Broncos defensive end Dre’Mont Jones spent five years playing for Urban Meyer at Ohio State, and on Sunday Jones will see Meyer again when the Broncos play the Jaguars. And Jones has some advice for his old college coach: Change your ways in the NFL.
Jones said there’s always an adjustment period from college football to the NFL, but he said Meyer in particular may struggle because Meyer doesn’t relate to players the way grown men expect their coaches to relate to them.
“Going from college to pros is always difficult no matter what the level is, whether coaching or playing,” Jones said. “Especially because a lot of his philosophies are college-based, and you can’t do that with 30-plus men or even 25-plus men who have been around the league and know what they’re doing now and are well established. You got to shake things up in how you coach.”
Asked if he’s surprised to hear stories that Meyer isn’t clicking with veteran players in Jacksonville, Jones said that’s no surprise based on his own experience with Meyer.
“Am I surprised by it? No,” Jones said. “I just know how he is. I’m not going to go into great detail about it, but no, it doesn’t surprise me.”
Meyer’s Jaguars did not look particularly well-coached in their Week One loss to the Texans. They’ll have their hands full on Sunday against Jones and the Broncos.