‘It’s Describable, but It’s Indescribable’: Jaguars’ Owner Shad Khan Discusses Urban Meyer, Trevor Lawrence With SI
Another day, another member of the Jacksonville Jaguars organization tip-toeing right to the line of saying Trevor Lawrence’s name without saying Trevor Lawrence’s name.
On Monday, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared a conversation he had with Jaguars owner Shad Khan in this week’s edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback.”
The Jags owner of nine years told Breer, “This is a decision that, Albert, it’s gonna define us, certainly for the rest of my life. And everything I read and hear from people who know a lot more about football than I do, for them, it’s like stating the obvious.”
The obvious, of course, being that Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence will become a Jacksonville Jaguar on Thursday night with the first pick overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Last Wednesday, while previewing the upcoming draft, Head Coach Urban Meyer effaced when asked if the decision was already set in stone, saying it would be up to Khan to pull the trigger.
“[General Manager] Trent [Baalke] and I are working together, but ultimately, the owner’s going to pull that ticket on that one,” Meyer said at the time. "So, we’re going to have a great meeting [this week] and I imagine we’ll get closer to a decision.”
According to Breer, this caused Khan to laugh when told. But after the debacle with the NFLPA that led to Tom Coughlin being received of duties, then a 1-15 season that forced Khan to fire both General Manager Dave Caldwell and Head Coach Doug Marrone, the owner has taken a much more hands-on approach to his investment. And that means doing his own deep dive into Trevor Lawrence.
“I was really blown away,” Khan told Breer. “I spoke to Trevor on Zoom in a very pleasant way, his sense of humility, his absolute drive. He wants to make a difference, in the community and, obviously, most importantly, on the gridiron.”
Trevor Lawrence is just one piece to this new puzzle Khan is putting together though. Everything has to work in tandem with the quarterback, the owner’s new approach and the new head coach. When Khan fired Marrone, he was able to hit the coaches market with the No. 1 pick secured and the most cap space in the league.
“I gotta tell you, I’ve never felt more popular,” Khan told Breer of the time. “I heard it from people, and I sensed it. I had a lot of people calling. Some of the coaches I knew, some I didn’t know, a lot of them gainfully employed, some friends, some acquaintances. And I thought to myself, I can’t screw this thing up. We have to nail this. I’d had a lot of chats with [Meyer] on what I think it’ll take, his insight. And then we interviewed a lot of people, as you know, because I know he’s a legend in college football, but I don’t want to set him up to fail.
“And, frankly, I don’t want to be set up to fail either.”
Khan believes the best chance of success for he and the entire franchise has Meyer at the top. It’s why he’s putting the team in Meyer’s hands…while keeping his own hand involved.
“And I explained to him, coach-centric, but not really having the GM reporting to the coach—I have a whole book on why, really, that sets the coach up for failure,” Khan said.
“I explained all that to him, what I thought the structure should be, how it would work. We had a chance to reset it. But he had to want it, he had to be driven—which he did and is. It has to work.”
So far, it seems to be working.
“It’s describable, but it’s indescribable. … You don’t know what world-class coaching is until you’re smack-dab in the middle of it.”
You can read Breer’s entire story with Khan—including more on the Meyer hire, free agency, what it will take to get back to the playoffs and more—here. Then stay tuned to Jaguar Report for full coverage as the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to take place in a historic NFL Draft.
