Doug Marrone Reacts to Urban Meyer/Jaguars Rumors
Doug Marrone is still the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach. As of now, it appears this will be just as true when the sun rises on Monday morning.
But Marrone isn't oblivious to the flurry of rumors that have surrounded his job status, and his potential replacement. He knows that when a team finishes 1-15 as the Jaguars did in 2020, the odds will be stacked against returning the next season.
As a result, the first question Marrone got following Sunday's 28-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the season finale wasn't about the loss or the 250+ rushing yards allowed to Jonathan Taylor.
Instead, it was about a Saturday report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that stated the Jaguars were making a serious run at former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer. Marrone gaining wind of the report led to the head coach calling owner Shad Khan about it directly.
“Yeah, when all that stuff started coming out yesterday, I gave him a call," Marrone said after the game.
"He said it was news to him and he would talk to me on Monday. He didn't really give me a time yet.”
Marrone is widely expected to be let go by the Jaguars following their third-straight last place AFC South finish and double-digit loss season. But the Jaguars have yet to make a move with Marrone, who just wrapped up his fourth season as Jacksonville's head coach.
Meyer has been linked to Jacksonville for the past few weeks, but the momentum began to increase tenfold following Rapoport's report.
The team has shown interest in former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who has been lining up a staff and telling people he's close to in the football community that he expects to land in Jacksonville, per sources," Rapoport wrote.
The Jaguars won't make a firm and final decision on Marrone until after the season, but this is the expected outcome provided Jacksonville feels confident it can find Marrone's replacement.
Marrone would go on to explain that Rapoport contacted him before he ran his report on the Jaguars and their rumored interest in Meyer. While Marrone has faced questions about his job security for the majority of the last two months, the Meyer rumors are the first time it has gotten specific in terms of a potential replacement.
“Well, I think it’s the same thing. I’ll tell you, I give a lot of credit and I want to make sure I say this to —- and I don't really ever go outside, Ian Rapoport wound up texting me the other day before he broke the story with his sources and I’ll tell you what, I have a great amount of respect for that, I really do," Marrone said Sunday.
"In other words, he was able to get that to me so I can prep my family, my children so they don't have to hear it from their friends or anything like that and I think that’s something I’ll always appreciate. I think that when the record is what it is, you have to be able to expect those things. But like I said before, I asked about it and it was new news for us. So we’ll see what happens.”
While Khan has been tight-lipped with Marrone about his future, Marrone stated last week that he is expecting change at some level. He said he wasn't notified of any changes, but a firing isn't outside of Marrone's mindset.
This is also the second time Marrone has had to face rumors about his job status through the media. ESPN reported last year before Week 17 that Marrone had been fired, though this would be shot down by the Jaguars and ended up not being true. Marrone was instead brought back for the 2020 season, along with general manager Dave Caldwell.
As with any coach on the hot seat entering 'Black Monday', Marrone will continue to face rumors until the Jaguars make an official decision. What that decision will be is known only by Khan, though Marrone can use this time to prepare his family, roster, and fellow coaches for any potential news.
"First of all, the person that really comes to my mind is obviously my family. The second thing that comes is the coaches and players. I don't ever want to be a distraction to them," Marrone said.
