Shad Khan Looks To Define His Jaguars Legacy With Urban Meyer
Shad Khan couldn’t stop smiling, cackling or just sitting in general revelry. No matter what came out of Jacksonville Jaguars' new Head Coach Urban Meyer’s mouth, Khan was positively giddy in response.
Khan didn’t need to say much as he and Meyer met with local media to welcome the franchise’s sixth head coach. His face said it all.
It was a full 180 from his demeanor just 11 days weeks prior when Khan explained his decision to fire former head coach Doug Marrone and look for a new man to lead his team. At that time, a man frustrated with yet another failure was cautiously hopeful that the next move, the next shot would be the right one.
At that time he listed the qualities he wanted in a new head coach. Urban Meyer hits on all of them.
Someone who can develop a young quarterback
The Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick in April's 2021 NFL Draft. It's been all but confirmed it will be used on a franchise quarterback.
Said Khan, “I think obviously developing a young quarterback, we’ve been very unsuccessful at that. [The] last eight years, we haven’t had a franchise quarterback, so I think that is very, very important.”
Meyer has done that, with Alex Smith and Chris Leak and Tim Tebow and Cardale Jones and Dwayne Haskins, to name a few. The first is still playing in the NFL 16 years later and the latter three all won a National Championship. It’s also something Meyer knows will define his tenure with the Jaguars.
Said Meyer, “Who we pick at that quarterback spot, that’s going to be one of the most important decisions I've made in my lifetime, and along with the partnership of our owner and our general manager. And the ones that are out there, my initial study—because I have been studying a lot—I like to use the term elite, I see some elite quarterbacks out there right now.”
The ability to win right away while also building a program and standard
“You can’t have a mindset [of] this is a rebuild and it’s going to take time, etc. We have to have a mindset [that] we’re building for the long haul, but you have to be able to win at the same time,” explained Khan.
See Bowling Green and Utah and Florida and Ohio State, the latter three of which where Meyer competed for a conference or national title within two years and set standards that changed the programs.
The ability to build a staff
Said Khan, “Being able to attract really the right staff, I think that is a key element. You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. So who they can attract and really the approach is going to be very, very important for us.”
Meyer’s coaching tree has spanned 22 head coaches in the NFL and NCAA, including but not limited to Tennessee Titan’s Mike Vrabel, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Florida’s Dan Mullen and Charlie Strong.
Now Meyer is looking to bring in an “elite” staff, starting right away.
“I have to get a great staff; not a good staff, a great staff and when people are recommended—and I've had a multitude of people calling and my comment is, ‘save the recommendation unless that you feel that person is elite in all areas,’ because that's what Jacksonville deserves and that's what we're going to have on our staff.
“[Staff evaluations are] what's going on right now…this is a deep deep dive into this, and I know all coaches say that.
“This next week will be essential, that will be a critical time for the Jacksonville organization.”
The capability to reach the 21st-century athlete
Explained Khan, “you want the harmony and the mission, the goal that we’re here to win. I think for me, somebody—a proven leader who understands not only the basics of football, the blocking and tackling, but more importantly the modern football. Some of the things, the new football—but more importantly, handling the 21st-century athlete at the same time.”
This is perhaps where Meyer’s time in the college ranks will prove the most helpful. While these are professional athletes with a different mindset than student-athletes, the Jaguars also still have the youngest team in the league. Many of them could still justifiably be in college. With another 10 picks in this years 2021 NFL Draft, that won’t change. They’re learning the NFL along with Meyer and his experience of reaching players in that age range will be vital.
“You have to adapt and those who adapt have success those who don't fail, and I’ve certainly had my failures along the journey but for the most part, you know, I can't wait. That’s the part of the game that I love is to be able to adapt to the NFL player,” explained Meyer.
Someone who wants to be here
And finally, although this wasn’t mentioned during Khan’s press conference following the Marrone firing, he needed someone who wants to be here. Khan, Marrone, and former General Manager Dave Caldwell spent all of the last offseason eliminating players who they felt didn’t want to play in Jacksonville. Meyer wants to take that a step further. Be proud of the logo or don’t wear it.
“When they see the Jaguar emblem, there's, you better have ownership and you better love it. And if not, it's my job to eliminate those people from this organization,” promised Meyer.
It’s often said around Gainesville, Florida that Urban Meyer helped define and cement former Athletic Director Jeremy Foley’s legacy. Foley had made good, even great hires in other sports. But he’d missed on football hires. Then the University of Florida hired former Utah President Bernie Machen to the same role at UF. He told Foley of the young coach Utes coach who he’d just worked alongside. Foley met with Meyer and brought him on for one of the great championship runs in college football.
Now, Khan is hoping Meyer can do the same for his legacy.
The Jaguars owner has been at the head of the organization for nine seasons now with the 2017 AFC Championship run being considered the only success of his time. Whether Gus Bradley or Doug Marrone or Dave Caldwell or the debacle that was Tom Coughlin’s second stint with the franchise, Khan has found no consistent success as the head decision-maker.
Frankly, he’s had a string of busts. The entrepreneur tried so hard to play the careful hand—to the point of just providing the money and letting someone else play the hand for him—and then he’s watched everyone else walk away from the table with the bag. He knew this was make-or-break time; he could walk away or he could say “let's risk it” and push all his chips to the middle of the table.
He took the risk.
Khan brought in a head coach that has had success at every stop, walked away from coaching twice and had his name associated to nearly every major college football story of the past decade. He's a splash hire with somewhat of a flight risk but one that will almost certainly deliver wins in the process.
“A lot of things have happened, which really put us in a position really to win and the choice of the head coach was probably the most important thing,” admitted Khan on Friday.
“So, I'm really gratified and I'm delighted obviously that Urban's on board.”
Whether it pays off is still to be seen of course. This could fail. But that’s the thing about risks and legacies. They often go hand in hand, with few being remembered for playing it safe. Shad Khan knew he needed to go all-in for the chance to win it all…now he can’t stop smiling.
