Report: Urban Meyer had no idea who Aaron Donald, other stars were

Urban Meyer did a lot of things wrong in his first stint as an NFL head coach, which is why he lasted less than a full season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. There have been countless stories about Meyer’s coaching style not being fit for the professional level, but his reported lack of preparedness may have been even more alarming.

Jayson Jenks and Mike Sando of The Athletic published a piece on Monday details some more of the ins and outs of Meyer’s brief tenure in Jacksonville. There were apparently signs of trouble early on, with Meyer demonstrating to people that he had not done his homework on teams and players around the NFL.

Sources told The Athletic that Meyer was shockingly unfamiliar with several star players around the league. On one occasion, he indicated to a member of his staff that he barely knew anything about Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald.

“Who’s this 99 guy on the Rams?” Meyer reportedly asked the assistant. “I’m hearing he might be a problem for us.”

That almost reads like sarcasm, but it supposedly was not. Meyer was said to be unfamiliar with other top players like San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel and Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Jamal Adams.

Meyer came into Jacksonville criticizing the way things were done in the NFL, even though he had never coached in the league. Sources told The Athletic that he once said in a staff meeting that he hates scouts because they are “lazy.” There were scouts present at the time of the meeting.

Unflattering reports about Meyer are certainly nothing new. There was the infamous incident with kicker Josh Lambo and many others. That said, it is downright shocking to hear that an NFL head coach had never heard of arguably the best defensive player in the league. If that is true, it’s even less of a surprise that Meyer was run out of Jacksonville so quickly.

Photo: Oct 10, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer reacts during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports