Urban Meyer has plenty of experience coaching football, but there is one thing he knows very little about — losing. He is likely going to do plenty of it in the NFL, and the three-time national champion admits that will be an adjustment for him.
Meyer lost a total of 32 games in 17 seasons as a college head coach. He lost just nine in his seven years at Ohio State. In a recent appearance on “The Peter King Podcast,” it was noted to Meyer that he could very well lose nine or more games in his first season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He spoke about how he will handle that.
“When you put so much into something, I have a hard time blaming others. I blame myself and (ask) how could (I) have done better. I’m built that way,” Meyer said. “At times I wish it wasn’t that way. People who know me and have been in our organizations know I take it right on the jaw (when we lose). It’s not easy for me to say it’s that player’s fault or it’s that player’s fault, because I always put it right on the coach. That’s part of sitting in the big chair. You’ve gotta handle it. That part is gonna be a challenge for me.”
Meyer also joked (or possibly not) that he’ll reach out to Jimmy Johnson for advice. Johnson, of course, was an incredibly successful college coach before he was hired by the Dallas Cowboys. He went 1-15 in his first year in Dallas after losing nine games in five seasons at Miami before that. Johnson led the team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins a few years later.
There will be a lot of pressure on Meyer in his first season with the Jags. Some of his peers have failed in a similar position, though one of them has full confidence in Meyer’s ability to lead in the NFL.
