JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Urban Meyer isn’t worried about the past. He isn’t worried about the outside noise.
Right now, the Jaguars are an 0-2 football team that has been thoroughly outplayed in games against the Texans and Broncos. The 2-0 Arizona Cardinals visit TIAA Bank Field on Sunday.
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As history continues to repeat itself for the Jaguars — their 17-game losing streak is tied for sixth-longest in ever in the NFL — Meyer said that he’s not worried about that losing wearing on players who have been through enough of it already.
Everything Meyer sees in front of him remains positive and focused on getting better. And there’s a big task ahead in quarterback Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.
“Like I said, my focus is on … I’m not worried about what happened here last year, year before. I’m worried about the locker room, how’s our locker room doing? Our locker room’s fantastic,” Meyer said. “How’s the chemistry on the team? Fantastic. How’s relationship amongst the coaching staff? Fantastic, working our you know what’s off. And that’s all I’m concerned about.”
The turnaround from Sunday’s 23-13 loss to Denver to face the Cardinals and Murray reminded Meyer of having to game plan against another mobile quarterback in college.
“We played Marcus Mariota when I was at Ohio State, you put a jackrabbit back there and run around and all that,” Meyer said of scheming for Murray. “We’re playing again in four days after this one so I’m just thinking big picture, we all are. … We’ve got two humid days so how many reps can you actually get in?”
The noise from the outside has suggested Meyer is in way over his head in professional football. But Meyer said that he knew the NFL would be quite a bit different than the college game where he became one of the best coaches ever.
“I’m working, we’re all working through it. Of course, it’s different in college I get that I’m not trying to equate the two. But you take over a team that was 1-10, you take over a team that was 6-7, you take over a team that’s 5-7 you take over, whatever it is. It’s hard. It’s really, really, really hard. And I knew it was going to be hard.”
But the mood in the locker room and among the coaches is far different than that of the fanbase.
Meyer said that he focuses on three primary things in coaching — a good locker room environment, helping the players and then finding a spark. The latter comes in a variety of ways and Meyer said that he’s looking for it any way that it can happen, be it a sack, a fumble, a pick, a third-down conversion. He even referenced Michael Jordan in “The Last Dance” documentary, saying that Jordan was the spark that the Chicago Bulls needed.
There’s no MJ in Jacksonville’s locker room just yet, so Meyer is looking for any positive momentum. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence could wind up being a generational talent for the Jaguars, but he’s still learning the ropes. He’s flashed in his two starts, but has struggled, too, throwing five interceptions and often sailing passes high. Meyer said it’s part of the learning curve.
“I think there’s some validity in that, that I think he’s pressing a little bit,” Meyer said of Lawrence. “I chatted with him about it, but it’s also seeing the field and you know I’ve heard this from my players when they come to this level is that everything turns up to a 10 in speed. The windows are closed, quickly.”