With his Jacksonville Jaguars defeating the Miami Dolphins 23-20 in London on Sunday via a last-second field goal, Urban Meyer is the winningest coach in NFL history on games played outside of the United States by virtue of his 100% winning percentage.
Meyer’s winning percentage in the States, unfortunately, is substantially worse as he remains winless as an NFL coach on American soil with Jacksonville sitting at 1-5 on the season heading into a Halloween matchup with the Seahawks in Seattle.
The 57-year-old was able to forget about that reality briefly after Sunday’s win and was emotional when describing what it felt like to get the monkey off of his back and finally get a victory at football’s highest level.
One of the most prestigious coaches in college football prior to moving up to the NFL, compared winning against the Dolphins to the three combined national championships he won while coaching at Florida and Ohio State. Asked if Sunday’s win over the putrid Dolphins was as big as some of his wins over the best NCAA football programs in the country, Meyer responded in the affirmative. “I think it was,” Meyer said. “Maybe even including some of those [national championships].”
At least temporarily, the win took the focus off Meyer’s failings as a coach and his questionable off-field choices.
“At my age, I’m just so excited for the guys,” Meyer said a day after the Jaguars’ 23-20 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. “I know how hard they worked. I’ve been talking about this locker room, and I’ve been talking about the team. I know it’s one game. I know, I know, I know … I just know I love these players and it was great to see their faces after the game. It was a celebration of overcoming [some tough circumstances]. A lot of guys, a lot of people invested a lot into this organization – and it was great to see that. I just kind of stared at them. I just really enjoyed watching them.”
Wonder if the Londoners who had to watch a pair of 1-5 teams slug it out felt the same way.
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