Would Urban Meyer come to the NFL to coach Trevor Lawrence?

Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is already getting calls from NFL teams about being their next head coach. 

Whenever a franchise begins its head coaching search, big and almost impossibly lofty swings are made to find the right candidate.

It’s to the point where you have to wonder if a team’s head coach search has even started if they aren’t rumored to be offering it to Bill Cowher or some other retired NFL coaching legend. Jon Gruden was another name often tossed into the rumor mill, which was an insane idea until it actually happened with the Raiders.

Urban Meyer is also on that list, as it seems whenever a team opens up its head coach position his name gets mentioned (ditto any major college program). But it might be to the point where the idea of Meyer accepting an NFL job is more in the Gruden column of not-so-crazy than it is in the Cowher column of improbability.

As we learned with Gruden, it would take a truly perfect storm to get someone like Meyer to accept a coaching job. For Gruden it was a 10-year, $100 million contract to re-live his glory days with the Raiders. For Meyer it could be the chance to coach the best quarterback in college football in a place where he’d likely have total control.

A place like the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Will Urban Meyer come to the NFL to coach Trevor Lawrence?

According to Adam Schefter, multiple NFL teams have already reached out to Meyer to see if he’d be interested in interviewing for their head coach. But one team stands above the rest as potentially making the most sense: The Jaguars.

Jacksonville landing the No. 1 pick changes more than just who they will be drafting in April. This is a sliding doors moment for a franchise that can fundamentally change everything about its identity this offseason. With Lawrence as the franchise quarterback, all of a sudden the Jaguars become one of the most attractive coaching destinations, and without a general manager could be one of the few franchises to offer someone like Meyer a Bill Belichick role where he controls all personnel moves.

Of course, the season isn’t even over yet and not all of the teams that will ultimately be looking for head coaches have fired the person currently doing the job. It’s also not the first time a seemingly perfect situation has come along and the iconic coach rumored for the job didn’t accept. Nor is it the first time the idea of a college coach leaving to pair himself with a great college quarterback has come up. Remember when Lincoln Riley was going to leave Oklahoma to coach Baker Mayfield in Cleveland?

Lest we forget, Meyer has been rumored to be waiting out Brian Kelly for the Norte Dame job longer than he’s been tied to potentially coming to the NFL, which is the ultimate variable at play.

But if Meyer is truly done coaching in college, then graduating to the NFL by coaching in the backyard of Gainesville with the best college quarterback as his franchise star is a pretty enticing opportunity.