Jaguar Report

5 Things We Learned From Jaguars' HC Urban Meyer's Conversation with Adam Schefter

Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach Urban Meyer sat down for an extensive conversation with ESPN's Adam Schefter, on the most recent episode of "The Adam Schefter Podcast." We break down the five biggest things we learned, from his distaste for the War Room, evaluating prospects and what he likes most about Trevor Lawrence.

Kassidy Hill

The media tour for the Jacksonville Jaguars continues. With a new head coach and a potential franchise-changing quarterback on the horizon, the (relatively) young NFL team is in the spotlight—for a good reason—for the first time in years.

Head Coach Urban Meyer did his part to continue the narrative this week, appearing on the Adam Schefter Podcast ahead of Thursday night’s first round in the NFL Draft. With it being Meyer’s first year in the NFL, he’s receiving a crash course in how things work before the madness kicks off in a few days.

Here are the five biggest things we learned from Meyer’s conversation with Schefter.

He’s not a fan of the "War Room"

Meyer actually calls it the “hole” and it’s where he plans on sending anyone in the Jaguars organization who messes up in the future; a timeout if you will, in the most miserable place Meyer can find.

“I’m telling you, we go in there 7 a.m. We leave that room at 7 p.m. I told everybody that when I'm done and when this draft is over, I'm going to take a hand grenade and flip it in that room when we're over. I mean that we're in that room—and by the way, there's no windows.

“Locked in a cave for two weeks watching every player you can imagine. And I’m ADD so I have to get up every 30 seconds to walk around…anybody that acts up in the Jaguars organization they're going to the hole.”

*For an inside look at how a War Room works, watch this interesting video put out by the Indianapolis Colts two years ago. 

It’s not just the physical space itself that is grating on Meyer’s nerves…it’s what it represents. This is an entirely new mindset for the longtime college coach. And while he explains to Schefter that’s gaining a greater appreciating for how general managers and scouts plan drafts, he’s still having to actively shift how he views each player.

“The whole process in recruiting, you identify the best players and you go after them. Everything here is all about value. It’s vertical but it’s also horizontal. You list your running backs in order and then, for 30 years that’s all you did, you listed people vertically. Now you have to say ‘ok horizontally, is this running back better than that defensive end at that pick.’

“It’s all value and it’s just really, really intriguing and the personal people work, I have so much respect for what those guys do. What a tough world to sit in that video room for months. I want to call these kids all the time, develop relationships, and our GM’s like ‘don’t call them too much cause their agents will tell other people we’re calling them.’ So just a whole different mindset.”

While he is learning more and more about what goes in to grading a player—and subsequently a pick—there are some talents that stand out so much, he can’t help but dream. And with the 10 picks the Jaguars have in capital for this weekend, that dream seems right there.

“I watch the videotape and I keep going after our GM [Trent Baalke], ‘how do we get this guy? Move up in the draft.’ And you can see the value of those top 5, 6, 7 picks, I get it now. I never quite understood because I didn't have time, I didn't study like I have. But I am, that mesmerizes me right now is how you—because I can’t, after the draft, we can talk about it. But there's some people in this draft that, you know, I'm looking at my GM saying 'move us up, man, let's get there.’ And he's like, ‘it's not that easy.’

“You'd have to mortgage—some of these picks I want, you’d to have to give away your next few years of draft choices. And that's obviously, that's not business smart.”

He’s leaning heavily on the NFL veterans

Since it’s not like recruiting and things are more “horizontal,” Meyer is relying on those around him. The three time National Championship coach is unmatched on the sidelines. That’s never been disputed. It’s the business side of the NFL that even he has admitted will take time to learn. He spent around 18 months doing just that every day; but there’s no substitute for being knee deep in it everyday.

To make the most of the situation, Meyer stacked his staff with NFL experience. As a matter of fact, his new staff only features five coaches from the college ranks.

Related: ‘Relentless in Their Effort’: Jaguars’ Sanjay Lal Breaks Down Joining Urban Meyer’s Staff, Developing Chark & Shenault and More

Meyer purposely hired coaches with ample NFL experience, like receivers coach Sanjay Lal. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“Coming from college to the pro, you think you know it, you don’t know it,” Meyer told Schefter. “And I’m not ashamed to say I’m learning as we go, but I’m learning really fast. And I’m surrounding myself, on purpose, I’m surrounding myself with people who have experience.

“I'm such a relational person that I want to, I want to get about a foot from this players face and talk to him about like dinner, you know, ‘what are you made off? How you going to handle this? What are your, you know, what are your habits? What are your, tell me about your family,’ and I want to know this and and you're now doing it on iPad? And, you know, it's not, iPads aren't the same as in person. So there’s challenges here, and I'm very grateful I surrounded myself with veteran people, veteran NFL people.”

Meyer and the Jags did a deep dive on all of the QBs

Meyer and owner Shad Khan have alluded a number of times to have important they believe getting the No. 1 pick overall will be and Meyer reiterated it again to Schefter, telling him, “I can't think of a more important decision that I've been involved in.”

It’s been presumed for months—and even three years if you ask some—that Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence would be and will be the first overall pick. That’s still the case, with those in the Jags organization doing everything but say it explicitly.

Still, with the future of the franchise, and for that matter Meyer and Khan’s career, in the balance, every stone had to be upturned.

“We went at least for I want to, say four to five, six weeks. I mean, we were really deep,” Meyer said of the staff’s dive into the entire quarterback class.

“Then we've narrowed it down. And then you had your top two or three that you would say, series of zoom calls. We did you know, the best we could; we split up on pro days, send a guy out to BYU, one to Ohio State, obviously went to Clemson.

“Those are the three that we identified. And we did a deep dive into those guys.”

Those three being BYU quarterback Zach Wilson and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields along with “obviously” Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence, Wilson and Fields are largely considered to be the top three quarterbacks in the draft, along with North Dakota State passer Trey Lance and Alabama Crimson Tide QB Mac Jones. Wilson is expected to go No. 2 overall to the New York Jets. From there, debate abounds as to who the San Francisco will and/or should take with the third pick.

But it’s never been in question that the Jaguars would take Lawrence first overall. So why the extra homework?

“I think you just got to make sure you're doing the right thing,” explains Meyer. “All our success and failure is going to be dependent upon this pack.

“Over the last, I would say probably 15 years, I've witnessed all 32 teams, how they go about their business. And I've always had great admiration for the organizations that dig and work and drive…they can't ask enough questions. And I'm not talking about how he’s throwing the out-cut. By the way, an out-cut isn't what makes a guy successful. It's all the preparation and the seriousness, how he takes care of his body, competitive spirit, toughness, all the things. And we, I mean, I give great credit to our staff, we dug as hard as we possibly could.

Meyer Believes Lawrence is Refreshing

Schefter pointed out to Meyer that because of Lawrence’s experience from high school through Clemson, he has more starts than Sam Darnold. It’s a huge difference from a Meyer product that the coach referenced, Dwayne Haskins, who played one year in college before going to the NFL. Lawrence has seven years starting in the role. That will make a massive difference according to the coach.

"That is the ultimate repetition position..it's time tested too; it's not a, ‘he gets it from last month or two months ago,’” bragged Meyer, referencing Lawrence’s ability to defeat Alabama for a National Championship as a freshman, and then get his team back to the playoffs in the two subsequent years.

“He gets it.”

But he gets it beyond the football field too according to Meyer, and that’s what has really helped the unanimous No. 1 prospect stand out to the longtime coach.

“His sincerity is—when I say sincerity, all he ever talks about is winning, all he ever talks about is getting better. You know, it's not social media following, it's, you know, he's not even going to the NFL Draft. It's not, you know, there's not a whole lot in his life, other than his faith and his family. And I'm intrigued by that, you know, and winning.

"Also, you know, the guy gets married, and everybody's at his wedding, and his players speak so highly of him. You know, I've talked to many of his players on his team; obviously, his coaches, but I always like to ask players to, especially that position. And you have to be a leader and you have to be respected or quarterbacks will fail. And he checked those boxes; big black marks on those boxes. He was respected by his teammates. And just his focus in his life is really, I, you know, I use the term refreshing because it is.”

Meyer want this to be for the community

While the coach and his family have only officially lived on the First Coast for three months, the former Florida Gators coach is familiar with the area and has often vacationed with his family in the area. Then, the past few weeks have endeared the area even more to the Meyer family. And for a community that has had brushes with success but never reached the Promised Land, the new head coach wants to deliver.

“A lot of people are counting on us; an owner, but you know, you start looking at, I've been here now for almost three months. This community is incredible. I’ve always loved 904 and Duval County and all that. And I know this county, I know this community, but I also know the value of successful football teams, I've seen it. I've seen it, you know from Bowling Green, Ohio, how it just invigorated a community that was a little down. All the way to Salt Lake City, same with Gainesville, same with Columbus and bang, you get to going here now, a lot of good things can happen in the 904 if we win some games.” 

Published
Kassidy Hill
KASSIDY HILL

Home/News