Report: Chargers 'Have Continued to Look' Into Urban Meyer as a Candidate as Jaguars Wait
As the Jacksonville Jaguars continue to wait on an answer from Urban Meyer, it appears a second team has the potential to enter the mix for the longtime college coach.
Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported on Wednesday that the Los Angeles Chargers are continuing to take a look at Meyer as their potential next head coach. The Chargers fired former head coach Anthony Lynn last week and boast one of the NFL's best young quarterbacks in Justin Herbert.
The Jaguars have been looking for a new head coach for nine days and all indications up to this point have been that Meyer is Jacksonville's No. 1 target. Meyer won national championships with the Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes and has long been known as one of the elite coaches in the sport, but he has never coached in the NFL.
Now it appears Meyer could have his chance with at least one team courting him, with the reported potential of another coming along in the form of the Chargers. Meyer reportedly met with Jaguars owner Shad Khan on his yacht last Friday, days after Khan shot down rumors of the Jaguars speaking with Meyer ahead of a vacancy being created.
But to this point, the Jaguars have still yet to make any formal announcement and the consensus in the national media has been that Meyer still has not decided if he wants to accept the job.
The Jaguars have also reportedly interviewed San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and Atlanta Falcons interim head coach Raheem Morris.
The Jaguars have not been linked to any interviews since they reportedly interviewed Smith virtually on Sunday, meaning there have now been three days of a standstill in terms of the coaching search.
Could that standstill be because Meyer is considering a different NFL job? Potentially, but unlikely. With that said, it may be even more clear to Meyer now that this is his best chance to become an NFL head coach. With two teams potentially interested, and with both being set up with young franchise quarterbacks, it is fair to wonder if he would ever get these types of chances again.
The Jaguars fired head coach Doug Marrone on January 4 after the team finished with a franchise-worst 1-15 record in 2020. Marrone went 25-44 in four-plus seasons as Jacksonville's head coach, but the Jaguars have lost 36 of their last 48 games.
"Well, I certainly think there’s a huge amount of interest in this, much more so than the last time around. And I also look at really—we’re in a much different, and I would say a better position today than we were a year ago," Khan said on Monday.
"A little over a year ago, as you well know—and I think you reported—we did have team disharmony and we were—for lack of a better word—salary cap hell. I think today, I frankly thought that we would do better. We won six games last year [2019], but you know, certainly we have a lot of salary cap availability along with the draft picks and obviously the number one pick. But what’s evaded the history of the Jags, really, has been a franchise quarterback. And I think what’s unique, certainly, is that we have the ability now to make a choice and it’s going to define the franchise moving forward.”
