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Would Urban Meyer Make Sense for the Jaguars?

Could the former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach really land in Jacksonville in 2021?
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Urbs to Duval in 2021? 

Probably not, but why don't we toy with the idea anyway.

Former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer sees his name highlighted every time a marquee NFL or college football job opens up and this winter is no different. Meyer has already been tied to the Texas Longhorns' potential opening by the rumor mill, but could he also find his name connected to the Jacksonville Jaguars' potentially vacant head coaching position? 

The Jaguars have yet to fire head coach Doug Marrone, with owner Shad Khan telling Marrone he and his staff would stay in place through the end of the 2020 season. The 1-12 Jaguars have three games remaining, so it is hard to see Marrone keeping his job without some unforeseen circumstances taking place. 

But would Meyer make sense as the man to replace Marrone in the event Khan has to find a new coach to roam the sidelines? Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned it as a slight possibility in the latest 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. "

This is obviously a new potential twist to Jacksonville's offseason. The Jaguars have been tied to a few high-profile college head coaches in the last several offseasons but they have stuck by Marrone at every stop. If that changes once the 2020 season concludes, though, is Meyer the right fit for the Jaguars? 

Considering Jacksonville's last two head coaches have been Gus Bradley (14-48) and Marrone (25-41), the question likely isn't whether Meyer is the right fit for the Jaguars. 

Beggars can't be choosers, and Meyer is regarded as one of the best football minds of his generation. He also has a track record of success everywhere he has been, compiling a 187-32 record as a collegiate head coach, giving him the third-highest winning percentage in college football history at .853 %.

With his experience and background, the question instead should likely be if the Jaguars are the right fit for Meyer and not vice-versa. 

The obvious hang-up with Meyer, 56, at his previous two spots has been his health. Meyer took a leave of absence from Florida in 2009 due to health and family reasons and then "retired" from coaching following the 2010 season. 

In November 2011, however, Meyer was announced as the head coach at Ohio State. Meyer found great success with the Buckeyes, winning the National Championship in 2014, his third career national title. But Meyer announced in early December 2018 that he would retire from not just Ohio State, but from coaching.

UNC head coach Mack Brown would tell ESPN that Meyer called him to discuss his stepping down from the Buckeyes and cited his health as the "total reason," for the move, so this has to be kept in the forefront of the mind of any team looking to hire him.

But in the event Meyer does have a clean bill of health, there could be reasons to believe an NFL challenge like the Jaguars could potentially entice him. After all, Meyer has already done it all at the college level. If he wants to coach again, this would likely be among his final real chances to run an NFL program.

"I think Urban Meyer is interested in coaching in the NFL. I think he has an interest," ESPN's Adam Schefter said in December 2019. 

"I think he would be open to talking to people about it. I don't know how much people will or won't speak to him, certainly it's an intriguing name that is out there. But I think he is definitely interested in getting back -- or getting to the NFL if that were an option. He would sit down, he would listen, and if the right opportunity came along, I think he would be interested."

If the Jaguars were interested in Meyer, it would reason for him to have at least some minor interest. Owner Shad Khan is the type of owner who will give the leader of his franchise all the support he needs while still letting him run it the exact way he wants -- he did the same with Tom Coughlin, though that was a mistake in hindsight. But that kind of power could be extremely attractive to a coach coming from the college ranks, where they serve much more as the sole figurehead and architect of the team as opposed to the NFL's head coach and general manager dynamic.

Essentially, if Meyer wants full control of an NFL team like he had control at Florida and Ohio State, it stands to reason the Jaguars would likely be one of those teams willing to hand over that type of power. They currently have no general manager following the firing of Dave Caldwell and Khan has shown before he is willing to change front office dynamics to run his team. 

Meyer would also get his pick of a quarterback. Jacksonville is a near-lock to pick No. 2 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and will likely pick No. 3 at worst. The Jaguars can't sell any coaching candidate on their current crop of quarterbacks, but Meyer could possibly see the appeal in getting his choice of Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, or Trey Lance. 

Finally, there is the fact that Khan is trying to get public money from the City of Jacksonville for his Lot J project. While some would likely think this aspect of Khan's business dealings has nothing to do with the Jaguars, the Jaguars as a franchise have already been placed directly into negotiations. Thus, why wouldn't Khan be enticed to make a splash move to attempt to move momentum in his favor? Considering Meyer's reputation, and his success at the nearby University of Florida, he would certainly qualify as a splash hire. 

But there are of course some drawbacks involved. We have seen several coaches make the jump from college to the NFL in recent years, with Matt Rhule being the most recent example. But it needs to be remembered just how different the two sports are, even if both are football. 

The lifeblood of college football is recruiting and that was always Meyer's biggest assets. He won't be able to distance himself from the other teams in his conference by being the best salesman in the game like he did at Ohio State. 

There is also the question of Meyer's offense at the NFL level. Meyer is one of the best offensive minds in football in the last several decades, but would his willingness to run his quarterback as often as he did at college work in the NFL level? From Utah to Florida to Ohio State, his quarterbacks often took beatings because they were a big part of his running games. 

At the end of the day though, Meyer likely has his pick of job. If he wanted to coach in the NFL, he almost assuredly would. But would he pick the Jaguars to be the team he saddles up with? 

Meyer makes plenty of sense if Khan and the Jaguars want to make the bold move to reach out to him. It remains to be seen whether this would actually occur since this is all speculation, of course, but there are reasons at hand for both sides to think about it. 

Then again, this could be the latest in what is a never-ending series of pieces on Meyer's potential jump to the NFL. The Jaguars are far from the first team to be even slightly connected to him and they will assuredly not be the last.