Brandon Linder: Urban Meyer Has ‘Been Giving Us Everything That We Need To Succeed’
The keyword for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason has been value; it has been repeated over and over by the team's new hierarchy, entrenching more than just the word into the organization.
Instead, the Jaguars have continued to emphasize the importance of the meaning of the word and how it relates to their locker room. Under new head coach Urban Meyer, the Jaguars have made it a point to build up the roster by reminding each person on the 90-man roster that they are the true pillars of the franchise, a belief he has acted upon by placing an emphasis on the team's sports performance program.
And so far, it has left an impression of active change. After years of the Jaguars talking about turning around the culture and their losing ways, some of the team's most veteran players are actually witnessing change happen in front of their eyes during the offseason.
“The difference [is] we’re changing the culture, that’s for sure. [Urban Meyer's] been giving us everything that we need to succeed, and we haven’t had that around here in a while," center Brandon Linder said after Thursday's organized team activity practice.
"But he asks it from us when we get on the field and that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been putting in work and it’s been good. Everyone’s been trusting the process and buying into the culture.”
Linder is one of the biggest and most important voices in the Jaguars' locker room, so it carries a lot of weight to see him publically go to bat for his new head coach and the investments he has thus far made into the roster.
Linder is a four-time captain, one of the team's longest-tenured players after seven seasons and 82 career starts. Not many people on the roster have seen the extent of the Jaguars' recent nonstop attempts to change the culture and instill an environment of winning -- and the failures that have gone along with each attempt.
“It’s just on the performance side: dry needling, cupping, all the different therapies, activation stuff, equipment, that kind of stuff. We have a couple new facilities going up," Linder said when asked to elaborate on what has changed in Jacksonville.
"And then the food, the food’s been better, nutrition, all these different shakes and whatnot. It’s just we have more at our hands now to succeed and to help us show our potential on the field, show our value. I don’t think [it’s being] pampered or special. I think we’re the ones on the field making this thing go. We have to give it back. We have to give it back when we’re on the field. That’s the whole thing, right? We’re getting everything we need, but when we step on that field, we have to exhaust all efforts.”
That at the crux summarizes Meyer's core philosophy and what he has preached to the Jaguars' organization and to the media since he accepted the job in January. He has said repeatedly that it is up to him and his staff to give the roster everything they need on and off the field to perform on Sundays, and any subsequent failures to do so will land at the feet of Meyer, not the players.
"I believe everything is. There’s one way that people who work for me, with me, they’ll hear a statement, it’s just the best of the best. If it’s not, then the question is why? That’s the same thing I’m doing every time I walk through everywhere," Meyer said his introductory press conference in January.
"We did that at Ohio State. We did that at Florida. It’s just the very best. If it’s not, especially when you start talking about player welfare and safety and then just the players and if it’s not the very best, let’s have a chat and do what’s very best. The Jacksonville players are going to get pushed. In return, we give them the very best, that includes the coaching staff, number one the coaching staff. Does a big hot tub have that much of a difference? I didn’t say that, but I just want to make sure it’s the best of the best. Shad is very committed to that, as well as this organization. That’s something that it’s hard for me to answer right now, but I think within months you might see or hear things that we’re doing the very best we can for our players.”
The Jaguars are in the thick of the offseason, putting in endless hours of work inside TIAA Bank Field's facilities and on the practice field. They have a lot of work to do until they show tangible signs of improvement following last year's disastrous 1-15 record.
But in the eyes of a longtime captain, Meyer's changes on the franchise have been exactly what the team needed.
"It’s just a different culture. It’s just a new beginning, new coaching staff, new everything, so it feels new," Linder said.
"Just one week in, it’s completely different. Everyone’s upbeat. Everyone’s bring juice, bringing energy, happy to be here. We’re just putting in work, trying to build that cohesion as a team and create our identity.”
