PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer and wife Shelley Meyer celebrate after the Ohio State Buckeyes win the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars have been circling each other for weeks now. According to updated reports, the former Ohio State and Florida head coach is still trying to figure out if he wants to a.) return to coaching, and b.) head to the NFL for the first time in his career.
Meyer stepped down as head coach at Ohio State after the 2018 season. That year, he was suspended to start the season after the Zach Smith scandal. Meyer was also experiencing frequent headaches due to a brain cyst, that gave him concerns for his health long term. Health issues were also cited when he resigned as Florida’s head coach. He took the Ohio State job a year later.
On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Meyer hasn’t been “full steam ahead” in taking the Jaguars job. Ian Rapoport backs up that assertion. This morning, he said that the two sides were in a “standstill.”
“Well the Jaguars have essentially completed their coaching search. Haven’t interviewed a coach in several days,” Rapoport said. “It seems to me that Urban Meyer is yet to fully commit to being a head coach in the NFL. There might be something else that we just don’t know that they’re waiting on… Until Urban Meyer says ‘I will definitely be a head coach in the NFL’ and signs up, it seems the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to keep waiting.”
From @GMFB: The clock is ticking, as Urban Meyer has yet to firmly and finally decide he wants to coach in the NFL. The #Jaguars search is at a standstill. pic.twitter.com/6Jb3zKrZdI
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2021
Rapoport says that the last non-Meyer interview that the team conducted was Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, a popular name around the league during this coaching carousel. He also says that Meyer and the Chargers are still somewhat involved, though there seems to be way less momentum there.
Very simply, Urban Meyer is the Jacksonville Jaguars’ guy. If he turns them down, they might be in a tough spot as other candidates could start coming off the board soon.
We’ll have more as it comes out. In any event, a decision should be made soon.
