Odds Released on Whether Urban Meyer Will Be an NFL HC in 2021
Will Urban Meyer return to the sidelines in 2021? That is the question on everybody's mind.
The biggest rumor of this year's coaching cycle has revolved around none other than the former Florida Gator and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach. It seems as if this is an annual occurrence, but this year there seems to be more interest.
But what are the actual chances Meyer roams an NFL sideline -- whether Jacksonville's or anywhere else's -- next fall?
That is the question BetOnline has posed.
According to the oddsmakers, there is a 3/2 prop chance that Meyer does coach in the NFL in 2021. In other words, +150 odds.
In comparison, BetOnline has given Meyer 1/2 odds, or -200, to not coach in the NFL next season.
Meyer has never been an NFL head coach before, spending the entirety of his career instead in the college ranks. He became one of the best program builders of his generation before stepping away from the game, so could a job like the Jaguars entice him? And even if it doesn't, what about one of the other head coach openings such as in Atlanta or even Houston?
For now, it doesn't look like a door is yet being closed on Meyer in oddsmakers' eyes. That could change moving forward, of course, but perhaps Meyer finally takes the NFL plunge this offseason.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was the first to mention it as a slight possibility in an edition of The Monday Morning Quarterback.
"If the Jaguars fire Doug Marrone at the end of the year, the sense among those working the job market is that Jacksonville owner Shad Khan will hire a coach and build around that coach with other hires. The Jags just went to more of a coach-centric model under Marrone (he got final say over the 53-man roster earlier this year), so there are already signs of things going that way," Breer wrote.
"I’d keep an eye on former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer for this one. Meyer’s been intrigued by NFL jobs. The question is whether his health will allow him to act on it. "
Breer is far from the only one who has attached Meyer's name to potential NFL jobs this offseason, however. ESPN's Adam Schefter said last Sunday that multiple teams have reached out to the National Championship head coach.
"At least two NFL teams have reached out to Urban Meyer to see whether the former Ohio State coach would be interested in interviewing for -- if not accepting -- a head-coaching job at the next level, league sources told ESPN," Schefter wrote.
"Meyer, according to a source connected to one of those teams, did not dismiss the overtures and is considering whether to make the jump to the NFL. He intends to decide in the next week, before the NFL regular season is over, and teams expect to hear his decision in the coming days."
This timeline does fit with the Jaguars, who have yet to fire head coach Doug Marrone. The team fired general manager Dave Caldwell after Week 12 but informed Marrone he would be allowed to finish the 2020 season in his role.
The 1-14 Jaguars will have their season end after a 4:25 p.m. finale against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17, at which point Marrone's time with the team will likely be limited. Marrone is 25-43 in four seasons in Jacksonville.
"I think that obviously there’ll be change. I don’t know [how]. I’m not informed of anything like that, but obviously there’s going to be a lot of change going on," Marrone said on Wednesday.
"But my whole focus is [to] try to get this win. I don’t know how I’ll feel after the game. Honestly after the game, I might look at it differently, but right now I’m putting everything into trying to get this win and ending the season with a win. That’s where all my emotion and everything is generated."
