Jaguars HC Urban Meyer earns harsh criticism from former NFL GM

Whether you liked the Jacksonville Jaguars’ decision to hire Urban Meyer as their head coach, you would agree he deserved a chance to prove he could make the transition from college to the pros. After all, he had a reputation for turning programs around everywhere he went. But so far, he’s failed to leave his mark with the Jags and recently earned harsh but objective criticism from a former NFL executive.

Randy Mueller, former general manager of the New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins, recently shared his thoughts on this year’s rookie head coach class with Matt Lombardo of FanSided. Mueller says that Meyer, along with New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, hasn’t “done anything to make a difference on Sundays yet“. He points out that players notice this and describe the situation as “very concerning”. Moreover, their respective front offices haven’t helped them much.

Muller isn’t alone in his assessment of Meyer. Dan Graziano of ESPN also weighed in on the situation. In a different article, he echoed Muller’s thoughts and noted that Meyer hasn’t done anything to indicate he’s the right man to lead the Jaguars. He believes the organization made a mistake when they hired him but if he stays, his staff will undergo significant changes.

"He has done nothing to indicate he’s in any way a difference-maker at this level, hasn’t always seemed overly into the job and has made a number of missteps that have made the organization look bad."

The criticism Jaguars HC Urban Meyer is getting is warranted.

During his short stint in Jacksonville, Meyer has gone on to make several mistakes. His most recent one is benching running back James Robinson in the last two games for fumbling. Although he needs to bear responsibility for the mistakes, it seems like other Jaguars’ players aren’t held to the same standards. What makes this even more worrisome is the fact that the head coach doesn’t seem to have an explanation for the incident. Also, his disconnect with both players and the coaching staff has been exposed, as he’s tried to pin the blame on running backs coach Bernie Parmalee.

It would be one thing if the Jaguars were losing but were competitive. However, that’s not the case. Over the last four weeks, they’ve fallen behind early and have struggled to score points. Moreover, they’ve committed costly penalties at crucial times. That’s not the stamp of a disciplined team and it all starts at the top.

Meyer recently recognized he needs to do a better job of being aware of everything that’s going on. What’s become clear is that he’s struggled to adjust to the NFL and that’s reflected on the Jaguars’ 2-10 record. Maybe he will end up figuring things out but that doesn’t give him a free pass for the time being. Quite the contrary, the Ohio native knew what he was getting into when he accepted the job.

Having said that, Meyer needs to be granted a full chance to prove he can turn the Jaguars into a playoff team. Whether he takes advantage of the opportunity remains to be seen.