As he prepares for his first NFL season, longtime college coach Urban Meyer is seeking advice from Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
The transition from college football to the NFL can be tough as Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban, among others, can attest. Urban Meyer is hoping to make a smoother transition from the college game to the NFL and is hoping to pick Saban’s ear to help his cause
The legendary Alabama Crimson Tide coach made the leap back in 2004, taking the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins after winning a national championship with LSU.
After narrowly missing the playoffs in Saban’s first year with a 9-7 record, Miami finished 6-10 in his second and Saban went back to what he knows best and took the job at Alabama. The rest is history with Saban winning six national championships with the Crimson Tide and establishing himself as the greatest college football coach of all time.
Urban Meyer seeking advice from Nick Saban to ease transition to NFL
Speaking with Peter King, Meyer said he’s hoping to reach out to Saban about his experiences so he can have a smoother experience in his first year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meyer is already saying he won’t be bolting back to the college game if it’s a bumpy first year or two.
“Zero chance at that happening,” Meyer said. “What coach Saban went through, I don’t know. That’s coach Saban’s business. I’m not quite sure. At some point, I might talk to him about it. … he’s a friend of mine and I got great respect for him. It is different. It’s completely different. My mind is set. There’s gonna be some losses. … That’s gonna be miserable. I hate losing. We all do. But the reality is that you’re gonna lose. Hopefully, you win more than you lose. But that’s something that’s gonna be new to me. I have to get my mind right and I’m working on that.”
Meyer is already bracing to lose more games in his first year with the Jaguars than he did in his entire tenure with Ohio State, but having Trevor Lawrence as his quarterback will be something Saban never had with the Dolphins when his team signed Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees who was coming back from shoulder surgery.
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