The Jacksonville Jaguars were eliminated from the playoffs this week after falling to the Tennessee Titans in a 20-0 shut out. The loss was one that eliminated them from the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, and they now have just one more win than they did at this point last season (2-11).
Simply put, even with sweeping changes and a rookie quarterback, that’s not where anyone familiar with the organization hoped they’d be. Clearly, even with four games remaining, there is a ton of rebuilding to do – and the team doesn’t feel a step ahead of the 2020 team that only won one game.
Most frustrating of all is that this season showed signs of being a disaster from the very beginning, and it was one full of decisions that the team probably regrets along the way.
Here is a look at seven that stand out:
7. Hiring Chris Doyle
Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle works with players before a NCAA Big Ten Conference football game, Saturday, Nov., 16, 2019, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. [ HawkCentral]
Though Chris Doyle was only a part of the organization for a day, this incident marked a tumultuous start to Meyer’s budding NFL career, and understandably brought a lot of scrutiny to his hiring. On top of getting the attention of The Fritz Pollard Alliance, an organization dedicated to emphasizing the diversity in the NFL, the decision to hire Doyle came just eight months after he left Iowa University due to alleged bullying and racism. According to reports, the allegations against Doyle resulted in an investigation last summer revealing that several Black players felt they were victims of systemic racism and mistreatment during their time with the program.
Considering Meyer’s decision to hire Doyle came four weeks into his career as an NFL coach, it quickly became clear that he hadn’t left his antics in the past – and as forthcoming entries on this list show, he doesn’t seem to have learned much from the debacle.
6. Meyer’s decision not to retain Keenan McCardell in Jacksonville
Jan 21, 2018; Foxborough, MA, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver coach Keenan McCardell during the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Jags’ 2020 season, much like this one, was hard to watch, but there were some parts of Doug Marrone’s staff that were salvageable. Meyer did keep several assistants from the group like offensive line coach George Warhop and defensive backs coaches Tim Walton and Joe Danna.
However, receivers coach Keenan McCardell was one of the many assistants he let go of, and it was a puzzling decision to say the least. For a coach who values wide receiver performance like Meyer (and who is pretty upset with the group, if Tom Pelissero’s report is to be believed), retaining McCardell would’ve made so much sense.
When looking at what McCardell’s receivers are currently doing in Minnesota, it’s quite impressive, though the group does consist of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Still, McCardell has shown the ability to get production outside of his top-2 receivers, as we’ve seen with Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook, and that’s something the Jags need right now.
5. The handling of Trevor Lawrence’s training camp reps
Jaguars Quarterbacks (3) C.J. Beathard, (15) Gardner Minshew II and (16) Trevor Lawrence transition between drills during Tuesday’s Jacksonville Jaguars Organized Team Activities session at the practice fields outside TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville Florida June 8, 2021.[Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
During training camp, Meyer clearly wanted Lawrence to earn the QB1 spot, but it’s very possible he let the “battle” go on too long as Lawrence wasn’t named the starter until after their last preseason game. To make things even more puzzling, the Jags ended up trading his top competitor, Gardner Minshew II, three days later.
With the team struggling offensively in the preseason, it feels like the Jags should’ve named Lawrence the starter sooner, but they let the two alternate snaps as the QB1 in practice for a good portion of training camp. The Jags’ struggles leaked into the regular season, too, as the offense in particular was a work in progress the first three weeks.
Maybe if the staff let Lawrence take QB1 reps at the start of the preseason, the Jags could’ve at least started the regular season better. But instead, they let a quarterback who is no longer on the roster take a good chunk of the reps with Lawrence even though it was clear Minshew wouldn’t remain with the Jags from the start.
4. The hiring of Darrell Bevell (on Meyer’s part)
Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell on the field during Tuesday’s minicamp session. The Jacksonville Jaguars held their Tuesday morning session of the team’s mandatory minicamp at the practice fields outside TIAA Bank Field, June 15, 2021. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
There is no doubt that Darrell Bevell deserves respect as an offensive mind when considering he’s won a Super Bowl and has gone to another with the Seattle Seahawks. In the process, he worked with Russell Wilson during some of his best seasons, and he also worked with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as a positions coach.
But there is clearly a disconnect between him and Meyer, and that’s not helping Lawrence the slightest bit (though skill player injuries also haven’t helped, either). In fact, since the bye week, the Jags have only totaled 64 points, marking the lowest total in franchise history.
The #Titans shut out the #Jaguars 20-0.
Jacksonville’s 64 points since the bye are the fewest in any 7-game stretch in franchise history.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 12, 2021
Some of the most alarming signs of the disconnect between Bevell and Meyer were the statements Meyer made after the Jags Week 12 loss to Atlanta. In the postgame presser, Meyer emphasized the Jags would utilize more spread aspects (like quarterback runs, run-pass options, and an up-tempo approach in general) for Lawrence. That begged the question: Why did it take so long to come to this realization?
When asked this, Meyer’s answer was simply “Good question.”
Though Meyer insisted it wasn’t stubbornness that kept them from finally making Lawrence more comfortable, he added that the team was still figuring things out.
“There’s no stubbornness, it’s just we’re all figuring this thing out, and we should have it figured out by now,” Meyer said. “And I would say this: That it’s not like we don’t have it figured out. We’re not executing at a high level. We’re putting ourselves in position to win a game, and if we eliminate some nonsense, then we would go win a game.”
This would indicate that Meyer made a mistake with the most important pairing on the team: the pairing of a quarterback and offensive coordinator. And while it isn’t clear who is behind the late attempt to make Lawrence comfortable, Meyer can’t be happy with the growth of Lawrence and what he’s witnessing offensively.
3. The benching and usage of James Robinson
Oct 31, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, right and running back James Robinson (25) stand on the sideline during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The decision to bench James Robinson – arguably their best skill player – two Sundays ago has to be something Meyer regrets at this point, but not for the reason people think. He likely regrets it because it opened up the Pandora’s box of dysfunction the sports media world is now investigating on a deeper level.
Since this decision, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero has dropped a damning report that not only got to the bottom of Robinson’s benching (which Meyer, not his staff, is allegedly behind), but that also brought to light how Meyer has allegedly mistreated others in the organization. That included challenging his staff to defend their résumés while calling them “losers” and getting into a heated argument with receiver Marvin Jones Jr.
The fall out of the report now has Meyer’s future in question and has brought ownership into renewed focus as they had similar issues under the previous regime. Week 13’s game wasn’t the only time that Robinson has been questionably sidelined, either, as the team had him on the sidelines during a failed goal-line situation Week 5 against Tennessee, electing to use Carlos Hyde instead.
In a nutshell, it’s a situation that could hurt the organization as a whole, especially if they keep Meyer. It’s also hard to imagine owner Shad Khan being happy about this when his goal is to make Jacksonville a destination for players.
2. Not hiring a new general manager with an aggressive style
Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer talks with the team’s General Manager Trent Baalke on the practice fields outside TIAA Bank Field during the Jacksonville Jaguars mandatory veterans minicamp session Monday morning, June 14, 2021. [Florida Times-Union]
Once the team hired Meyer, they decided to roll with 2020 interim general manager Trent Baalke a few weeks later, making him the biggest holdover from the last regime. However, it never felt like Baalke would be a great fit for the organization or a great fit to pair with Meyer when looking at his past in San Francisco.
While there was a three-year stint where the San Francisco 49ers made the postseason from 2011-13, his track record with keeping the talent he drafted was terrible. According to Niners Nation, Baalke made 61 picks during his time as the 49ers’ general manager (2011-16) and 26 (41%) of them either retired or became free agents by 2018. An even more alarming figure is that 35 (57%) of those players were either released or retired.
Simply put, a team can’t function with almost 60% of their draft picks being released. When considering this, it probably wasn’t wise to pair someone with such an unimpressive résumé with a first-year head coach.
Additionally, Baalke wasn’t the best at making aggressive or impactful signings in free-agency, and his last two seasons there were telling. And while he did add a few solid contributors, it didn’t involve the kind of signings that would elevate a one-win team like Meyer was hoping for.
The Jags needed stars to make a reasonable jump. Instead, their class only involved a few good C-tier signings, but none of them were the best options at their positions. Furthermore, their approach wasn’t great in terms of adding weapons around Lawrence, and it shows.
Even taking Meyer out of the mix, Baalke is a bad fit for the Jags for the simple fact that they are at a disadvantage when it comes to luring in free agents because they’re in a small market and don’t have a winning culture. Instead they need an executive with solid prospect evaluating skills and one who won’t hesitate to use the necessary cap to bring in a star or two to support the team’s foundation (Lawrence).
1. Hiring Urban Meyer
Dec 12, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
It goes without saying Khan genuinely thought he was getting the right man to lead the Jags, but Meyer’s hiring was already marred by uncertainty about whether his experience would translate to the NFL.
Could he coach grown men and connect with them? Could he lure talent into Jacksonville? Could he thrive with a group that wasn’t loaded with talent? Could he surround himself with the right football minds? Could he handle losing like a professional? Could he avoid controversy while in the NFL?
For the most part, the answer to these questions has been a resounding no, and as a result, this risky hire by Khan is one that has come back to haunt him. Instead of the hiring making the Jags look like a world class organization, it’s made it look like one of the worst in the NFL.
As risky as it was, though, it’s hard not to believe that Khan wasn’t aware of the gamble he was taking. Furthermore, he was basically asking a coach who had never had a job on the professional football level to lead football operations, a task best left to someone with NFL experience.
Like everyone in the football community, Khan was aware of Meyer’s flaws, but he clearly put a lot of faith into the former college football star being able to make the proper adjustments, and it simply never happened. It probably didn’t help that Meyer did a great job of emphasizing how much he studied the league beforehand, which could have given Khan a little more comfort in hiring him.
Now, for the second consecutive December, the organization has questions about the long-term future of the coaching staff. While Khan has said he won’t make an abrupt decision on Meyer, only four games remain before Meyer’s 2021 tenure is being evaluated. Based on how the team has played, it’s doubtful that their record will be worth the trouble of retaining him.
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