Jaguars: Talk about Urban Meyer’s job security has decreased significantly

Even since Urban Meyer was hired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, questions about his potential success (or failure) in the NFL surfaced. And just a few weeks ago, his job security was in question after a video of him getting cozy with a woman that wasn’t his wife popped up on the internet. However, things have gotten better since then, and the Jags have won two of the last three games. Moreover, his seat has cooled down considerably.

Over the last few months, there have been reports about Meyer losing the locker room, or bolting the Jacksonville. It made sense on a surface level, the Jaguars lost five straight games to start the season and looked overwhelmed in his transition to the NFL. The fact that he decided to stay in Ohio after the Jags’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 didn’t reflect well on him and the video of him that went viral make things worse.

After the incident, the Jaguars held a close-door meeting to discuss a course of action. Jaguars owner Shad Khan said Meyer would have to regain the team’s trust due to his poor decision-making but ultimately decided to retain him. The Jaguars went on to win their first game of the season a couple of weeks later, a 23-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 6.

Although the Jaguars took a step back and lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8, they bounced back and beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. Suddenly, chatter about Meyer either getting fired or ditching the team has waned considerably. Why? Because the Jags are winning under the former Ohio State head coach. If they had lost against the Phins, you would keep hearing reports about him being at risk of losing his job.

Urban Meyer needs to build off the Jaguars’ recent wins.

All things considered, Meyer has done an adequate job in his first year in the NFL. He’s made several mistakes, some more egregious than the others. Not flying back with the team after the loss in Cincinnati is arguably the worst, and hiring Chris Doyle to be the teams’ director of sports performance might be a close second. On the other hand, he’s got the team headed in the right direction. Also, there have been several Jaguars players that have expressed their support for the head coach.

Meyer isn’t completely off the hook though. He can’t get comfortable and nows needs to continue winning. Also, he can’t afford to have another slip and must avoid the spotlight off the field. The Ohio native already saw how much negative attention his behavior can bring to the franchise.

The Jags have been irrelevant for a while. Other than the 2017 season, they haven’t won much. That’s why it wasn’t surprising to see owner Shad Khan swing for the fences and pursue Meyer. It took him a bit to get his first win with the Jaguars but he’s shown he can get the job done. Beating Colts in Week 10 would ensure talks about his job security won’t surface anytime soon.