The question the Jacksonville Jaguars need to ask is not whether Urban Meyer is worth $ 12 million a year to coach the team, as ProFootballTalk reports he is looking for.
It’s as if he’s worthy of a golden opportunity to use the Jags’ significant current resources – four top-50 concepts, including number 1 and a $ 81 million salary cap – to top the roster at the moment reconstruct.
If so, even that much money does not matter. (Meyer would be one of the highest paid coaches in the league, though far behind Bill Belichick, who is likely to receive more than $ 20 million a year in New England.)
NFL teams can always make money. They rarely try to rebuild it, rarely.
Meyer is an interesting candidate and not just because he has won three national titles at the university level, including two at the nearby University of Florida. This is how he wins the titles that stand out – creating culture and maximizing talent – because it can perfectly translate into the Jaguars’ overhaul.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Meyer will win in the NFL. The pro ranks are littered with excellent university coaches who could not do it, including Nick Saban. And Meyer has struggled to maintain his health under the stress of university seasons, where losses are rare. How will he handle the world of benefits with Any Given Sunday?
However, there is never a guarantee. Belichick, Andy Reid and Pete Carroll were fired at one point. The NFL is a meat grinder.
Meyer’s success was his ability to create a winning, even perfectionist, mentality, and then use it to attract high-level competitors who want to get the most out of their talent.
You need good players to win. This is true in college and the NFL. Meyer won with a lot of that. He also won by lifting what he inherited before he could just set up a roster. He went 17-6 in Bowling Green in two seasons and then 22-2 in Utah, and quickly achieved big wins.
In Florida, Meyer won a national title in Year 2 and then took home two more seasons. He ‘retired’ for a season, rejoined the state of Ohio and led 12-0 in his first season in Columbus. Two seasons later, he led the Buckeyes to a national title. It’s a lot of winning with other coaches’ players.
As for his own recruiting, Meyer’s secret was the ability to identify not only extremely talented players, but also the extremely talented players who were also extremely competitive. He appreciated the latter almost everything.
‘I do not believe coaches from the NFL, the university or the high school [realize the importance of competitiveness], ”Meyer said a few years ago. ‘And I was guilty of it for a while. You talk for a while about his competitiveness and then you talk about his footwork. I do not really care about his footwork. If we coach him, we’ll go after him. We can learn it. You can not coach competitiveness. ”
He annually ran a yard camp called “Friday Night Lights.” He will get as many amazing high school prospects as he can find, put everyone under the lights in the campus stadium, make music explode and make them fight in different exercises and events.
Then he would sit back and find out which guys would win a championship.
A player’s “desire to win is without a doubt the most important thing,” he said. ‘I used to be busy with’ Is he a three-quarter? ‘ [throwing motion]? Does he have four fingers on the laces or five? “I do not care anymore.
“Will he choke you to win a game?” Ask Meyer. “If he does, I’ll take him.”
Translate it to the NFL? If the Jags think so, Meyer might be perfect.
The assets available to the new coach and general manager are enticing. With the No. 1 draft pick, Jacksonville could have Clemson full-back Trevor Lawrence calling pro scouts the best QB prospect in nearly a decade – one the university has known for its competitiveness and leadership.
Then there are three more draws (a first time and two seconds) that should fall between the early 20s and the overall number 47. Plus all the money for free agencies, with Meyer now recruiting again, promising a new day in Jacksonville.
While the worries about Meyer will deal with the inevitable loss (no NFL team will drop from 1-15 overnight), the Jags will offer the freedom to push his team down. It suits him better than, for example, Houston, which has Deshaun Watson, but in the first two rounds has almost $ 16 million over the hood and has no attractions.
If nothing else, Meyer creates excitement and confidence, which needs a franchise that has always struggled to capture the imagination of its region.
The Jags have reached a respectable three AFC Championship games in 26 seasons, but ticket sales are often at the point where the team plays in London annually (and there were originally two games for the 2020 season there).
Meyer helps with that. So too – even more so – Lawrence.
If the Jags believe Urban is worthy of dealing with a situation the franchise can’t afford to blow, a few million extra a year need not matter.
He deserves it.
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