Jacksonville Jaguars and Urban Meyer are in advanced negotiations to see if they can finalize a deal this week, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
After another meeting with the Jaguars on Wednesday, Meyer is very interested in being an NFL coach, the sources said.
There has been regular communication and interaction between the two sides, the sources said, and Meyer is setting up a technical team, including some college assistants, should he decide to accept Jaguar’s job.
Meyer won three national championships and compiled a record 187-32 as a college coach during stints in Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He won two of those titles (2006, 2008) with the Gators, which led to a record of 65-15 in six seasons. He also led the Buckeyes to the 2014 national title and compiled a record 83-9 in seven seasons in Columbus.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Doug Marrone on January 4 after Jacksonville ended his worst season in the franchise’s history (1-15). Marrone had a record of 25-44 (including playoffs) in four seasons with the Jaguars.
The Jaguars lost the franchise’s record of 492 points, becoming the fifth team since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978 to allow at least 20 points in each game, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Offensively, the Jaguars ranked 28th or worse in yards per game, running and scoring. They took 21st place in passes, which is largely the result of falling behind in games and having to leave the race.
Information from ESPN’s Michael DiRocco was used in this report.