One reason Urban Meyer took the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching vacancy was because he is familiar with the North Florida area and has love for it. After many years with the Florida Gators, he recruited in the area, building a bond with the 904, and it made his decision to try out the NFL easier.
However, with the Jags only winning one game last season Meyer has a tall task on his hands. Even before that, there wasn’t much success under owner Shad Khan aside from the 2017 season. For those reasons, the fan base is in desperate need to see a winning product on the field, and if that happens, Meyer believes the city will establish itself as a top-tier NFL market.
“I know the 904, and I’ve been here many times [before taking the job],” Meyer said to USA TODAY. “I love the people here. When I used to recruit here I just loved the high school coaches and enjoyed my time here. [The reception] has been even better than I thought.
“This city is ready to explode. I don’t want to hear about how great these other stadiums are and ours is bad. That’s why I use the term “own it,” Jacksonville has to own it and so do our players. If we put this thing together the right way, I expect us to have a great home-field advantage, a great environment to play a home game in, and our players to do their part.”
Despite the feelings towards Meyer’s departure from Florida, fans were happy to see Meyer return, too, and responded well to his jump to the NFL. Additionally, there was excitement for Trevor Lawrence as well, and when combining the two additions, it reflected in the ticket office.
Dating back to his time in college, Meyer has always believed in his coaching staff’s ability to elevate whatever talent is on the roster. After the Jags had a good (but certainly not perfect) offseason, the fans seem excited about his ability to elevate the Jags, though the NFL is foreign territory to Meyer.