Class is in session for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After a 1-15 season, the franchise is undergoing another rebuild.
It’s a steep fall from grace four years after they entered the AFC Championship Game.
As part of the revamp, the Jaguars selected Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the number one pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
After some close competition, he was named as the team’s starter once the regular season commences.
Without question, Lawrence has the raw talent to become successful in the league.
But just like him, his head coach is also taking daily classes in NFL 101.
In college, Urban Meyer was a god.
He won three national titles with two schools, Florida and Ohio State.
Unfortunately, he was forced to retire in 2018 due to health concerns which include an arachnoid cyst in his brain.
Three years later, he is a rookie head coach in the NFL.
No one can take away his accomplishments in the college game.
However, the NFL is a different dimension.
Legit. Urban Meyer should already be thinking of a new OC
This ish archaic
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) August 24, 2021
The game is faster and the players are fiercer.
He might even find it hard to defeat the teams in their own division.
The Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans are playoff teams.
Jacksonville might not be able to defeat the Houston Texans despite the issues surrounding their roster.
For the longest time, Meyer dominated teams like Tulsa or Akron.
This time, he will inherit a cupcake team with a losing record in 2021.
Sure, preseason should not be an accurate gauge of how a team will perform.
But observations after two tune-up games do not paint a good picture.
The offense is not in sync and the linemen cannot give Lawrence enough time to throw.
The Jaguars are in for a long season if they don’t come together.
Lessons To Be Learned
NFL head coaches usually don’t have much success during their rookie year.
Only two of them won the Super Bowl in their first year.
However, there’s a caveat to their achievements because they already inherited championship teams.
George Seifert became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers after Bill Walsh, while Don McCafferty led the Baltimore Colts to victory in Super Bowl V.
Even Jimmy Johnson, a national champion with the University of Miami, won just one game during his maiden season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Therefore, Meyer is in for a long year.
Urban Meyer in the halftime locker room pic.twitter.com/XGcF7zYxs1
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) August 24, 2021
He will not have the most talented team on the field, unlike what he’s accustomed to with his championship teams.
There will be ugly games wherein they will lose early and by a huge margin.
But that’s the time when he will learn much about his team and his players.
They will face much adversity during the 17-game season and each step offers room for improvement.
Meyer will learn the pace of the NFL game which is way faster than what college offers.
He will understand that the salary cap will limit his ability to recruit players.
However, Meyer can prove his greatness if he aces the test of making the Jaguars relevant again.
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