If Urban Meyer leaves, who takes over in Jacksonville?

As storm clouds continue to hang directly over Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, it’s fair to ask a simple question regarding his near-term future. If he is fired or resigns, who takes over?

Assistant head coach Charlie Strong has as much NFL experience as Meyer – four games and more. Strong surely wouldn’t be the interim coach.

Defensive coordinator Joe Cullen would be a tough sell, given his “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” moment of yesteryear. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell would make the most sense, especially since passing coordinator Brian Schottenheimer could then take over as offensive coordinator.

Yet none of the internal options seem ideal. So maybe owner Shad Khan should consider doing something extremely unconventional, hiring an outside person for the acting position.

The best option, by far, would be Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, who is in many ways the exact opposite of Meyer. It would be fascinating (but disappointing as an NBC colleague) to see Dungy agree to take over the Jaguars, simply in an effort to pass the rest of the season to the squad and help Khan find the right coach to do it. bring the program forward to 2022..

Another possibility would be veteran coach Jeff Fisher, who has coached 350 NFL games. Like Dungy, he would help stabilize things while waiting for a new coach to be hired in 2022.

Wade Phillips worked 122 games as an NFL head coach and has said on several occasions that he would like to coach again. And him ?

Some believe that the situation in Jacksonville, although no longer at its peak, could still explode after the next two games, against the Titans at home and the Dolphins in London. With a bye in the seventh week, this would be a great time to make a change, if Khan thinks a change needs to be made.

Indeed, watch the clip from the embedded video of how quarterback Trevor Lawrence broke him in practice on Wednesday. The magic word was “grind! And several players took a hit.

Khan, if the team loses the next two games, could decide to come out for a replacement. The team’s losing streak stands at 19. On Sunday, the Jaguars could become only the third team to lose 20 in a row. Next comes, in Week 12, a game against the Falcons and possibly a back-to-back No.26 loss, which would match the 1976-77 Buccaneers.

Three games later, in Week 15, the Jaguars would welcome the Texans with a “chance” to tie the all-time record of 29 (held by the Chicago Cardinals 1942-45) on the line. The all-time record of 30 would come the following Sunday at the Jets.

The Jaguars are still unlikely to go 0-15 this year. Still, they went from 0 to 15 last year after winning the first week. More importantly, the team’s performance over the next two weeks will help Khan decide whether things can get better or worse if Urban Meyer remains the head coach after the bye.

A few ugly losses in weeks five and six might be enough to get Khan to move on, and possibly try to hire someone who is not currently on the squad in an attempt to apply a tourniquet to the team. one of the worst series of trivia the NFL has ever seen.