Urban Meyer Knew So Little About the NFL, He Had to Ask a Staffer Who Aaron Donald Was

The Athletic — Signs of dysfunction were apparent early on. Several sources said Meyer stepped into the job as if he had all the answers, even though he had never coached in the NFL.

Meyer said he conducted a six-month deep dive on the NFL that included interviews with his former Florida and Ohio State players as well as a study of the salary cap. But multiple sources said Meyer was unfamiliar with star players around the league, including 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, Seahawks safety Jamal Adams and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year.

“Who’s this 99 guy on the Rams?” Meyer asked one staffer during the season, according to a source. “I’m hearing he might be a problem for us.”

I'm addicted to Urban Meyer stories. It seems no tale of his incompetence could be too grandiose. One of the five greatest defensive players in the history of professional football? Yeah, I'd say he might be a guy you want to game plan for!

I love the idea that Meyer spent months poring over the salary cap and then rolled into the Monday morning coaches' meeting the week of the Rams game and wanted the scoop on No. 99 like he had discovered their secret weapon. The looks in that room had to be something.

You almost have to believe this was the worst joke of all-time, but even if that's the case, there's something to be said for everyone else in the room thinking he was serious. Whether Meyer was actually that stupid in that particular moment or everyone had such little faith in his abilities as to believe he was that stupid seem to be equally bad qualities in a leader, in my humble opinion.

In addition to simply being the dumbest coach to ever live, The Athletic piece also details some of the toxic ways Meyer was running the Jaguars. Turns out, this guy might have been a piece of shit!

Uhhh, I'm not going to ascribe anything to Meyer's comment about John Brown beyond what he said, but Trevor Lawrence is from Tennessee, went to high school in Georgia and college in South Carolina. He's as Southern as you can get. So what I'm left with to discern the difference between those guys is ... not good!

I just hate that the squeaky clean image of Meyer came crashing down in one season in the NFL. He was always renowned for doing things the right way and treating people well at Florida and Ohio State. That is how I will choose to remember his legacy.