NFL Coaching Carousel: Will Urban Meyer Coach the Jaguars Next Season?

The 2020 NFL regular season is officially in the rearview mirror. It has been a season few will forget for a variety of reasons, but the upcoming playoffs should be fascinating. The Kansas City Chiefs are clear-cut betting favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but their path to Tampa won’t be an easy one.

While the end of the regular season means the playoffs are on the horizon, it also means many teams will begin to look for new head coaches. As is the case every year, a handful of teams have already decided to make changes with regard to their coaching staffs. The Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions will begin searches for new coaches after firing their old ones in the middle of the season. The Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets, and Jacksonville Jaguars decided to part ways with their coaches on Monday, the day after the season came to a close.

We’ll see whether any other teams follow suit. As of now, there are six head coaching vacancies around the NFL.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars won their very first game of the season, but it was all downhill from there. Jacksonville finished the 2020 campaign on a 15-game losing streak, which ultimately cost Doug Marrone his job. The Jags announced that Marrone was fired on Monday morning.

Where the team goes next should be interesting considering the Jaguars are a potentially attractive job heading into next season. That’s because Jacksonville is set to have the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.

Barring a dramatic development, the Jags will almost surely nab Clemson standout QB Trevor Lawrence with that selection. Lawrence is believed by many to be the best QB prospect to come out of college since Andrew Luck, so it makes sense that some prospective coaches may be eager to take the Jags’ newly-vacant gig.

One name that has already been floated out there is former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. Meyer has already been linked with Jacksonville, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the former college coach is seeking a deal that would pay him around $12 million a year to come out of retirement. Meyer has been a college football TV analyst in the two years since he stepped down from his previous post at Ohio State.

Jacksonville has more to offer than any team hiring a new HC and or GM. Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick, 11 total picks, over $100 million in salary-cap space and strong ownership. NFL execs and coaches find the Jacksonville situation highly appealing.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 4, 2021

If Meyer does land a contract that pays him $12 million annually, he will surpass New England’s Bill Belichick as the highest-paid coach in the NFL. Jaguars owner Shad Khan denied that he has spoken to Meyer about the job on Monday, but there seems to be mutual interest heading into the offseason.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers capped their season on a four-game winning streak, but that wasn’t enough to help Anthony Lynn keep his job. Chargers owner Dean Spanos announced Monday that Lynn has been fired after four seasons on the job. Lynn leaves LA with a regular-season record of 33-32, but the Chargers made just one playoff appearance during his tenure.

Los Angeles figures to be another hot destination thanks to the emergence of Justin Herbert. Herbert is the odds-on favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year after posting outstanding numbers in his first pro season. The Oregon product completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 4,336 yards with 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Herbert’s 31 TD passes were the most in NFL history by a rookie quarterback.

Any team armed with a potential superstar at the QB position will be an attractive landing spot for head coaching candidates. Herbert, Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, and Hunter Henry give the Chargers a solid base of offensive talent around which to build moving forward. The Chargers likely need to search for some upgrades along the offensive line, while Joey Bosa, Kenneth Murray, and Derwin James are some legitimately good defensive building blocks.

The Chargers have lost 16 games by one touchdown or less over the last two seasons, which is the most in the NFL. Brian Daboll, who has helped mold Josh Allen while turning the Bills into one of the league’s most prolific offenses, figures to be one of the names on the Chargers’ list of candidates. Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who helped rejuvenate Ryan Tannehill’s career, and Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus are a couple of other names that could be of interest to Los Angeles.

New York Jets

The New York Jets‘ head coaching job may not look quite as attractive now as it may have a couple of weeks ago. That’s because the Jets’ two late-season wins wound up costing them a shot at Lawrence with the top overall pick in the draft. New York’s back-to-back wins over the Rams and Browns means New York will be picking second in the draft, right behind Jacksonville.

While the Jets did show some fight later in the season, it still wasn’t enough for Adam Gase to keep his job. Gase was shown the door on Monday after leading the Jets to a 2-14 campaign in his second season on the job. Jets CEO Christopher Johnson is expected to help lead the team’s search for Gase’s replacement this offseason.

The #Jets and #Texans have put in requests to interview #Colts DC Matt Eberflus for their head coaching jobs, per sources. A hot candidate.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 4, 2021

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets have already requested to interview Eberflus, and they’re expected to do the same with Smith in the coming days. Many were surprised that the Jets allowed Gase to keep his job for a full season following the team’s disastrous 0-13 start, but the Jets’ current owners have never fired a coach in the middle of a season.

The Jets do have a former first-round quarterback in Sam Darnold in the mix, but that isn’t expected to prevent the team from seeking a potential replacement in the draft. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who recently led his Buckeyes to a win over Lawrence and Clemson in the College Football Playoff, is a potential candidate to replace Darnold in New York.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans were the first NFL team to fire their coach this season. Bill O’Brien was canned as head coach and general manager back in early October after the team got off to an inauspicious 0-4 start. The decision came just a few months after O’Brien’s controversial decision to trade All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona for an old running back (David Johnson) and a second-round pick.

O’Brien was replaced on an interim basis by Romeo Crennel. While Crennel did a decent job over the latter part of the season, he isn’t expected to be a candidate to get the job on a full-time basis. Houston has reportedly already interviewed a pair of former NFL coaches in Marvin Lewis and Jim Caldwell, but the search is expected to continue.

The Texans are also in the process of finding a general manager to replace O’Brien. Schefter reported Monday that Houston is once again targeting Patriots personnel director Nick Caserio for the job. The Texans made a run at Caserio for the same job back in 2019, which led to the Patriots filing tampering charges against Houston. The Texans’ brass is clearly undeterred by the previous developments, which is why they’re sniffing up that same tree this time around.

And the Houston Texans, who made we run at Patriots’ Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio before, are doing it again.

The Texans are requesting permission to interview Caserio for their GM job, per league source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 4, 2021

The Texans are another team that has reportedly inquired about Eberflus, who is emerging as one of the hottest names on the coaching market. Houston has a potential MVP quarterback in Deshaun Watson already in the mix, but the lack of a first-round pick in this year’s draft may hurt their chances of attracting a big name. The Texans’ first-rounder this year belongs to the Dolphins as a result of last year’s Laremy Tunsil trade. Miami will pick third overall after Houston finished just 4-12 on the season.

Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, and the aforementioned Arthur Smith are a few other names that have been linked with the Texans’ head coaching vacancy.

Atlanta Falcons

Dan Quinn was able to save his job after leading the Falcons to a late-season surge two years ago, but he wasn’t so lucky this year. The Falcons fired Quinn about a week after the Texans said goodbye to Bill O’Brien. Atlanta Falcons did improve once Raheem Morris took over on an interim basis, however, and Morris is expected to be among the candidates to get the full-time job this offseason.

Atlanta will hold the No. 4 overall pick in the draft after a 4-12 season. Morris has already interviewed for the job, and his performance following Quinn’s firing may give him a leg-up on the rest of his competition. Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, and Smith are candidates that have received consideration from the Falcons’ brass.

Jay Glazer has also reported that 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is among the names expected to be granted an interview for the post this week. Saleh was one of the biggest names on the coaching market after helping lead the 49ers to an appearance in last year’s Super Bowl, but he ultimately wound up staying in San Francisco.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions were humiliated at home by the lowly Texans on Thanksgiving Day, which was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back for Matt Patricia’s tenure. Patricia left Detroit after going just 13-29-1 over the course of two-plus seasons in town after arriving from New England as a heralded defensive mastermind.

Patricia’s tough-guy act reportedly wore thin on the Lions’ players from the outset. While the team didn’t improve notably once Patricia was replaced by Darrell Bevell, the decision was still a popular one with the players.

On Monday, the Lions reportedly asked for permission to interview four candidates to replace Patricia on a full-time basis. Salah, Smith, Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy are those drawing intense interest from Detroit this offseason.

The Lions are planning to interview Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy today, interim coach Darrell Bevell on Tuesday and 49ers DC Robert Saleh on Thursday for their HC position, I’m told.

Detroit is expected to interview Titans OC Arthur Smith and Saints AHC Dan Campbell next week.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 4, 2021

Bieniemy is expected to be one of the more sought-after names on the coaching market with the Chiefs having emerged as the league’s model franchise over the past couple of years. Bieniemy has been in the coaching ranks since 2001, and he has served as Andy Reid’s offensive coordinator in Kansas City for the last three years.

The Lions went just 5-11 this season and lost to the Vikings in Sunday’s season finale. Bevell isn’t a serious candidate to get the job, which means a new coach is expected to be patrolling the sidelines at Ford Field next season. The Lions are reportedly undecided on Matthew Stafford’s future with the franchise, while top wideouts Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay will both be free agents.

Detroit, who is also searching for a new general manager, will pick seventh in this year’s draft. Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland, and Rams college scouting director Brad Holmes are among the names receiving consideration for the Lions’ GM vacancy.