Calais Campbell Weighs in On Joe Cullen, Trevor Lawrence, and the Jaguars' Future

The former Jacksonville Jaguars “Mayor” is keeping an eye on his last team. Former Jaguars and current Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell joined The Jake Asman Show on SportsMap Radio on Thursday to discuss Lamar Jackson, the Ravens Super Bowl chances and a bit of Jaguars.

“So Coach Urban Meyer is one of the most respected coaches in the game. He had a lot of success in the college level and I’m eager to see what he does on the pro level now,” Campbell told Asman.

Campbell’s defensive line coach in Baltimore, Joe Cullen, was recently reportedly hired by new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer as defensive coordinator.

Cullen coached collegiate football from 1990-2005, along with a short stint at Idaho State between NFL jobs in 2009, including defensive coordinator positions at Richmond (1997-1998, 2000) and Indiana (2004). He’s never coordinated at the NFL level, but he’s been an impactful defensive line coach for several franchises for nearly two decades.

“I’m excited for him,” said Campbell of Cullen’s new role with the Jags.

“The defensive coordinator was my defensive line coach this year so I’m happy to see my coach get some love and him end up in a place where I know, I’m familiar with the guys. He has some beast, Myles Jack, Josh Allen, those are two of my best friends and guys I have a lot of respect for and I can’t wait to see them have some success and go out there and create a standard of excellence in Jacksonville that I tried to get going when I was there during my time.”

"I'm happy to see my coach get some love... He's gonna have some beasts with Myles Jack & @JoshAllen41_"

My guy (@JakeAsman) talks w/ my other guy (@CalaisCampbell) about #Jaguars' new DC Joe Cullen, Urban, Trevor Lawrence & more!

🔥⤵️ pic.twitter.com/VRykv7DFgQ
— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) February 4, 2021

Campbell set quite a “standard of excellence” during his three years in Jacksonville; 206 tackles, 31.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in that time. Injuries meant Josh Allen experienced a sophomore slump in 2020 but with 44 tackles and 10.5 sacks in his first year (2019), he became the only rookie in Jaguars history to make the Pro-Bowl.

Campbell has always believed in Allen’s ability to be a game wrecker.

“Josh is a hard worker. He was willing to try to develop, and each and every day he wanted to get better,” Campbell told Jaguar Report back in August of 2020.

“He’s one to put the work in, and God gave him a lot of ability, a lot of talent. So, if he’s willing to put the work in, he’s going to be successful. I was happy to see his development, and he’s just scratching the surface. He’s going to be a whole lot better each and every year as he continues to develop.”

The Pro-Bowl defensive lineman is also keeping an eye on the Jaguars offensive side of the ball. Jacksonville owns the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming April 2021 NFL Draft. It will presumably be used on Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Heisman runner-up has long been tabbed as a future franchise quarterback and Campbell understands why…but as the man who once stood as the Jags greatest leader, the 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year wants to know Lawrence can be trusted with his former team before buying too much stock.

“Trevor Lawrence, watching him, I enjoy watching him. He can make every throw. He just has this, you know, just a very special arm and he makes plays in the big moments.

“But for me, man, he’s still gonna be a rookie and I gotta see him develop. Cause to me, you can hype anybody up but when you gotta get on that field and play on Sundays and lead the team, you gotta earn that respect so I’m not gonna give him too much love just yet. But I think he has a chance to be special but I gotta see him earn it.”