It’s been a tough Year 1 for coach Urban Meyer in Jacksonville. Inheriting a team that went 1-15 a year ago, expectations weren’t particularly high for the new staff. But this team hasn’t improved much at all despite the addition of a generational talent at quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, and Meyer has had his own controversies.
Namely, the hiring of former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle, who was fired from his previous post after allegations surfaced of him making racist comments toward Black players (he resigned shortly after being hired by the Jags). Then there was the video that went viral of Meyer dancing with a woman who is not his wife at a bar when he decided to stay in Ohio instead of flying back with the team after a Week 4 loss to Cincinnati.
However, in spite of the off-field concerns and on-field struggles, it seems very unlikely that owner Shad Khan, who has been notoriously hesitant to make big-picture changes, would give up on Meyer after Year 1. With that being said, it seems likely at this point that the team could make several changes to its coaching staff after the season.
Given the offensive struggles this season, the obvious candidate who could find his name on the chopping block would be offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Though Bevell won a Super Bowl in the same role in Seattle and played a major role in developing quarterback Russell Wilson, he is perhaps best known for his goal-line play call in the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. Long story short, Bevell called a pass play (which was intercepted) instead of giving running back Marshawn Lynch the ball to do what he does best.
Bevell’s offense is arguably regressing, and while injuries can certainly be partially to blame for that, the play-calling continues to be unimaginative and puts Lawrence in tough situations. Could Meyer, who is known for his offensive acumen, look to make a change?
It’s certainly possible, but at the same time, forcing Lawrence to learn his second scheme in as many years is less than ideal when it comes to quarterback development, and if Meyer doesn’t want to make a rapid change to the entire offense, he could look to move on from receivers coach Sanjay Lal instead.
Jacksonville’s receivers have been incredibly disappointing this season, and while a season-ending injury to D.J. Chark Jr. didn’t help anything, it has also been a letdown of a sophomore season for Laviska Shenault Jr., who hasn’t made much of an impact. The Jags got so desperate that a cornerback-turned-returner-turned-receiver in Jamal Agnew had to start several games before he himself suffered a season-ending injury in the loss to San Francisco last week.
Talent is definitely an issue when it comes to Jacksonville’s receiving corps, but that doesn’t entirely explain the problems that have plagued the unit this year, namely drops on good passes from Lawrence. If a change is made at OC, Lal is likely gone as well, but even if Bevell stays Lal could be in trouble.
It’s not just the offense that could potentially see changes, though. Meyer made an interesting decision to hire Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen as his defensive coordinator, and a first-time NFL coach going with a first-time defensive play-caller may not have been the wisest move.
That certainly looked to be the case in the early goings of the season as Jacksonville’s defense looked completely lost. But things have gotten significantly better over the last month or so, and for a first-year coordinator to have a unit that still lacks talent in some key spots, ranking 20th in the NFL is a fairly impressive feat.
Given the improvement Cullen’s defense has seen this year, he seems like the least likely of the three candidates mentioned to get the boot. But one thing is almost certain: There will be staff changes after what has been a frustrating season. Of the three coaches mentioned, who do you think is most likely to be shown the door?
Let us know in the poll below.
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