Official: Urban Meyer named Jaguars Head Coach
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOOTBALL – It’s official: Urban Meyer is the Jaguars’ new head coach.
“This is a great day for Jacksonville and Jaguars fans everywhere,” team owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “Urban Meyer is who we want and need, a leader, winner and champion who demands excellence and produces results. While Urban already enjoys a legacy in the game of football that few will ever match, his passion for the opportunity in front of him here in Jacksonville is powerful and unmistakable.”
Meyer, one of the most successful coaches in college football history, on Wednesday was named the Jaguars’ head coach. The team announced the news in a statement Wednesday.
Meyer, 56, coached collegiately at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He went 187-32 as a college coach, coaching Florida to national titles following the 2006 and 2008 seasons and Ohio State to a national title following the 2014 season. He went 17-6 at Bowling Green (2001-2002), 22-2 at Utah (2003-2004), 65-15 at Florida (2005-2010) and 83-9 at Ohio State (2012-2018).
Meyer, who will succeed Doug Marrone in the position, becomes the sixth permanent head coach in the Jaguars’ 27 seasons. Tom Coughlin was head coach from 1995-2002, with Jack Del Rio holding the position from 2003-2011, Mike Mularkey holding it in 2012, Gus Bradley holding it from 2013-2016 and Marrone holding it from 2017-2020.
The Jaguars went 1-15 in 2020 and enter the offseason holding the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. That marks the first time the Jaguars have held the No. 1 selection.
The Jaguars’ general manager position remains open, with the team having dismissed David Caldwell from that position on November 29.
WHO IS URBAN MEYER?
Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Meyer previously served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons from 2001 to 2002, the Utah Utes from 2003 to 2004, the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010, and the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2011 until his retirement after the 2019 Rose Bowl. From 2019 to 2020, Meyer was employed by Ohio State University as their assistant athletic director of athletics initiatives and relations and also was an analyst for Fox Sports, appearing weekly on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pre-game show.
Meyer was born in Toledo, Ohio, grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, and attended the University of Cincinnati, where he played football as a defensive back. During his time at the University of Florida, he coached the Gators to two BCS National Championship Game victories, during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Meyer’s winning percentage through the conclusion of the 2009 season (.842) was the highest among all active coaches with a minimum of five full seasons at a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. Following his temporary retirement in 2011, he worked as a college football analyst for the television sports network ESPN before succeeding Jim Tressel as Ohio State’s 23rd head football coach. In 2014, he led the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten Conference title under his tenure as well as the program’s eighth national championship. Meyer is one of three coaches (the others being Pop Warner and Nick Saban) to win a major college football national championship at two different universities.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) (2001–2002) | |||||||||
| 2001 | Bowling Green | 8–3 | 5–3 | T–3rd (East) | |||||
| 2002 | Bowling Green | 9–3 | 6–2 | 3rd (East) | |||||
| Bowling Green: | 17–6 | 11–5 | |||||||
| Utah Utes (Mountain West Conference) (2003–2004) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Utah | 10–2 | 6–1 | 1st | W Liberty | 21 | 21 | ||
| 2004 | Utah | 12–0 | 7–0 | 1st | W Fiesta† | 5 | 4 | ||
| Utah: | 22–2 | 13–1 | |||||||
| Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (2005–2010) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Florida | 9–3 | 5–3 | T–2nd (Eastern) | W Outback | 16 | 12 | ||
| 2006 | Florida | 13–1 | 7–1 | 1st (Eastern) | W BCS NCG† | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2007 | Florida | 9–4 | 5–3 | 3rd (Eastern) | L Capital One | 16 | 13 | ||
| 2008 | Florida | 13–1 | 7–1 | 1st (Eastern) | W BCS NCG† | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | Florida | 13–1 | 8–0 | 1st (Eastern) | W Sugar† | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2010 | Florida | 8–5 | 4–4 | 2nd (Eastern) | W Outback | ||||
| Florida: | 65–15 | 36–12 | |||||||
| Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Conference) (2012–2018) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Ohio State | 12–0 | 8–0 | 1st (Leaders) | [n 1] | [n 1] | 3 | ||
| 2013 | Ohio State | 12–2 | 8–0 | 1st (Leaders) | L Orange† | 10 | 12 | ||
| 2014 | Ohio State | 14–1 | 8–0 | 1st (East) | W Sugar†, W CFP NCG† | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2015 | Ohio State | 12–1 | 7–1 | T–1st (East) | W Fiesta† | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2016 | Ohio State | 11–2 | 8–1 | T–1st (East) | L Fiesta† | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2017 | Ohio State | 12–2 | 8–1 | 1st (East) | W Cotton† | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2018 | Ohio State | 10–1[n 2] | 7–1[n 2] | T–1st (East) | W Rose† | 3 | 3 | ||
| Ohio State: | 83–9 | 54–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 187–32 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
On January 14, 2021, Meyer was hired to become the seventh head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
