Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced the hiring of Chris Doyle as their new director of sport performance Thursday.  

Doyle, who served as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Iowa from 1999 to 2019, agreed to step down from his position with the Hawkeyes in June amid allegations of racism and bullying.

According to Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today, multiple Black former Iowa players alleged that Doyle said he would "send them back to the ghetto" if they didn't perform up to his expectations and that he was critical of the way they wore their hair.

The Husch Blackwell law firm conducted an investigation into the state of the Iowa football program in 2020. While it mostly cleared head coach Kirk Ferentz of any wrongdoing, it came to the following conclusion: "In sum, the program's rules perpetuated racial or cultural biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity. The program over-monitored players to the point that they experienced heightened anxiety and maintained a culture that allowed a small group of coaches to demean players."

As part of Doyle's departure from Iowa, he did not admit to any wrongdoing. He also denied allegations from former players, tweeting: "I do not make racists comments and I don't tolerate people who do."

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer expressed his belief that the hiring of Doyle won't create any issues:

Doyle will be part of the staff under Meyer, who came out of retirement to take the job in Jacksonville.

Meyer was previously the head coach at the University of Florida and Ohio State, winning three national championships during that time.

Doyle was named the Big Ten Strength Coach of the Year in 1999, and he was part of a Hawkeyes program that won a pair of Big Ten titles and played in 16 bowl games during his tenure.

DeVonta Smith was the best player in college football last season and Brett Favre thinks the Alabama receiver should go No. 1 in the NFL draft.

The Hall of Fame quarterback told TMZ Sports that he was "blown away" watching Smith and he is worth taking over Trevor Lawrence if he controlled the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

"Teams know he's going to get the ball and he dominates," Favre said. "I think you go with a guy like that."

Smith became the first receiver since 1991 to win the Heisman Trophy and Favre believes this production will continue at the next level.

"This guy could be a Jerry Rice...a Randy Moss. A total game-changer."

Meanwhile, Lawrence is considered a generational prospect at quarterback but Favre said the position might not be an "immediate need" for Jacksonville.

"Nothing against Trevor Lawrence but I think you can find a free agent guy or a guy in the latter rounds or mid-rounds in the draft," he added.

The Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly will hire Darrell Bevell as their offensive coordinator, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. 

Pelissero reported "several teams" were interested in hiring Bevell but he will end up working under new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer.

Bevell also interviewed for the Jaguars coordinator job after last season but ultimately took the same role with the Detroit Lions before ending the season as the team's interim coach. He went 1-4 in 2020 after replacing Matt Patricia.

The 51-year-old has extensive experience calling plays, totaling 14 years as an offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Lions.

Bevell was on the Seahawks staff during the 2013 season when they won the Super Bowl behind one of the top rushing attacks in the NFL. In 2009, the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game with Brett Favre and the league's No. 2 scoring offense.

The Lions struggled to a 5-11 record overall in 2020 but the offense did its best to keep the team competitive as Matthew Stafford topped 4,000 passing yards even with significant injuries around him, including top receiver Kenny Golladay.

Bevell's versatility could be valuable for the Jaguars after the team finished 30th in points scored and 28th in total yards from scrimmage. Being in the NFL since 2000 could also be key on the staff of a head coach who has exclusively worked at the college level in Meyer.

Though Jacksonville went just 1-15 last season, there could still be a lot to work with thanks to the No. 1 overall pick of the draft, which will likely be used to select a new franchise quarterback. Running back James Robinson and receivers DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault give the team plenty of young playmakers who can thrive in the right system.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been the consensus projected No. 1 pick of the 2021 NFL draft for months, but Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke says it will not be an easy decision.

"I don't know if that word exists in the National Football League," Baalke told reporters during Thursday's introductory press conference. "So it certainly puts you in the driver's seat, but there are no easy decisions in the National Football League. You work through the process, you do the best job you can, and then you make the decision based on the knowledge you've acquired."

The Jaguars are in rebuilding mode after going 1-15 during the 2020 season.

They have made the playoffs just once since 2007 and have struggled to find a franchise cornerstone at the quarterback spot. They surely want to pair a quarterback and coach they can build around for years to come and have hired Urban Meyer as the head coach.

"Anytime you have the first pick in the draft and you're making a decision that's this impactful to the organization, there's challenges with that," Baalke said. "So it's an extremely important decision, and I'm looking forward to going through the process with coach and ownership to make that decision."

Other candidates to be the first overall pick are Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson and Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell.

While Fields and Meyer share an Ohio State connection, the all-time great college coach had retired as the leader of the Buckeyes by the time Fields arrived in Columbus. Meyer was still close to the program, but he did not develop a player-coach relationship with Fields as the quarterback of his offense.

As for Lawrence, there is good reason he has been assumed as the No. 1 pick for so long.

There is seemingly no throw he can't make, and he has the athleticism to make plays with his legs and escape pressure in the pocket. He made the College Football Playoff three times and won a national championship at Clemson while looking the part of a future NFL signal-caller.

Baalke may say it's not an easy decision, but it would be shocking if the Jaguars chose anyone else.

Urban Meyer is starting to fill out his coaching staff, reportedly hiring Joe Cullen away from the Baltimore Ravens.   

Per ESPN's Jamison Hensley and Dan Graziano, Cullen will be the Jacksonville Jaguars' new defensive coordinator. 

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted Cullen was Meyer's top choice for defensive coordinator. He becomes the third Ravens assistant coach to leave for a new job since the team's season ended with a 17-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round on Saturday. 

Yahoo Sports' Josh Alper reported Tuesday that Ravens defensive backs coach Jesse Minter will become defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt. Linebackers coach Mike Macdonald was named Michigan's defensive coordinator on Sunday. 

Cullen is returning to Jacksonville after spending the past five seasons as the Ravens defensive line coach. He has helped develop several key players for Baltimore's defense over the years, including Michael Pierce, Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan. 

The Ravens defense has ranked eighth or higher against the run each of the past three seasons. 

Cullen previously worked in Jacksonville as the defensive line coach from 2010-12 under Jack Del Rio and Mike Mularkey. The 53-year-old has never been a defensive coordinator at the NFL level, but he did serve in that role at the college level for Richmond (1997-98, 2000) and Indiana (2004). 

The Jacksonville Jaguars will reportedly hire Trent Baalke as their new general manager, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

The executive will team with new head coach Urban Meyer to help turn around a squad that finished 1-15 in 2020.

Jacksonville has finished in last place in the AFC South in each of the last three years and has only one winning season in the last 13 years. The lone exception came in 2017 with a shocking run to the AFC Championship Game in head coach Doug Marrone's first season, but the team followed that up with a 5-11 record in 2018.

The organization has also gone through significant turnover in the past few years. The Jaguars have traded away or cut Pro Bowlers Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, A.J. Bouye and Malik Jackson, while six different quarterbacks have started at least three games over the past three seasons.

The Jaguars eventually made a change with the firing of general manager Dave Caldwell in November after a 1-10 start to this season.

"Our football operation needs new leadership, and we will have it with a new general manager in 2021," owner Shad Khan said in a statement.

Caldwell had been with the organization since 2013 and had been a top decision-maker alongside Tom Coughlin, who was sacked in 2019.

The Jaguars will now go into next season with a fresh start under Baalke, who must make key decisions to fill holes at quarterback and other important spots. With the No. 1 overall draft pick and three other selections in the first two rounds, he'll have plenty of opportunities to rebuild the roster.

Baalke already has experience with the organization after spending this past season as the team's director of player personnel. He also served as the interim GM following Caldwell's departure. Before joining the Jaguars, he was the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 through 2016, helping build a squad that reached the Super Bowl in the 2012 season.

He will now try to get the Jaguars on track toward their first championship in franchise history.

New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has spoken to Raheem Morris about becoming the team's defensive coordinator, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The two sides "continue to be" in contact, per Schefter.

Morris interviewed with the Jaguars for their head-coaching vacancy before the organization went with Meyer. He was also a contender for the Atlanta Falcons job after finishing the 2020 season as the team's interim coach, but they went with Arthur Smith.

Morris has held a variety of roles across the NFL since 2002, including three years as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He entered last season as the Falcons defensive coordinator before being promoted to interim head coach when Dan Quinn was fired after an 0-5 start.

Atlanta went 4-7 over the final 11 games under Morris.

The 44-year-old could bring valuable NFL experience to pair with Meyer, who has three NCAA titles but has never coached in the NFL.

Meyer has also hired Charlie Strong as an assistant head coach, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, despite Strong's lack of coaching experience at this level.

A Jaguars turnaround will require a lot of work after finishing the 2020 season with a 1-15 record while the defense ranked 31st in both yards and points allowed.

Urban Meyer has been handed the reins of the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise and, with it, the future of Trevor Lawrence.

Marshall Faulk does not see that as a good thing.

"I'm worried for Trevor Lawrence. Outside of Alex Smith, this man hasn't developed a quarterback that's playing in the NFL right now...and he had some really good attempts with, I'm talking, top 4-star, 5-star guys when he was at Ohio State and at Florida," Faulk told TMZ Sports.

Lawrence is overwhelmingly expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft, giving Meyer a bona fide franchise quarterback as both attempt to make the NFL transition.

It could easily be argued that Meyer has never had a surefire, complete quarterback like Lawrence. His ability to recruit largely allowed him to pick and choose the type of quarterback he wanted to fit his system, and Meyer has overwhelmingly preferred run-first options. The likes of Tim Tebow, JT Barrett and Braxton Miller thrived at the collegiate level under Meyer but never made an impact in the pros.

In fact, the most successful NFL quarterbacks to play under Meyer were Cam Newton and Joe Burrow—both of whom transferred away from his tutelage.

Meyer's most recent protege, Dwayne Haskins, flamed out in less than two seasons in Washington.

While Lawrence has the legs to scramble outside the pocket, his elite traits come from his arm talent. Meyer's predilection for calling designed quarterback runs will also have to be juxtaposed against the need to keep Lawrence healthy. Unlike at his past stops, there won't be another star waiting in the wings to take over in two or three years.

Former Louisville, Texas and South Florida head coach Charlie Strong will reportedly join Urban Meyer's Jacksonville Jaguars staff.

Brett McMurphy of Stadium relayed the news Friday. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports also confirmed Strong's move to the Jags on Saturday.

Both reporters noted that Strong will coach linebackers, and Thamel added that the 60-year-old will be Meyer's assistant head coach as well.

The Jaguars announced Meyer's hiring Thursday. Meyer, who coached Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State, arrives in Duval County with three FBS national championships. He went 187-32 during his collegiate career.

Strong coached college football from 1983 to 2020, beginning with a stint as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida.

He received his first full-time head coaching opportunity at Louisville in 2010. The Cardinals went 4-8 the year before Strong arrived, but the Central Arkansas graduate turned the program around and guided the team to a 37-15 record in four years, including a 12-1 mark in 2013.

Strong parlayed that success into a stop at the University of Texas, but the Longhorns struggled, going 16-21 in three seasons. The coach and Texas parted ways before he moved to the University of South Florida. That stint began with promise thanks to a 10-2 record, but the Bulls fell to 4-8 two years later. 

USF let Strong go after 2019, and he immediately joined Nick Saban's Alabama staff as a defensive analyst. The Crimson Tide went undefeated en route to the national championship.

One day after being hired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Urban Meyer met with the media to lay out his vision for the franchise.

The biggest question is what the Jaguars will do with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, though Meyer was careful not to single out Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Meyer acknowledged the fact that Jacksonville has the top pick played a "huge" role in his decision to accept the job.

"I think [owner Shad Khan] and the organization is positioned and it's not by accident," he said. "It's primed to put together a good team."

Khan spoke about the roster and ongoing search for a new general manager, saying, "Everyone will be carrying out Urban’s vision."

Meyer noted he won't call plays for the team.

This will be Meyer's first foray into the NFL after 32 seasons at the college level. He most recently spent seven seasons as head coach at Ohio State where he compiled an 83-9 record, winning three Big Ten titles and the 2014 national championship.

Meyer retired from the Buckeyes after the 2019 Rose Bowl due in part to health reasons. The 56-year-old said Friday he plans to do a better job of delegating responsibilities to the coaching staff so that he's not "running around like a nut on the practice field."

In addition to his time at Ohio State, Meyer was head coach at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. He owns a 187-32 overall record with 12 bowl wins in 15 appearances and three national titles.

Jacksonville is in prime position for a quick turnaround. In addition to the top pick, the team owns the Los Angeles Rams' first-round selection from the 2019 Jalen Ramsey trade and five of the top 65 picks overall.

The Jaguars are counting on Meyer to bring long-term stability to the franchise. They lost 15 straight games in 2020 after a Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts. They have just one winning season and playoff appearance since 2008.