Doug Marrone is still, while these words are being written, the coach of the Jaguars. But that does not seem to be the case as Jacksonville ends a 1-15 or 2-14 season, already guaranteed to be the No. 1 choice in this year’s NFL Draft.
In general, it is very likely that you will leave as a coach when your employer already knows who he wants to hire to replace you …
… And there’s a backup plan if that guy doesn’t want the job.
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Urban Meyer, at least, is currently not training anywhere, so connecting him to the Jaguars, at least from the point of view of the leaking Jaguars and getting the “hey, the Jaguars are thinking big!” makes sense. Ryan Day, who replaced Meyer in Ohio and has the Buckeyes in the national title game … doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Why the heck Day, who is 41 and was Ohio State’s top coach for two seasons, wants to leave a job where he makes more money ($ 4.5 million a year) than the Jaguars pay the current coach (US $ 3 million)? Why would Day want to leave a job where he can compete in a national championship every year, with autonomy over all personnel decisions, to go to one of the most mismanaged franchises in the NFL and have a tremendous opportunity to be unemployed by 2024? Why would Day give up a job where he is on the way to being the kind of legend who has a statue of him built in Columbus to perhaps one day be remembered fondly by Tom Coughlin?
“Ego” is always a plausible answer, but the state of Ohio is a better job than Jacksonville, and if Day wants to leave the Buckeyes and go to the NFL, he will surely be able to find a better situation in this off-season or in the future . Even with the projected addition of Trevor Lawrence as the # 1 choice quarterback – or perhaps Day’s current quarterback, Justin Fields? – it’s not like the Jaguars are going to be contenders for the playoffs in the coming years.
So maybe Day can take over from Meyer again soon. In the meantime, congratulations to, hmm … let’s see … Bucs defensive coordinator and former Jets coach, Todd Bowles, maybe? … About what will certainly be a very serious interview for a Jacksonville job, for which he will certainly receive careful consideration and not just be taken to satisfy a league rule.