The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2021 schedule will have an interesting mix of opposing coaches on it, which should make Urban Meyer’s first year in the NFL an interesting one. It includes notables like Mike Vrabel (a former assistant to Meyer), six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick, and Kyle Shanahan to name a few.
However, with Meyer and Pete Carroll being college legends, none of those matchups may be more interesting than Week 8’s game against Seattle. Oddly enough, the matchup will mark their first-ever against each other as they didn’t face each other in college. For that reason, CBS Sports listed it tenth on their list of the best coaching matchups for the upcoming season.
When it comes to making the jump from college football to the NFL, no one has had more success than Pete Carroll. After spending nine seasons at USC, Carroll made the move to Seattle in 2010. In his first season with the Seahawks, Carroll took the team to the playoffs, which was impressive, because Seattle was coming off a 5-11 season in 2009 the year before Carroll arrived. Meyer will certainly be hoping to emulate the success that Carroll has had at the NFL level. Basically, this game matches up two of the best college coaches of the past 20 years, except we’re getting it in the NFL, and it’s going to be exciting to see how things play out. The best part of this is that it will mark the first time that Carroll and Meyer have faced off because they didn’t coach against each other at the college level.
Both Carroll and Meyer combine for four College Football National Championship titles. Carroll was the first to get one at USC in 2004, then Meyer was able to win two with Florida (2006 and 2008) and one with Ohio State (2014).
Clearly, Carroll and the Seahawks organization are a group Meyer respects. He’s hired many of Carroll’s former assistants in Darrell Bevell, Brian Schottenheimer, Nick Sorensen, and Sanjay Lal, which also adds intrigue to this matchup.
In terms of the rosters on the field, this game could provide the Jags with an excellent test as they should be clicking by Week 8. They will be up against a roster with plenty of veteran talent (like Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner) and an organization that has made the postseason the last three years.