but that was not enough to woo Meyer away from the Jags.

Meyer compiled a 187-32 record as a college coach during stints at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State and won three national championships, two with the Gators and one with the Buckeyes. The last time he was on the sideline it was with Ohio State during the 2018 season. The health reasons he cited when he stepped down from coaching the Buckeyes after winning the Rose Bowl are the same ones he mentioned after giving up the head coaching job at Florida after the 2010 season.

After he left both programs, sordid details about what had gone on while Meyer was coach came to light, but he was never held accountable as he was already gone. In the NFL where Meyer will be managing professionals instead of college students, perhaps things will go differently. Even if not, if he wins, it won’t really matter.

After making it to the AFC Championship game three years ago, the Jaguars have finished well below .500 over the last three seasons. This season they went 1-15, the worst finish in the history of the expansion franchise. The Jaguars gave up a franchise-record 492 points in the 2020 season and ranked 28th or worse in yards per game, rushing and scoring.

In addition to announcing Meyer’s agreement, Lombardi also reports Ray Farmer is the favorite to slot in as Jacksonville’s new general manager. Farmer formerly served as GM of the Cleveland Browns and is currently is working for the Los Angeles Rams as a scouting consultant.

Elsewhere in the NFL, the Lions have agreed to terms with Brad Holmes, who was with the Rams, to bring him aboard as their new GM. Also, the Falcons are bringing in Terry Fontenot of the Saints as their GM, though it may not be official until New Orleans is done playing.

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