4 Observations on the Jaguars' Previous Interest in Alex Smith
The Jacksonville Jaguars are just nine days away from securing the future of their quarterback position at No. 1 overall, but the week leading up to the draft has made its own impact on the team's quarterback room.
A few days after Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said on Michael Irvin's podcast that he wanted Smith to join the Jaguars' roster at some point during the 2020, Smith announced his own retirement from the NFL. With his retirement came Smith's own admission that he took a visit to Jacksonville and gave serious thought to signing with the Jaguars.
While Smith playing for the Jaguars is no longer in the cards, it is revealing that both parties had a mutual interest during the offseason and up to Smith's retirement. What does the team's interest in Smith indicate about their own views of the roster and the future? We weigh in with our own opinion and interpretation here.
The reasons Urban Meyer wanted Alex Smith on the roster are obvious
While I myself advocated for the Jaguars to sign Smith to be the team's backup quarterback for 2021, it didn't have much to do with what he offers on the field. As a pure quarterback, Gardner Minshew is a better chance to win in 2021. What Smith instead would have brought is immense value as a mentor and resource for Trevor Lawrence, who will certainly be selected No. 1 overall in nine days and become Jacksonville's new franchise quarterback.
Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer himself has lauded Smith for his intelligence and understanding of the spread offense, so it is clear the Jaguars saw his value off the field as well. On top of that, Smith would have been the perfect veteran leader and culture signing for a franchise that is still looking for voices to help lift them out of their losing ways. Few players in the NFL are more respected than Smith, and few are considered better leaders.
“Of all the players I've ever coached—and I would tell people this when people didn't know how tough he was—he’s one of the toughest cats I've ever been around,” Meyer told Michael Irvin last week.
Jaguars' interest in Smith shows they are keeping options open at No. 2 quarterback
If the pursuit of Alex Smith tells us anything about how the Jaguars currently view their roster, it is that they aren't married to any of their in-house options for the role of No. 2 quarterback in 2021. Gardner Minshew II, C.J. Beathard, and Jake Luton are all under contract for next season, but the Jaguars having interest in adding Smith to the roster suggests they are keeping all options available to them when it comes to the backup quarterback role.
The Jaguars are in a position where they don't have to commit themselves to many aspects of their current roster. They will have to commit to building around impending No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, as well as commit to getting the best out of each of the high-priced free agents they signed this offseason. Otherwise, it is mostly a blank slate, especially at backup quarterback.
Meyer made one extremely revealing comment that could show why Smith isn't a Jaguar today
While Alex Smith told ESPN's 'Outside The Lines' that he was leaning toward retirement during the time he was considering signing with the Jaguars, Urban Meyer made comments before Smith's retirement that suggest there could be more to the matter when it comes to why Smith isn't a member of the Jaguars' roster today.
Meyer has up to this point proven to be an honest and forthcoming source of information when it comes to his public comments on the state of the Jaguars' roster and coaching staff. Not all coaches are -- and that could always change -- but so far Meyer has shot straight and there have been few surprises. As a result, every piece of information he offers up is significant -- especially one comment he made on Michael Irvin's podcast about Smith and the Jaguars' pursuit of him.
"We had conversations with him. There are some medical people in our organization that were very concerned," Meyer told Irvin at one point in his response about Smith, which can be read in full here.
If the Jaguars truly did have medical concerns about Smith, which certainly wouldn't be surprising, then it makes it fair to wonder whether they would have added him regardless of his decision to retire.
The Jaguars have a hole on the coaching staff and Smith would make sense to fill it -- if he wants to coach
It doesn't seem likely that Smith would quickly go into NFL coaching, at least not based on what Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs said on Monday, but the Jaguars would make a lot of sense for him if he did. Not only is he extremely close with Meyer and Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke, but the Jaguars actually have a spot on their staff that would fit Smith.
As things stand today, the Jaguars don't have any coach on their offensive staff with the title of quarterback coach. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer both have past experience in that role, so between them and Meyer, the Jaguars aren't lacking for coaches Lawrence could lean on. But the only coaching role that makes sense for Smith presently would be as a quarterback coach, so there isn't an abundance of roles for him. With this in mind, he wouldn't be the first person to go from NFL player to quarterback coach in one year -- Jason Garrett did the same.
