Urban Meyer is Not Ready for the NFL

I was recently checking some NFL news, it has been a free agent bonanza lately, and I came across quite the interesting story for me. I felt like the people writing this particular piece had me in mind when doing it.

What’s the story?

Free agency had just ended, and it appeared that the new Jacksonville Jaguars coach, a man who I despise, who I think is a liar and a cheater, who makes excuses constantly and continues, even now, to make poor choices, Urban Meyer, does not like how the NFL does their free agency. He complained that you do not get to talk face to face with the players, that everything is done through their agents. He claimed that "in the old days" it was more important to have a dinner with the player, to get to know them, before deciding if he wanted to sign them. But now he guessed that it has just changed. That the players kind of pass the buck to their agents, and let them do the work.

Well Urban, this has been going on forever. Even me, just a fan of football, knows that this is the case. This is not college football anymore. You do not have to convince a kid to come and play at your school. These guys are established pros, guys who have made copious amounts of money, guys that want to go to a place where they will either get more playing time or compete for a ring. They do not need to be sold by anyone, especially a coach who will be, most likely, making less money than them. Professional football players do not want some show. They do not need to see their number in the stands, or have some PA announcer say some nonsense about how they are going to be the greatest to ever play for a certain team.

When the Clippers did this for Blake Griffin I cringed. And now look at where Griffin is in his career. The Clippers traded him less than a year into that contract, he struggled mightily in Detroit, and while I like his fit with Brooklyn, he still looks out of shape. All of that happened because the NBA is a business. This might have worked at Oklahoma, when he played there, but in LA, when he was no longer an asset, they let him go. The same can be said for the NFL, except the NFL is so much more cut throat. I remember when running backs were the hot commodity. Now, they will be cut or released two to three years into their career. People are already crushing the Cowboys for paying Ezekial Elliot so much money. Leonard Fournette has become a spot back making far less than when he was a rookie. Doug Martin is out of the league. They didn't produce like some teams thought, and they cut them. That is how it goes.

For Meyer to say what he said, to whine like this, to be this, quite frankly, stupid about how free agency works, it makes me think he is not going to be the success himself and Jacksonville thought when they hired him. I did not like the move because I thought something like this was going to happen. It is just like Chip Kelly and Steve Spurrier's offense getting figured out so quickly. It reminds me of all the awful decisions the Washington Football Team has made trying to lure big time free agents. It is akin to what Dallas has done the past couple years. Teams, mainly the GM's, have to be shrewd. That is why New England and Green Bay, and even Kansas City, who just restructured Patrick Mahomes humongous deal are so good. They know how to do free agency because they do not have college guys running their system. Meyer was a great college coach. It hurts my soul to write that, but it is true. He also was an ace recruiter, and I am sure he did most of it underhanded. I'm sure he skirted some rules to constantly get the best kids. I think every major school does it. Even Michigan. But in the pros, and I know I have said it a ton, these guys do not need the money. They have plenty of it. Most players have people that work for them who help them invest and save because they have too much money. Meyer needs to realize that very, very soon. He is going to have to rely on young, inexperienced players to win. He will have a rookie QB starting for him. He is going to have to learn to build a team through the draft because free agents are not going to want to play for one of the worst franchises in the NFL. All of their good players have left for greener pastures and better teams. If Meyer is frustrated by free agency, just wait until he has to face a very good NFL defense that isn't going to be intimidated by a hurry up spread offense. Those guys won't be fooled. They will be ready to rip some heads off.

The Urban Meyer era has started off very rocky in Jacksonville, do not forget he hired that former Iowa coach with a racist past and a penchant to undermine players and then gave some BS apology after he was forced to resign. Add on this free agency thing now. And they haven't even had a practice or played a game yet. I still think he has a small chance to succeed in the NFL, but that window gets smaller and smaller for me everyday whenever another story like this comes out. Times could continue to be rough in Jacksonville unless they get their coach to realize this is a business, that this isn't college anymore. If they don't, they will be looking for another new coach much sooner than they hoped.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.