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Urban Meyer Reportedly Expects to Replace Doug Marrone as Jaguars Head Coach
January 2, 2021
Former college football head coach Urban Meyer, who won a pair of national championships at Florida and one for Ohio State, reportedly expects to be named as the Jacksonville Jaguars' next head coach.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Saturday that the Jags are expected to replace incumbent head coach Doug Marrone shortly after the team's season ends on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
He then provided this note on Meyer: "The team has shown interest in former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who has been lining up a staff and telling people he's close to in the football community that he expects to land in Jacksonville, per sources."
Meyer went 187-32 during 17 seasons as the head coach for Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. Ten of his teams finished in the top six of the Associated Press poll.
Meyer stepped down after the 2018 season because of health concerns and has worked as a college football analyst for Fox Sports. A foray into the NFL would be his first-ever since starting his coaching career with St. Xavier High School outside of Cincinnati in 1985.
If the 56-year-old Meyer isn't the final choice or decides to stay retired, then his OSU successor, Ryan Day, will be under consideration, per Rapoport. Day has lost just one game in two years as the Buckeyes' head coach and piloted the team to the College Football Playoff National Championship against No. 1 Alabama this year.
Whoever takes the Jaguars' job has a tough task ahead. Jacksonville is 1-14 after dropping its last 14 games, although the team has some talented players on both sides of the ball, including linebacker Josh Allen and running back James Robinson.
Adding a player like Lawrence would be a tremendous boost to any franchise, and Meyer reportedly is interested in working with him.
"It smells like he just wants Trevor Lawrence," an anonymous executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic. "Good for him, and if I were to draft Lawrence, I would look for the best head coach."
Jacksonville will have the opportunity to take Lawrence on April 29, which marks the first day of the 2021 NFL draft. The Jags have secured the draft's No. 1 overall pick.