Urban Meyer Reportedly Already Rubbing Some Jaguars Players the Wrong Way

Urban Meyer promised change for a Jacksonville Jaguars franchise in desperate need of it. And history teaches us that as a species we are resistant to change, so expecting it all to be rainbows and battle-tested college rah-rah transitioning seamlessly to the NFL was unrealistic.

That resistance has manifested, per CBS Sports' Pete Prisco, who shared his reporting Tuesday on The D.A. Show.

"He's got to change a few things. He brought a bunch of college-like things to the program, which I don't necessarily agree with," Prisco said. 

"And I've heard some of the players aren't thrilled with him either, including having a microphone on the field – one of his assistants on the field during practice with a boom mic, telling everybody to hydrate and hustle and get to the next period," he added.

Feeling like one's hand is being unnecessarily held is an understandable frustration for everyone who has a job and a boss. At the same time, being reminded to drink water and keep the pace up feels like small potatoes. While that type of detail may be left largely unsaid at the professional level, one has to imagine that every player has dealt with coaches who conduct themselves in such a fashion coming through the ranks. It's almost the type of thing a leader says out of habit.

Meyer is learning on the job and has a football team that was always going to struggle to win this year no matter who was on the sidelines. It's been interesting to see two preseason games cause many pundits to look at the Men In Black memory eraser and forget everything the man's accomplished, but not entirely surprising either.

Prisco seems to share my opinion that all is not lost despite the hiccups.

"He's been a good football coach everywhere he's been. It's a lot different when you recruit guys to your school and have a bunch of the top players than it is trying to build something. So, it's going to be a challenge. I'm not giving up on what he can do in his first two games. I don't think that's fair to him or the quarterback. But they're not off to a good start."

This could all change, though, with a 1-6 start and further discontentment. Jaguars ownership hopefully has realistic expectations and timelines. If not, things could get a bit sticky.

We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it.