Jaguars HC Urban Meyer Shoots Down Notre Dame Rumors
For the second time this season, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach has personally shot down rumors of a potential move back to the coaching ranks, with Meyer denying any notions on Tuesday that he was interested in the now-open Notre Dame job.
While it was already clear for a few reasons why Meyer would be unlikely to leave the Jaguars for Notre Dame -- where he coached from 1996-2000 and where he has once said is his dream job. But on Tuesday when speaking with Los Angeles reporters ahead of the Jaguars' Week 13 tilt with the Rams, Meyer made it even more clear that he would not be leaving the confines of TIAA Bank Field for South Bend.
"I’m not a candidate," Meyer said, via Greg Beacham of The Associated Press.
"Obviously I spent 6 years of my life there, so great respect for Notre Dame, and as I do USC, UCLA, like we talked about. But I’m committed to the Jaguars and doing the best we can to turn this thing around."
This is the same type of answer Meyer gave in early September when asked by local Jacksonville reporters if he had interest in the then-vacant USC job. USC, who has since hired former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley, had a job opening after the Jaguars' first game of the season, but Meyer made it clear then that he was sticking with the Jaguars.
“There’s no chance that—I’m here and committed to try to build an organization," Meyer said in September about the USC gig.
Things have not been especially smooth in Meyer's transition to the NFL. The three-time national championship-winning coach is 2-9 through his first 11 games in the NFL and has caught flak throughout the season for his approach to the NFL, his team's development of No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, and more.
The Jaguars have been Meyer's first leap into the NFL ranks after decades of coaching and analyzing college football. Before this, Meyer has had head coach stops with Bowling Green (2001-2002), Utah (2003-2004), Florida (2005-2010), and Ohio State (2012-2018). During that time, Meyer compiled a 187-32 record, including a 12-3 record in bowl games. Meyer's teams won three national championships and seven conference titles.
But, as things stand today, Meyer isn't looking ahead to coaching the Golden Domers. Instead, Meyer is looking at how he can turn around a Jaguars team that is tied for the second-worst record in the NFL and that has more seasons of double-digit losses than winning seasons over the last decade.
The Jaguars and Meyer are next set to travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams and former Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The Rams have been on a recent skid, but the Jaguars have also dropped three games in a row and have failed to score more than 17 points since Week 6, scoring 7, 9, 17, 10, and 14 points in the five games since.
“All I’m worried about is one game on the road," Meyer said on Monday.
"We’re facing an all-star team [the Los Angeles Rams] out there [on a] long trip. So, we just have to put this one behind us, learn from some of the mistakes, and get ready to go. I know they lost. I think they’ve lost two in a row. I’ve not studied them yet, but I’ve seen enough of them to know what we’re getting into.”
