NFL rumors: Urban Meyer’s reported contract demands are insane

Urban Meyer wants an enormous sum of money to coach in the NFL.

Now that Black Monday has left almost one-fifth of the league without a head coach heading into the 2021 offseason, former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer’s name is once again being linked to pro jobs. Meyer has been most heavily linked to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are a few months away from selecting Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Meyer will consider coming back to coach in the NFL, but he will need quite a bit of money thrown at him to be enticed.

According to ProFootballTalk, Meyer will only come out of retirement if he is offered $12 million per season. That number would make him the joint-highest-paid coach in the NFL, tied with Bill Belichick while barely edging out No. 2 Pete Carroll at $11 million.

Urban Meyer has made a name for himself in college, but he has no pro experience

At Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, Meyer has won an absurd 83 percent of his games, including losing just 24 times in 13 years in Gainesville and Columbus. Meyer picked up two titles at Florida and one at Ohio State, making him one of college football’s sharpest offensive minds and greatest coaches ever.

Meyer is a huge risk, however, as he has never been an NFL coordinator or coach in any capacity. Furthermore, his programs have a history of off-field issues and scandals that seem to linger around them, and that chaos might not be what a 1-15 team needs right now.

Hiring a college coach has traditionally been risky, but there are plenty of success stories. Having said that, Meyer will come to the NFL off of two years on TV with no pro experience. If this hire backfires, it will be a costly error for Shahid Khan. Conversely, if Meyer sticks the landing, he and Lawrence could form a dynasty in Jacksonville.