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Urban Meyer is already causing a stir in the news just two days removed from the 2020 NFL regular season.
With six head coaching posts up for grabs on the heels of an eventful Black Monday, the former Ohio State head coach has become a popular name to fill the Jaguars’ vacancy after Doug Marrone was relieved of his duties.
A league source told Pro Football Talk on Monday that Meyer would demand a salary of $12 million per year should he pursue an NFL head coaching role, which has been disputed by other sources.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport tweeted on Tuesday that the $12 million figure reported by Pro Football Talk “is not accurate,” per his source, and called the report, “not relevant and false.”
Pro Football Talk — an NBC Sports-owned site run by Mike Florio — fired back at Rapoport’s direct attack in a quote-tweet.
“Owners don’t want entry level coaches making a ton of money. So it’s not shocking that the league-owned media conglomerate would try to shoot down the notion that Urban Meyer wants an amount that is entirely fair and appropriate for him,” the PFT Twitter account wrote on Tuesday.
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Meyer, 56, is a FOX Sports analyst and a highly respected college football fixture. He coached four high-profile programs (Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State) over 17 seasons and boasts a 187-32 career record.
Most recently, Meyer served as head coach for Ohio State from 2012 to 2018, with whom he won a CFP National Championship and three Big Ten titles. He was placed on administrative leave and subsequently retired in 2018 in connection to a domestic violence investigation involving former assistant coach Zach Smith.
The hefty asking price in question would be an unprecedented figure for a first-year coach with zero NFL experience. The $12 million per annum would put Meyer on par with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has 24 years of NFL head coaching experience and has won six Super Bowl titles. It would also put Meyer ahead of Seahawks HC Pete Carroll at $11 million per annum and Raiders HC Jon Gruden at $10 million per annum. No other head coaches earn an eight-figure salary.
Former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule made a similar transition this season having never coached in the NFL prior to his job with the Panthers. Rhule signed a seven-year, $62 million contract ($8.86 million per annum) worth up to $70 million with incentives.
In spite of finishing 1-15, the Jaguars’ head-coaching position would be an attractive landing spot for Meyer (or any candidate). Jacksonville has significant draft capital with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, which they will presumably use to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars also have a number of impressive offensive weapons rostered and have decent cap space to further improve via free agency this offseason.
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