Jaguars’ loss to Rams shows Urban Meyer must change approach
Back in the offseason, it looked like the Jacksonville Jaguars were onto something. They hired Urban Meyer to be their head coach and the team’s brass made several changes to the roster. Moreover, they used the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to take quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
It’s fair to say the Jaguars looked better than they did in last year’s offseason, at least on paper but then the regular season came, and things went south. Right now, they’re 2-10 and are coming off a 37-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It seems unlikely that they’re going to run the table and win the remaining five games in the schedule. What they can do is take a deep look at all the areas they need to fix, so they can address them in the offseason, and it all starts with Meyer.
The Jaguars head coach has made several baffling decisions in his short stint. One of the many is not knowing what’s happening during the game. For the second consecutive week, running back James Robinson remained on the sidelines after fumbling the ball. Veteran Carlos Hyde took his spot in the lineup and finished the game with more carries (9).
Meyer met with the local media after the Jaguars’ 37-7 loss and once again said he “doesn’t micromanage” the game when asked why Robinson wasn’t on the field after the fumble. The head coach added you would have to ask running backs coach Bernie Parmalee why the team went with Hyde.
As the leader of the team, Meyer must take ownership, take responsibility when things go wrong and share credit when they go right. He can’t simply wash his hands and say “I don’t know” or that “he doesn’t know the answers”. Also, he needs to know what everyone is doing. Sure, nobody likes that boss that micromanages a team but his approach isn’t working, so he will need to get back to the drawing board and make adjustments to his coaching style.
Maybe Meyer needs to have a meeting with the team captains or talk to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, whom he’s acquainted with. The one thing that is clear is that he needs to figure out what needs to change next offseason.