Urban Meyer is meeting with the Jaguars today about their head coaching vacancy.
No deal is imminent and the team isn’t done interviewing other head coaching candidates, NFL Network reports.
Meyer has been identified since before Doug Marrone was fired as a potential next head coach of the Jaguars. Although Meyer has no NFL experience at all, he’s one of the best college football coaches of all time. He won national championships at both Florida and Ohio State, and his winning percentage of .853 is the best in major college football of any coach whose career started after World War II.
If Meyer does take the Jaguars job, speculation will immediately turn to what Meyer would want to do with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Although Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been widely regarded as the clear first pick, Meyer may be the one coach who would consider Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. Meyer never coached Fields, but Meyer has remained close to the Ohio State program and has repeatedly praised Fields not just as a player on the field, but for his leadership and character.
Meyer retired from Ohio State two years ago, citing health reasons, but he previously retired from Florida, citing health reasons, and that didn’t keep him out of coaching for long. If Meyer thinks he can win in Jacksonville, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he takes the job.