Paul Finebaum: Urban Meyer will 'self-destruct' in Jacksonville

SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum is not shy about his opinions. In the past few months, he’s repeatedly stated that Urban Meyer as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars will not work.

Finebaum recently told a caller on The Paul Finebaum Show that Meyer will self destruct with the Jaguars because he cannot handle losing.

“Ultimately the reason why I think he will struggle is that winning in the NFL is essential, but you are going to lose some,” Finebaum said. “You can get to the playoffs at 9-7. And Urban Meyer is one of the worst losers I’ve ever seen. He has never lost very often and when he does it begins to eat away at him. And I don’t think he has the makeup to survive the losing this year. He’s got a terrible football team; I watched their preseason game the other night. And it will be shocking if they win more than five or six games.”

“I’m not sure he’s going to be able to handle that and ultimately I think he will self-destruct like he’s done a few other times in his career. He had success there but he couldn’t finish the job.”

Finebaum isn’t the only person to think Meyer will struggle with losing. Ben Volin from the Boston Globe does as well, as do many others that have followed Meyer over the years.

How will he handle losing?

Meyer is a man that has been unbelievably laser focused on winning. Winning three national championships takes focus.

The biggest question many people have, including Finebaum, is how Urban will handle the losses in the National Football League.

When he was at Utah, Meyer said, “I can’t function as a human being after a loss. I can’t eat. I can’t shave. I can’t hug my kids.”

The Jaguars franchise has been the epitome of losing the past few seasons, they went 1-15 last year. They also suffered double digit losses in nine of their last ten seasons. From 2011-2020, the Jaguars won just 44 games (.275 win percentage).

Meyer spoke a little bit about handling losing in the NFL.

“Am I going to enjoy it? No,” he said. “But you have to handle it. That’s the reality of the NFL.”

Jags’ assistant Charlie Strong argued that with the type of success he’s had, of course losing won’t sit well.

“We all have to understand that losing isn’t going to sit well. And we’ve got to make sure that when you just go out and execute and follow the plan, you’re always going to have a chance.”

The Jaguars’ next preseason game is on Monday at 8:00 p.m. They’ll face off against the New Orleans Saints.