Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson knows Urban Meyer well and talks to him regularly, and he says that Meyer is struggling in his first year in Jacksonville in one important way: Dealing with limits on player contact.
“He’s a little frustrated right now because he’s spent so little time with the players,” Johnson said, via Nate Davis of USA Today. “He’s accustomed to being around the players all the time, and they weren’t able to do that because of COVID-19.”
Meyer has already learned the hard way that he can’t structure his practices the way he wants, the way he could in college: Meyer was hit with a $100,000 fine, the Jaguars were fined $200,000 and the team was docked two offseason practices in 2022 because they violated rules limiting contact in the offseason.
Still, Johnson says Meyer is well aware of what he needs to do in the NFL.
“Urban’s very thorough. Urban has spent his due diligence getting ready for this job,” Johnson said. “He knew what he was getting into when he accepted the job. We had numerous conversations during the job process. And I think he’ll do a great job. He knows how important personnel is. He knows how to deal with people.”
Meyer will have more time to deal with the people on his team when training camp opens on July 27.