After 13 games as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, Urban Meyer was fired early Thursday morning after the latest report came out of him kicking Josh Lambo, calling him names, and clashing with assistant coaches. Shortly after the firing, Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement on the Jaguar’s website.
Meyer’s actions led many fans, media, and players angry at him but not surprised. After all, he carried a lot of baggage before becoming the Jaguars head coach. Many knew his NFL coaching career wouldn’t last.
No one on the Jaguars team took him seriously anymore. Many coaches and players were planning to leave the team after the season. Believe it or not, integrity still does matter.
Despite Urban Meyer winning three national championships, he showed a lack of leadership and lack of accountability. Leaders inspire, build character, and teach.
In college, Meyer had a say in everything when he coached Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State. It’s different in the NFL, and like many college coaches that went to the NFL before him, they learned real quick that they are not as big as they think, leading them to head back to college.
Urban Meyer joins a long list of college coaches who have dipped their toes in the NFL, only to head back to college. Most of them had winning records before coming to the NFL. They were Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Chip Kelly, Bobby Petrino, Greg Schiano, and Butch Davis.
Out of the list, Nick Saban made a smart choice to go back to college and is now one of the greatest college coaches of all time. Currently, Kliff Kingsbury is the Cardinals coach and has them in the number one seed, while Matt Rhule is on the hot seat in Carolina.
These college coaches come in with a big head, only to come crashing down. When they are used to having a say in everything from recruiting to play-calling, no one has been able to touch them. But, they quickly learn that the NFL is not college, and they can’t get away with what they did in college.
They are not dealing with kids anymore; they are now dealing with men. Men with large salaries whose opinions matter to the ownerships.
When their team is in bad shape, they tuck their tail between their legs and run back to college because they are not used to losing.
Many NFL owners chase college coaches because they are still looking for the next Jimmie Johnson and Bill Walsh. Both coaches got off to bad starts, but what helped them was they had great quarterbacks, and the owners, fans, and media were patient. It paid off as Jimmie Johnson, who won two Super Bowls while Bill Walsh won three.
Urban Meyer’s firing should signal the end of college coaches getting hired in the NFL. If a team is looking for a coach, get one who is a free agent like Doug Pederson and Wade Phillips, or look to the CFL for coaches.
Look in-house, some have some really good assistant coaches who have been in the league a long time that should be given a chance. Enough is enough with the college coach experiments.
