NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 17: Steve Spurrier watches from the sideline prior to the game between Ohio State and Oklahoma at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)There are a number of parallels between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, not the least of which is a legendary college coaching career before becoming an NFL head coach.
So what does the college football legend think of Meyer joining the Jaguars? Well, he has some suggestions for starters.
Appearing on Mad Dog Sports Radio, Spurrier said that Meyer should make sure that he has final say on big team decisions. But he believes that with a few acquisitions he can turn the Jaguars from a 1-15 team to at least an eight-win team.
“I believe he should have the final say and be in charge of the team,” Spurrier said. “Urban will be in charge. The head coach ultimately has to be the guy to make the call. He’ll lean on the other guys. He might say, ‘hey whos the best offensive tackle out there, you guys have watched it more than I have. You rank those guys and if we need to draft one, we’ll do that.’ He’ll lean on the NFL people but it’ll be his final call, I’d say, on just about everything.
“I think that’s very helpful. He’s got nowhere to go but up. (The) team won one game last year, he might win eight-times more games this year… I think he can win half of them just by bringing in new talent and what’s there now. I believe free agent guys will want to go to Jacksonville, the ones who really want to win… There’s a lot of NFL guys who are on a bad team that would like to play for a winner, a champion. A team that can win a Super Bowl because that’s a memory of a lifetime. We all have money, but to have a Super Bowl ring… that’s important to men who want to be winners, so I think he can attract all kinds of free agent players.”
"Urban will be in charge….It will be his final call on just about everything."@SteveSpurrierUF told @LanceMedow why it's important for Urban Meyer to have control of personnel in Jacksonville & why he thinks Meyer will attract free agents to the #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/XpCzuBCqzk
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) January 17, 2021
Hopefully Meyer’s tenure at Jacksonville goes a little better than Spurrier’s time with Washington.
Spurrier went 12-20 in two seasons in Washington before resigning after his second year. He landed on his feet though, coaching at South Carolina for 11 years as well as one season for the Orlando Apollos in the short-lived AAF.
Fortunately for Meyer, he joins a Jacksonville Jaguars team with the No. 1 overall pick. That will allow him to draft the QB of his choosing (most likely Trevor Lawrence) to kick off his coaching tenure.
A potentially elite QB is one thing Spurrier didn’t have in his short-lived NFL career.
Is Steve Spurrier right about what Urban Meyer needs to succeed in the NFL?
