Urban Meyer’s first few months in the NFL have been productive, but at the same time, they’ve come with some controversy. The latest incident by the first-year head coach involved both him and the Jacksonville Jaguars getting hit with a combined total of $300K in fines by the NFL, which came as the result of organized team activity violations.
Of course, as a result of the fines and other incidents that have occurred over the last few months Meyer has accumulated many critics, and ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is among them. In the most recent episode of “Get Up,” Finebaum expressed that he doesn’t think Meyer’s time in the NFL will last long due to the controversy he came into the league with and the incidents he’s already had in it.
“I’ll try not to sound like a broken record, but this is not going to work,” Finebaum said on Friday’s episode of “Get Up.” “It may work short-term because he has Trevor Lawrence and you can build a team, but ultimately, Urban Meyer is going to flame out.
“You laid it out very eloquently there. It’s already happening. This guy does not get along with rules. He does not like to be told what to do. It didn’t work at Florida when he fled, it didn’t work at Ohio State when he battled the administration and finally walked off, or was pushed out, and it’s not going to work here.”
When processing Finebaum’s statements, he’s not the first to question how long Meyer will last in the NFL. However, NFL fans have witnessed Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots overcome instances where rules were broken, and yet they still have six championships under him. So, in other words, there have been instances where the “rule breakers” of the league haven’t necessarily flamed out, although Finebaum may be basing this off Meyer’s collegiate track record.
As for Meyer’s controversial situations in the NFL, the Chris Doyle hiring was one Meyer should’ve undoubtedly avoided, however, the other incidents he’s had in the league aren’t as controversial as some have made them out to be.
While the Tim Tebow signing does look like a favor, many local reporters don’t believe he looks that out of place for someone on a 90-man roster, although he probably doesn’t need to be on the final roster. As for the fines, many players have praised Meyer for the type of coach he’s been since signing with the Jags like team leaders Josh Allen, Myles Jack, and Shaq Griffin. That said, it appears a majority (if not all) of the players haven’t been upset with the team’s practice habits under Meyer.
It’s anyone’s guess on if Meyer will work out in the NFL and how long he will be a part of it, but it’s worth noting that he studied the league well before entering it despite the incidents he’s had. He has several veteran NFL assistants on his staff who he trusts tremendously like Joe Cullen, Darrell Bevell, and Brian Schottenheimer, and if Meyer has success in the NFL, it’s going to be because he leaned on them heavily as he tries his hand in the league.