NASHVILLE – Jaguars coach Urban Meyer can still do one selfless and redeeming thing for the franchise.
He can quit. Don’t force Jaguars owner Shad Khan to eat an estimated $40 million to buy you out for the crime of putting his faith and confidence in you.
This isn’t going to work, Urban.
This isn’t all about wins and losses. The 2-11 record could be stomached if your team was competitive in the majority of its setbacks.
It isn’t.
Your team is getting worse.
Your team is simply awful. The Jaguars were shutout for the first time in Khan’s tenure, losing 20-0 to Tennessee on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. The Titans were missing phenom running back Derrick Henry and star receiver A.J. Brown.
The Jaguars had more penalties (nine) than rushing yards (eight).
The Jaguars turned the ball over four times and now are dead last in the NFL with a minus-19 margin. That’s three worse than the next team.
You aren’t a couple players away from turning this around next year because you don’t know what you’re doing at this level.
That’s no crime.
You tried. You aren’t the first amazingly successful college coach to stumble in the NFL.
You can salvage some dignity by simply realizing this was a mistake and resigning your position immediately.
There are also too many embarrassing off-the-field items.
Your decisions after the Cincinnati loss remain inexplicably stupid. How do you not fly back with your team after a tough loss on national TV and then get videoed in a compromising position with a woman at your bar that is not your wife?
Why have there been multiple reports of infighting between you and your staff and you and veteran players? Why are the most recent reports coming from the league’s website, an entity that doesn’t have a reputation for seeking to damage the reputation of people in the league with bogus stories?
All of these reasons should give you great pause about continuing here as coach.
But please also consider this.
You are damaging the growth of a special person and player in rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence. His career is in your hands. Ask yourself if you have developed him well enough this season?
You haven’t developed him at all. You haven’t given him a chance to find even modest success.
How can you have any belief that you can next season? Obviously, you are going to have to fire your offensive staff. Who is going to want to come and coach under you?
Don’t hurt the game by ruining Lawrence.
He deserves a legitimate chance to realize his promise. He needs a credible NFL head coach.
I realize I am not likely to get my wish.
When I asked Meyer after the game if he still had confidence he can win at this level he said he does.
“It hasn’t exactly materialized the way I expected it to have, the experience of winning games,” Meyer said. “I knew that this was somewhat of a build. I also really believe that we have plenty of good enough players to go win games. I still believe that. That’s why I get so disappointed sometimes with our coaching staff or myself, because I think we can do better than we’re doing. Really disappointed.”
Meyer also says he has communicated that hopeful message to Khan.
“I assured him that I still believe in my heart that we will,” Meyer said. “How fast, that depends.”
Meyer still hasn’t seen his team score at least 24 points in a game this season.
Think about that. The Jaguars are the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored at least 24 points in a game this season.
This is how many times, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, that teams had scored at least 24 points this season.
Eleven times: Tampa Bay.
Ten times: Indianapolis and Minnesota.
Nine times: Dallas, Green Bay, the Los Angeles Rams and New England.
Eight times: Arizona, Buffalo, Cincinnati, the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee.
Seven times: Kansas City, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
Six times: Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle.
So, 21 teams have scored at least 24 points in a minimum of six games this season.
Let’s continue.
Five times: Baltimore and Carolina.
Four times: Miami, Pittsburgh and Washington.
Three times: New York Giants and New York Jets.
Two times: Chicago and Detroit.
Once: Houston.
Does this look close to being turned around in one offseason under your guidance?
The Jaguars haven’t even been close to 24 points in the last seven games. They’ve scored 64 total points in that span.
No one expected miracles. But this is brutal football.
Last season’s 1-15 team would handle this squad. Last season’s team scored at least 24 points seven times.
Please, Urban.
We’ve been through enough over the last decade.
Don’t extend our misery.
This isn’t going to work.
Please don’t make Khan have to make a decision on your future and eat your lucrative contract.
Please walk away.
It’s the best way to save your dignity and the future of this franchise.
(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon).
