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Report: Urban Meyer targeting two NFL veteran coaches for key staff positions
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Urban Meyer led the Florida Gators to two national titles before he led the Ohio State Buckeyes to another one in 2014, his third as a college coach, and after retiring from the college game Meyer’s now headed to the NFL to try his brand of football with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Most of the sporting world has followed along with interest as Meyer picks his top lieutenants and key assistants for his first professional staff, and two veteran names have emerged from the heap as potential candidates.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that both Scott Linehan and Joe Cullen are being considered for the offensive and defensive coordinator positions, respectively.
Two intriguing options have emerged for the staff of #Jaguars coach Urban Meyer: OC candidate Scott Linehan interviews early this week and is the favorite, while #Ravens DL coach Joe Cullen is a top target as defensive coordinator. Cullen has impressed in Baltimore since 2016.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2021
Linehan has been coaching football thirty years across every major level, from high-school, to college, and the professional ranks. He’s been a low-totem assistant, a high-level coordinator, and head coach of the St. Louis Rams from 2006 through 2008. Now Meyer may ring the bell for him in Jacksonville to help turn around a flagging franchise.
Cullen is another thirty year man across all levels and a long-time assistant and sometimes defensive coordinator. He has been coaching the Baltimore Raven’s Super Bowl-contender defensive line these last five years and his name is frequently mentioned in connection with imminent promotion. Meyer, it seems, may be the man to tap him on the shoulder.
Mark Schipper is a reporter, sportswriter, and aspiring novelist living in Chicago, Illinois.