It’s been a mixed bag of coaching performances so far this year, with LSU scoring all their points on the ground and UCF beating Kentucky thanks to fireworks. Will Alabama get back in gear under new coach Nick Saban?
The “nfl” is a well-known football franchise. The team has had many coaches, but it seems the team cannot win without their coach.
The Jaguars have a 2-11 record and are coming off a humiliating 20-0 defeat to the Tennessee Titans. There’s no denying that head coach Urban Meyer is in over his head.
His squad is a disaster. Of course, that was anticipated, but Meyer, like his squad, is plainly upset by his ineptness as a pro coach.
Meyer’s inaugural season as an NFL head coach has been a fiasco, with reports of him getting into a yelling war with a player in the locker room and his quarterback publicly calling him out.
He’s been so poor that John Middlekauff, a former NFL scout, feels he’s not cut out to coach in the league. He even went so far as to brand Meyer a con artist.
Urban Meyer doesn’t have the advantages he’s accustomed to in the NFL, according to a former scout.
After the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer responds | Getty Images/Andy Lyons
Football is played the same way in college as it is in the NFL, with a few exceptions. Despite having similar notions, the two levels could not be more unlike.
Only a few colleges are regarded “blue bloods” in college. They have a long and illustrious history, as well as the top trainers and facilities. Meyer’s alma mater, Ohio State, and Florida, where he established himself as an outstanding, championship-winning head coach, have an inherent edge in the recruiting process, which naturally manifests itself on Saturdays on the football field.
Those colleges also have the greatest supporters, which Middlekauff claims helps them with the “brown bag” recruitment strategy. Given the NIL standards, that’s no longer a problem, but Middlekauff, a former college football operations assistant, essentially said that Meyer had some additional recruiting clout that helped him and his big-time schools get the best players. In the NFL, he doesn’t have that benefit, which might be contributing to his troubles.
“Everyone you see on the field on Sundays, the IRS is aware of their compensation.” The IRS is unaware of all of the payments made to athletes, especially at the highest level [in college]. Brown sacks are what we refer to them as. I’m not a skeptic of cheating. That, in my opinion, is capitalism. On his 3-And-Out Podcast, Middlekauff added, “I laugh at the NCAA; I think it’s a joke, so I don’t blame any coaches for pushing the edge.” “Urban Meyer is the best at pushing the envelope, and he loaded and brown-bagged his teams at Florida and Ohio State, as he should have done, and he kicked everyone’s a**.”
“The deck was always set in his favor,” Middlekauff recalled, “and he took full use of his large program.”
The NFL is a parity league, and Meyer is having trouble adjusting to the level playing field.
More than anything else, high-level college coaches become motivational speakers. They’re the de facto mayors of their college towns, and they leverage their name and reputation in college football to attract the top players. Simply said, the top college coaches are the best recruiters. The astute recruit brilliant Xs-and-Os coordinators to assist them with game day management.
In college football, that’s how it’s done, but the NFL is a very other animal.
Not only must the head coach be a thinker (see Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, and, on the defensive side of the ball, Vic Fangio), but he or she must also “bring it” each week. In the NFL, there is no nonconference ramp-up phase versus the five or six “pancake” clubs. Every week is significant. As Meyer discovers, your name and what you’ve done on a separate level don’t matter.
“Other teams drive huge automobiles and live in big houses as well.” They also have $10-$12 million coaches, ensuring that the NFL is well balanced. Urban Meyer’s finest talent was by far recruiting, since he always had an edge in such situations. In the NFL, direct deposits are used instead of brown bags. “You pay taxes on them, and there’s a salary ceiling, and any club may sign players under that salary limit,” Middlekauff stated.
He brought up Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the fact that he came from Clemson and played for Dabo Swinney, a big-time college coach. What makes Lawrence so thrilled with Meyer and his two NFL championships as a head coach?
“When Meyer says, ‘I’ve won a national title,’ that means a lot to me. ‘I’ve won,’ Trevor Lawrence says, ‘and so have I.’” Middlekauff said the following.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars, what exactly does Meyer bring to the table?
Multiple run-ins with players and other coaches in recent weeks have bubbled over months of tension around #Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, reigniting doubts in league circles about whether Meyer may be fired after only one rocky season. https://t.co/9Eqdajvlg1
December 11, 2021 — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero)
One has to wonder how much of a leeway Meyer will be given with the Jaguars. Sure, he’s a huge name, but as has been pointed out, in the NFL, it doesn’t mean much.
Apart than that, what else does he do for the Jaguars? So… when are you going to show up?
He hasn’t done anything to help the Jaguars improve, aside from being a household name and winning two games. It’s arguable that he has harmed Jacksonville more than he has helped it. From Tim Tebow’s failed PR ploy with the Jags to his own off-field distraction, Meyer has performed about as professionally as a Pop Warner coach. He’s also been accused of calling his assistant coaches losers and having a “heated altercation” with wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. during practice.
He’s been an embarrassment, to be honest.
“Aside from being a renowned man, he has no business in the NFL.” He’s utterly out of his depth. He isn’t the one that initiates the attack. He’s plainly clueless when it comes to defense. In the NFL, his best skill, recruiting, is meaningless,” Middlekauff remarked. “He’s the CEO of the company, yet no one likes him.” I believe Urban Meyer is in over his head and has no idea how to swim. If you put him back in college, he’ll win since he’ll be able to employ his strongest suit. In the NFL, his biggest advantage is that he doesn’t have one. He doesn’t have any advantages.”
In his critique of Meyer, Middlekauff went even farther.
“You’re looking at a complete phony. He’s a fantastic marketer who, right now, I don’t believe he can coach his way out of a wet paper bag,” he remarked. “Urban Meyer attempted to establish himself because his ego is huge, but he’s been smacked in the face and demonstrated that he doesn’t belong on Sundays.” Return to Saturdays.”
Meyer’s incapacity to coach at the NFL level has been clear to everyone who have been paying attention. Shad Kahn, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, will give the legendary college football coach a longer leash.
That’s the main question in Jacksonville right now, and it tells you everything you need to know about Meyer’s first year on the job.
ESPN and Pro Football Reference provided the statistics.
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