Anthony Schlegel Announces He is Joining Urban Meyer's Jaguars Staff as Strength Coach

The former NFL linebacker and assistant Ohio State strength coach said on Monday that he is joining Urban Meyer in Jacksonville.

Urban Meyer has seemingly added another familiar name to his staff in Jacksonville, this time in the form of a head Strength and Conditioning coach. 

Former NFL and Ohio State linebacker Anthony Schlegel announced on 'Morning Juice' on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus that he will be the head strength and conditioning coach for the Jaguars under Meyer.

"It is an opportunity to be the head strength coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a position in which I have been preparing for it for the last 10-11 years through a variety of things," Schlegel said.

Schlegel was a key Ohio State defender from 2003-2005 before being drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent the next two years in the NFL before eventually moving on to becoming an assistant with Ohio State in 2011. 

While Meyer didn't hire Schlegel at Ohio State, the former linebacker was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the first few years of Meyer's tenure with the Buckeyes.

"When you have an opportunity to work for someone that you believe in and trust and understand their culture and what they want in an organization with Coach Meyer," Schlegel said. "All gas, no brakes. Let's go."

Morning Juice Goodbye Schlegs! 1-18-21 https://t.co/5pp3LBvqwQ

— Morning Juice (@MorningJuice971) January 18, 2021

Meyer was named Jacksonville's head coach last Thursday and was introduced to the media and fan base on Friday. The three-time national champion coach has never coached in the NFL until now, so it is clearly a priority for him to surround himself with coaches on and off the field that he trusts as he enters a transition phase.

“I believe everything is. There’s one way that people who work for me, with me, they’ll hear a statement, it’s just the best of the best. If it’s not, then the question is why? That’s the same thing I’m doing every time I walk through everywhere. We did that at Ohio State. We did that at Florida. It’s just the very best," Meyer said on Friday. "If it’s not, especially when you start talking about player welfare and safety and then just the players and if it’s not the very best, let’s have a chat and do what’s very best. The Jacksonville players are going to get pushed. In return, we give them the very best, that includes the coaching staff, number one the coaching staff. 

"Does a big hot tub have that much of a difference? I didn’t say that, but I just want to make sure it’s the best of the best. Shad is very committed to that, as well as this organization. That’s something that it’s hard for me to answer right now, but I think within months you might see or hear things that we’re doing the very best we can for our players.”