This Jacksonville franchise looks a lot different than the one Josh Allen was drafted into just three years ago. When Allen arrived, Doug Marrone was still the head coach, newly acquired free agent quarterback Nick Foles was the starter under center, and the Jags were just a few months removed from an AFC title game appearance.
Now, that’s all changed. Marrone has been replaced with a first-time NFL guy in legendary college coach Urban Meyer, Foles has long since been traded and has now been replaced by Trevor Lawrence, and Jacksonville has a league-worst 1-15 season in the rearview.
But in an appearance on “Good Morning Football,” Allen said he’s excited about the new-look Jaguars team, especially now that it has a franchise quarterback in Lawrence. Allen said he reached out to Lawrence immediately after the team selected him.
“I hit him up as soon as he got drafted. I let him know I got his back…,” Allen said. “Personally, I know he’s going to light the scoreboard up. Especially with all the receivers and running backs we got. I’m excited to see that.”
As Allen alluded to, this will be a young offense, but it’s a talented group that includes running back James Robinson, who had a standout rookie year in 2020 as an undrafted free agent, as well as receivers D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault. And if there’s one thing Meyer’s good at, it’s developing successful offense.
Allen spoke of Meyer as if he’s been a breath of fresh air for the franchise.
“It’s everything we needed so far,” Allen said. “He’s doing everything he can to make this team great. I like Coach Meyer personally. I’m ready to get rocking.”
For fans, it should be encouraging to see that Meyer is building relationships with the star players in the building like Allen. One of the biggest differences between coaching in the NFL and coaching in college is the fact that you have to manage highly paid professionals instead of college students, many of whom are teenagers.
Only time will tell if Meyer can bridge that gap successfully, but based on Allen’s comments, it certainly sounds like he’s off to a great start.