Urban Meyer eyeing Scott Linehan as offensive coordinator

Scott Linehan has emerged as the early favorite for Urban Meyer in Jacksonville for offensive coordinator. Not the best,, but a smart one.

Urban Meyer has been hired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the first name to pop up for his offensive coordinator is Scott Linehan. Reports are that Linehan is one of the favorites and could very well join Meyer on his staff. Linehan most recently was the passing game coordinator for LSU.

As a Cowboys fan I can tell you a lot about Scott Linehan and to be frank, we in Cowboys country were not fans. Linehan has traditionally been a very conservative play-caller and his designs have been fairly vanilla. There were many times fans would call the play before the ball was snapped, and yes, even opposing defenses.

LSU ranked 35th in total offense this past season and while the Tigers certainly lost players, there was a noticeable difference in the offense from last season. Linehan traditionally has been a run-first, play-action style coordinator that hasn’t had a lot of exotic looks or route combinations. So why would Urban look toward Linehan at all?

Well, the answer may lie in what Urban is thinking for the draft. Should the Jaguars, who have the first overall pick, look at drafting Trevor Lawrence, having Linehan will keep a simple playbook for the transition from college to the NFL. The same can be said for drafting Justin Fields, but Lawrence is a more traditional (granted not a lot) style quarterback than Fields is.

The Jaguars need to rebuild the entire offense, and Linehan leans heavily on drafting and signing the offensive line to protect his quarterback. This is the perfect way to get a young quarterback comfortable and in the best position to succeed. It may not be flashy and it may not last, but for the immediate future, Linehan is the safest pick for Urban Meyer.