Category: Urban Meyer

Dan Mullen discusses his thoughts on Urban Meyer’s jump to the NFL

Meyer’s longtime offensive coordinator at the college level believes his mentor has what it takes to win in the NFL.

It’s no secret that successful college coaches rarely succeed in the NFL. For every Jimmy Johnson, there are dozens of Chip Kellys. And Greg Schianos. And Doug Marrones.

When it comes to new Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, who has spent 15 years as a head coach but has never once coached at the NFL level, it’s clear that history isn’t exactly on his side.

But few coaches achieve what Meyer has at the college level. And Florida coach Dan Mullen, a former longtime assistant under Meyer, believes that his mentor will succeed coaching in the NFL, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

“I do think Urban’s a great head coach, great leader, great motivator of players, obviously, and his staff and people that work for him does a great job of developing them,” Mullen said. “He always surrounds himself with great people. He sets a very high standard and sets the bar extremely high within the organization and has been successful everywhere he’s been.

“So you’d think he’d be successful with the Jags.”

Mullen conceded that the gig will present a challenge to Meyer. After all, connecting with college players (who are 18-22 years old) and fully grown, multi-millionaire NFL players are two very different things. But he also correctly points out that the circumstances can often explain struggles more than coaching itself, as evidenced by Bill Belichick’s difficulties as the coach of the Cleveland Browns.
“I guess we’re going to have to see,” Mullen said. “Let’s see how that works. I think you can look at a lot of different coaches in a lot of different areas. There’s a lot that have gone from college to the NFL and been extremely successful and some that haven’t. It might not just be that coach.
“Whether it’s NFL to NFL, college to the NFL, NFL back to college, I think there’s a lot of different circumstances that go on within organizations sometimes. The easiest thing to do is say this coach was successful here, but not here, and why that didn’t work. I think there are so many different things to go in and say ‘Hey, this guy is good here and not here.’”
There aren’t many coaches more familiar with Meyer than Mullen, so Jaguars fans will hope his prediction is accurate. After all, Shad Khan’s last two head coaches were already in the NFL, and it didn’t lead to success. Maybe Meyer, who has a different background, could bring different results.

Here is why the Jags may not view their OL as a huge issue

Urban Meyer called the Jags’ O-line pretty good last week, and when considering the flashes they made in 2020, it’s understandable why.

The 2021 offseason could be a huge one for the Jacksonville Jaguars with new coach Urban Meyer now taking over. He’s basically said he wants to win early in his tenure, and his past shows that a losing season, even on the NFL level, won’t be acceptable by his standards. 

Part of the reason Meyer took the job as the Jags coach is that they have the resources to get fast rather quickly with 11 draft picks in April’s draft and the most cap space of any team at the moment. Still, with the Jags having so many needs, it could be a tough task to make that big of a jump. 

One area that Meyer has openly talked about is the offensive line, telling NFL Network’s Jane Slater that the group was “pretty good,” and that it wasn’t a unit that needed to be blown up. With several fans feeling the opposite way long before Meyer came into the picture, his comments made for an interesting discussion over the last few days.

Just as fans have seen with coaches in the past, Meyer possibly could be creating a smokescreen. But it may be an even higher chance that he isn’t. And when looking at the Jaguars’ interior offensive line, it’s really a possibility that his confidence in the line may be genuine. 

Last season, the Jags’ interior offensive line may have produced the best play we’ve seen out of a trio in a while between A.J. Cann, Brandon Linder, and Andrew Norwell, though the bar may be set low. The unit aided James Robinson in registering a historic season for undrafted players, and he ultimately finished fifth in the league in rushing with 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, the trio was better as pass blockers, with all their players registering a pass-blocking grade of 73.8 or higher. 

Overall, the Jags were very close to having their three main starters in the interior register grades of 70 or higher, per PFF. While he was injured for a while, Linder finished the season with an 80 overall grade. When healthy, there aren’t many centers fans should want to put Trevor Lawrence behind as he has been one of the best in the league. 

As for Cann and Norwell, they were just shy of the 70-grade mark. The two registered a 67.9 (21st of 80) and 69.0 (18th of 80), respectively. Before his forearm injury, Norwell had a 71.1 grade, and his play was the most acceptable fans have seen since his signing. That said, their performance was possibly acceptable on Meyer’s part when he looked back at the 2020 tape, and with so many needs, he may feel the trio should stay intact. It also should be noted that Norwell is a former player of his. 

The area that may be more of a concern is the exterior, as the tackle play was iffy. Second-year right tackle Jawaan Taylor especially struggled and didn’t take the step most fans were hoping to see after his rookie season. However, he’s only 23 years old and was a high draft selection (picked 35th overall), so it’s hard to see the Jags not giving him another chance. Add in the fact that Taylor was coached by Meyer’s former assistant in college, Dan Mullen, and he may be even more optimistic about Taylor’s outlook.

So that leaves potentially one spot the Jags could be eyeing for an upgrade: left tackle. It’s been well documented that Cam Robinson’s contract expired in 2020, leaving the Jags in a situation where they must decide on his future.

The team could either give him a long-term deal, franchise tag him for the year, or let him hit the open market. Of those two options, the tag seems to be the wisest idea because its one-year term would allow him the opportunity to show some consistency. However, if the Jags see an opening where they can find an upgrade in free agency or via trade, they could let Robinson go. 

While there weren’t a lot of members retained from the 2020 staff, Meyer did hold on to offensive line coach George Warhop. That also could be an indicator of Meyer’s confidence in what he saw on film. Regardless of what they decide to do at left tackle, that’s possibly the only spot they feel a new starter could go, and if so, that would explain why Meyer feels the unit doesn’t need to be blown up like some of the fans. 

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

Urban Meyer hints that OL may not be a top need for Jags

The new Jaguars coach seemed to indicate that he liked the pieces the team has on the O-line in recent comments.

As important as the quarterback position is, perhaps the most crucial building block for a successful offensive unit is the guys up front. You can have talent under center and at the running back position, but if your offensive line can’t allow you the time to make things happen, it’s pointless.

That’s the reason why many expect the Jaguars to be aggressive in addressing offensive line needs both in free agency, with veterans like Trent Williams available, and through the draft. Assuming Jacksonville takes Trevor Lawrence with the first pick, it would make sense if building up a strong offensive front was a top priority.

But a recent quote from coach Urban Meyer after Lawrence’s pro day indicates the Jacksonville coaching staff may not see the offensive line as a major weakness.

“Oh, it’s all I think about 24/7. And this is a transformable decision for the Jaguars. We all know that it’s a quarterback sport obviously in the NFL,” Meyer after Trevor Lawrence’s pro day.

“I was talking about this [earlier], our offensive line is pretty good. It’s not a blow up offensive line. You know, we got some other areas we got to fix. So I have a vision of what it looks like. Coach Schottenheimer and [Darrell] Bevell, we’ve had those conversations, but it’s going to be built around what we have, and there’s some good pieces there but we’re gonna make it even better.”

Based on these sentiments, it seems Meyer believes the offensive line has good pieces and doesn’t need major enhancements, or “blow-ups.” It’s hard to imagine Jacksonville won’t address the offensive line at all, especially with it being a strength of the draft, and this quote could be a red herring from Meyer.

But if you take him at face value, it seems the Jaguars coach likes what he has on the offensive front. That could explain why he kept offensive line coach George Warhop, who coached the unit under Doug Marrone as well.

If there is an area the Jags may address on the offensive line, it may be at tackle where the play wasn’t as good as it was along the interior. Ultimately, fans will have to see how Meyer truly feels about the group, whichquestioned for a while.

Trevor Lawrence’s shoulder surgery ‘went great,’ remains on track to be ready for training camp

Presumptive first overall pick Trevor Lawrence had successful surgery to his non-throwing shoulder Tuesday and remains on track for NFL camp.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans can now breathe again as presumptive first overall pick Trevor Lawrence successfully had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder Tuesday. After seeing Dr. Neal ElAttrache of Kerlan-Jobe in Los Angeles, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero says the procedure “went great,” so it’s on to the rehab process. 

Lawrence had an early pro day last Friday to allow him to start his rehab process as soon as possible and be ready for NFL training camp. He spoke with Urban Meyer the week prior, and the Jags head coach suggested throwing earlier than he originally planned so the Jags’ assistants could see him in person. 

While there were some minor incompletions, Lawrence didn’t disappoint providing the Jags with several highlight throws with Meyer, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and Jags offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell watching within close range. 

With the surgery complete, Lawrence was given a four to five-month window to fully recover. However, he could be throwing again in six to eight weeks. Regardless, even if his recovery time goes into the season, the Jags are expected to take him with the No. 1 overall pick. 

Trevor Lawrence’s early pro day stemmed from a simple suggestion made by Urban Meyer

The new Jaguars head coach suggested the former Clemson quarterback have his pro day early to speed up his recovery timeline from surgery.

Presumptive first overall pick Trevor Lawrence had the opportunity to show off his arm in front of NFL scouts at his private pro day on Friday. He chose not to participate in Clemson’s March 11 pro day to move up the timetable for surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.

According to NFL.com, the suggestion to hold his own pro day early came from none other than Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer.

“I (told) him there are three choices. No. 1, you can wait until the March 11 pro day, but now your (recovery) is getting near August, because it’s a five to six month injury. The second (choice), you can not throw. He’s probably a good enough player, he could’ve said ‘I’m not doing it,’ him and his agent,” Meyer told NFL Network’s Jane Slater. “Or the third (choice), I said ‘Why don’t you just go grab a ball and throw for a little bit? … And he said ‘Let’s go.’ That was it. Next thing I know, we’re here at a pro day that they put together (quickly). That’s a guy that loves football and is confident in his ability.”

Lawrence is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday, and he’s expected to be fully recovered by the beginning of training camp.

There appears to be a developing relationship between the two, who will likely be united in Jacksonville after the NFL Draft. Meyer, who was previously a college sports analyst for Fox Sports, has analyzed Clemson’s program thoroughly over the years, so he’s well aware of Lawrence.

The Jaguars will hope the coordination of the pro day is the first of many great collaborations between the two. Early indications prove the relationship between Lawrence and Meyer has the potential to work out, but fans will have to wait until the draft and beyond to see it in action in the NFL.

Chris Doyle submits resignation papers, won’t be with Jags

A day after his controversial hiring, Jags assistant Chris Doyle has put in his resignation papers.

A day after announcing his hiring, Chris Doyle has turned in his resignation papers to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the team has accepted. As a result, the status of their director of sports performance role is now vacant if the team wishes to keep it.

Coach Urban Meyer released the following statement Friday night stating that Doyle didn’t want to be a distraction and that his hiring was one the organization wishes they considered a little more heavily for everyone involved.

Chris Doyle came to us this evening to submit his resignation and we have accepted. Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved.  We wish him the best as he moves forward in his career.

Doyle’s hiring came with a lot of backlash as he was about eight months removed from leaving Iowa University, where he was a strength and conditioning coach, last June due to allegations of bullying and racism. However, after the announcement of Doyle’s return to football, it was clear many in the football community questioned the decision.

Hours later Meyer was asked about the hiring and said he “vetted” Doyle thoroughly alongside general manager Trent Baalke and owner Shad Khan.  

“I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years,” Meyer said Thursday via Zoom. “Our relationship goes back to when I was at Utah and he was the No. 1 strength coach. I vetted him thoroughly along with our general manager and owner. I feel great about the hire, about his expertise at that position. We vetted him thoroughly, and sports performance is going to be a high, high priority.”

Late Friday afternoon, The Fritz Pollard Alliance joined the mix of several voices to question the Jags’ decision and pointed out that it was a “failure in leadership”. The organization’s director,  Rod Graves, also called the move unacceptable in a statement.

“At a time when the NFL has failed to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches,” Graves said Friday afternoon. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a tenure riddled with poor judgment and mistreatment of Black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for the University of Iowa. Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years,’ reflects the good ol’ boy network that is precisely the reason there is such a disparity in employment opportunities for Black coaches.”

According to reports, the allegations against Doyle resulted in an investigation at Iowa last summer. The results revealed that various Black players felt they were victims of systematic racism and mistreatment during their time with the program.

“In sum, the program’s rules perpetuated racial or cultural biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity,” the report states. “The program over-monitored players to the point that they experienced heightened anxiety and maintained a culture that allowed a small group of coaches to demean players.”

Multiple players took to social media to call Doyle and Iowa’s program out around the time of his investigation. In early June, he was placed on administrative leave while the investigation resumed. Eventually, both sides decided to mutually part ways and reached a settlement worth $1.1 million. The settlement also included no admission of wrongdoing.

Meyer explains why new OC Bevell is the right man for the job

The new Jags coach said Darrell Bevell had the best interview, but a ringing celebrity endorsement from one of his former players helped.

Darrell Bevell has a major task at hand. The new Jaguars offensive coordinator will be the man primarily tasked with the development of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who Jacksonville will almost certainly take with the first overall pick.

Despite that, coach Urban Meyer said he’s confident that Bevell was the right hire. In the staff’s introductory presser, Meyer said the former Lions play-caller had the best interview in a large candidate pool (and a high-profile endorsement, to boot).

“The amount of people we interviewed was as many as I’ve really ever done,” Meyer said Thursday. “His interview was by far the best. His ability to adapt to my vision of the offense, which is a little different than maybe he’s done in the past, the flexibility and not rigidness, that was very important to me because we do have the first pick in the draft and there is a vision that I have about the style of offense. I’m certainly not going to call plays — that’s his responsibility. But I have a real clear vision of what I want the offense to look like.

“And by the way, Brett Favre — I called I don’t know, 10 people about Darrell — and Brett Favre, who I’ve known for quite some time, when he made a comment [saying], ‘That’s as good a coach as he’s ever been around, and by the way I had my best year with him in Minnesota.’ And he said, ‘Hire the guy.’ Brett Favre, the respect I think we all have for him, I listened closely.”

Jags fans will hope Favre’s impression of Bevell, who was his quarterback coach from 2003-05, is an accurate one. Bevell was also Favre’s offensive coordinator in Minnesota, and he won a Super Bowl coaching offense for the Seahawks before spending the last two seasons under Matt Patricia in Detroit.

He’ll have some pieces to work with in Jacksonville, including the talented receiver duo of D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault and the NFL’s third-leading rusher last season in James Robinson in addition to Lawrence. The question will be how much improvement he can get in one year from those pieces.

Watch: Trevor Lawrence puts on impressive throw day display with Urban Meyer watching closely

The Jacksonville Jaguars will undoubtedly be drafting Trevor Lawrence, yet the team didn’t hesitate to drop in on his pro day.

Friday marked an important day for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence as the future No. 1 overall pick held his workout at Clemson’s indoor facility Friday morning. And while the workout was one that didn’t have to be done, Lawrence wanted to respect the NFL’s scouting process and put on a show for those who came.

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With 31 NFL teams attending, none were able to get a better view than the Jaguars as Urban Meyer watched the pro day from a distance of about five yards.

Lawrence said the workout was one that was brought up on short notice, so he had about a week to prepare. That still didn’t stop him from putting on an impressive display, which included a couple rockets down the field.

What a way to end a workout, right?

As previously reported, Lawrence held his throw day early due to discovering a left labrum issue, which will require repairing. After his series of throws on the field Lawrence said he believes the procedure will prevent him from throwing for six to eight weeks (late March to early April). He also added that the full clearance process will take four to five months (June-July), which means he’ll be available for training camp.

Regardless of how Friday went, the Jags already have their minds made up to take Lawrence. Now, it’s just a matter of dealing with the anxiety for fans as April’s draft can’t get here soon enough.

Bevell, Meyer, and Schottenheimer to attend Lawrence’s workout Friday

Trevor Lawrence will throw for the NFL tomorrow, and of course, the Jags will be there.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be taking the field tomorrow morning for a workout in front of the whole NFL, although it’s pretty much a guarantee that he’ll be going first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Thursday, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell told the media he will be attending with Brian Schottenheimer and Urban Meyer in what will be their last look at Lawrence before he has a left shoulder injury repaired.

In what was his first meeting with the Jacksonville media, Bevell also said he’ll personally be paying attention to Lawrence’s velocity, as it’s something that can be hard to gauge on film.

“I think for me it’s just important, like I said earlier, just to see the ball come out of his hands,” said Bevell. “I think one of the hardest things to do on tape is to be able to tell velocity and just the way it comes out of his hand. I also want to see the command that he’s going to have. [It’s] kind of our first opportunity to be able to get him in person, so [I’m] excited to do that.

The news broke of Lawrence’s workout and injury last week. While it isn’t known how or when he sustained the injury, it is known that he’ll be ready for training camp. That would seem to indicate that the labrum injury to his non-throwing shoulder isn’t severe.

As for Bevell, he isn’t foreign to rookie quarterbacks after working with Russell Wilson during his first season and beyond. That said, fans should be very excited about the OTA and training camp phase as Bevell had a long and mostly successful run in Seattle.

Urban Meyer discusses controversial decision to name Chris Doyle to Jags’ staff

Urban Meyer’s staff with the Jacksonville Jaguars has already me with controversy as he’s bring aboard former Iowa coach Chris Doyle.

After weeks of anticipation by Jacksonville Jaguars fans, new head coach Urban Meyer made his staff official Thursday. However, not unlike his past staffs, this one will come with some controversy.

Among those named to Meyer’s staff was former University of Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, who left the Hawkeyes program last June due to allegations of bullying and racism. Now, almost eight months later, he’s received an opportunity as the Jags’ director of sport performance.

Once the Jags made their staff announcements official via social media, it didn’t take long for reporters to point out Doyle’s past. With an official presser introducing several assistants following the announcement, the media didn’t waste any time asking about Doyle’s hiring.

In a nutshell, Meyer insists the hire was thoroughly discussed with general manager Trent Baalke and owner Shad Khan.

“I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years,” Meyer said Thursday via Zoom. “Our relationship goes back to when I was at Utah and he was the No. 1 strength coach. I vetted him thoroughly along with our general manager and owner. I feel great about the hire, about his expertise at that position. We vetted him thoroughly, and sports performance is going to be a high, high priority.”

The allegations against Doyle resulted in an investigation at Iowa last summer. The results revealed that various Black players felt they were victims of systematic racism and mistreatment during their time with the program.

“In sum, the program’s rules perpetuated racial or cultural biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity,” the report states. “The program over-monitored players to the point that they experienced heightened anxiety and maintained a culture that allowed a small group of coaches to demean players.”

The report was a result of multiple players calling out Doyle for racism. Eventually, on June 6, Doyle was placed on administrative leave as the investigation continued, but eventually he reached an agreement to part ways with the program. That agreement included a settlement worth just over $1 million and also included no admission of wrongdoing.

Doyle also disputed the accusations against him in the following statement:

“I have been asked to remain silent, but that is impossible for me to do. There have been statements made about my behavior that are not true,” Doyle said. “I do not claim to be perfect. I have made mistakes, learned lessons, and like every American citizen, can do better. At no time have I ever crossed the line of unethical behavior or bias based upon race. I do not make racist comments, and I don’t tolerate people who do.”

Before the hiring of Meyer, some observers expressed concerns over controversies during his time at Ohio State and Florida. A key reason for those concerns is the fact that the Jags were coming out of a situation where Tom Coughlin was a known enemy of the NFLPA.

Now, the Jags might be trending in a similar direction, and Doyle’s hiring could provide some hurdles, as players such as Chris Conley have already taken note. Free agency, which begins in March, could be the first big test of how the decision will be viewed. That said, for a coach who is trying to win right away, Doyle’s addition is a puzzling hire, but only time will tell if it hinders Meyer’s success as a first-year head coach.