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The Urban Meyer era is off to a rough start, with the Jacksonville Jaguars sitting at 0-2 in the preseason. And, according to new reports, some of the players “aren’t thrilled” with their new head coach.
We often hear that coaches who come from college football to the pros can rub the NFL players the wrong way, and that appears like it could be the case with Meyer.
CBS Sports NFL Analyst Pete Prisco said on “The Da Show” this week that players don’t seem to appreciate the tactics that Meyer has brought with him to Jacksonville and that he is attempting to run the Jaguars like a college program.
“He’s got to change a few things. He brought a bunch of college-like things to the program, which I don’t necessarily agree with,” Prisco said, via FOX News. “And I’ve heard some of the players aren’t thrilled with him either, including having a microphone on the field – one of his assistants on the field during practice with a boom mic, telling everybody to hydrate and hustle and get to the next period.”
Meyer also received criticism from sports pundits following the Jaguars’ preseason loss to the New Orleans Saints, with some analysts saying he looked uninterested and disengaged on the sidelines. He also made the quarterback competition unnecessarily complicated by saying Gardner Minshew and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence were locked in a battle until this week.
Of course, growing pains are expected, but Meyer will have to find a way to get the Jaguars on track and avoid losing the locker room early in his tenure. He certainly wants to avoid the type of flameout that Nick Saban had with the Miami Dolphins.
Moving forward, the only way for the Jaguars is up with Lawrence being the official starter for the 2021-22 season.
The Jags wrap up the preseason on Sunday, August 29 against the Dallas Cowboys, before opening the regular season on the road on Sunday, September 12 against the Houston Texans.
