Urban Meyer: Trevor Lawrence is 'going to be great NFL quarterback'
Everything Urban Meyer touched in Jacksonville turned to dust. However, he’s still exuding confidence in his former quarterback, Trevor Lawrence.
In an exclusive interview on NFL.com’s with Ian Rapoport, Meyer revealed that he believes Lawrence is going to be a tremendous NFL quarterback.
“He’s going to be great,” Meyer said. “He’s 22 years old, thrust into a place that lost 15 straight games. He had some devastating injuries to his offensive skill guys – (DJ) Chark went down and (Travis) Etienne, then (Jamal) Agnew and then our TE Dan Arnold. Those are our fast guys. And we had enough (talent), I’m not blaming that, but we had to be more creative.
“I just think we could’ve done better. But there is zero doubt Trevor is going to be a great NFL quarterback.”
Meyer walked into a place that wholeheartedly believed in him, but he wasn’t able to create an effective on-field product. Even with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Meyer couldn’t find an offense that scored points.
Trevor Lawrence may end up being the great NFL quarterback he was always expected to be, but it won’t be with any help from Urban Meyer.
Meyer: ‘I’m just heartbroken.’
Urban Meyer took a risk by coming out of retirement to coach the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even though it didn’t workout, Meyer has nothing but love for the city and the franchise.
To begin his interview with Rapoport, Meyer issued a public apology to the city, the team and their fans.
“I just apologize to Jacksonville,” Meyer stated, per Rapoport. “I love Jacksonville. It’s one of the reasons I took the job. I still think Shad’s a great owner. It’s heart-breaking. I just had a dream of it becoming a destination place with a new facility he agreed to build and some day to walk into that stadium where it’s standing room only. Because I know how bad the people of Jacksonville want it.
“So, I’m just heartbroken that we weren’t able to do that. I still believe it’s going to be done. It’s too good of a place.”
To finish out the remainder of the season, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will be the interim head coach of the Jaguars. After the season, it’s paramount Jacksonville finds a coach who can bring out the best in rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
At almost every stop in his coaching career, Urban Meyer found success. However, his detractors were right about one thing — he couldn’t cut it in the NFL.