Report: Jaguars Meeting with Ex-Ohio State HC Urban Meyer on Friday

The Jacksonville Jaguars are set to hold an in-person interview with former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer on Friday to further discuss their head coaching vacancy, per Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:

Although no deal is in place, the chatter around Meyer's potential hiring by the Jags has been growing steadily over the past week.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reported Sunday the Jacksonville job is Meyer's "if he wants it."

The 56-year-old Ohio native, who served as head coach at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida before landing at Ohio State, has been in contact with potential hires if he joins the Jaguars and would be given full control over filling the general manager vacancy, per Florio.

Meyer retired from the Buckeyes following the 2018 season, and he's spent the past two years as a college football analyst for Fox Sports.

He's never coached at the NFL level, but he posted a 187-32 record (.854 winning percentage), including a 12-3 mark in bowl games, with three national championships across 17 years as a college head coach.

In December, Meyer told Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd (via Nick Kosko of 247Sports) he'd need to find the perfect fit to come out of coaching retirement:

"To say I don't think about it, it's everyday. But it'd have to be the perfect, perfect situation and it'd have to be something that I was confident that the health issues I could overcome. Or at least prevent. So, I don't know. At this point, I think I'm done but I learned a long time ago...I left a job once where I planned on being there and then you get a call from a better opportunity. So, I think I'm done but I would never say, I'm never done."

Although a team coming off a 1-15 season wouldn't seem perfect on the surface, the Jaguars' turnaround is set to begin by drafting Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick in April.

Lawrence is regarded as a surefire franchise signal-caller. The opportunity to draft him, combined with control over the coaching staff and the chance to pick a GM to lead the front office, creates an intriguing option.

Meyer isn't the only coach on the Jags' radar despite the barrage of rumors, though.

Jacksonville has also interviewed or showcased interest in assistant coaches Eric Bienemy (Kansas City Chiefs), Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons), Robert Saleh (San Francisco 49ers), Arthur Smith (Tennessee Titans) and Brian Daboll (Buffalo Bills).

The team hasn't provided a timetable for a final decision.