THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 12, 2021

Urban Meyer

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. Coach, I know you've played this course on Tim's event at times, but have you ever come out here and counted your own ball and how many times has that happened?

URBAN MEYER: No, I haven't. I want to do it, though. I was just invited, so I said, I'm going to take you up on that. I love this course and play it every year in Tim's event. Tim's event is coming up in a few weeks, so we'll be out here.

Q. Do you enjoy the difficulty, let's say?

URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I do. I enjoy it, and I was working out yesterday and I watched my friend Kevin Na throw a few in the water on the island hole. So it's a really hard course.

Q. How do you know Kevin Na?

URBAN MEYER: Just from the Memorial Tournament. I know a lot of these golfers because I live right at No. 7 on Muirfield.

Q. As an Ohio guy what is your relationship with Jack Nicklaus?

URBAN MEYER: Oh, very close. He's a big Buckeye. When I first got hired at Ohio State, within a day I got a phone call and he asked me to be part of Muirfield. We played golf every year for like seven, eight years, and then he's just awesome. Him and Barbara are incredible.

Q. We didn't get to ask you about a couple of your former players, Alex Smith, Janoris Jenkins now on the market, what's the level of interest there and maybe reuniting with them as Jaguars?

URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I'm waking up in the middle of the night staring at the ceiling trying to put this -- all of us are trying to put this thing together. You just look at the history, which I have, in the last year, just looking through the history of the NFL, how many chances do you get to build a roster like we are. You have cap space, 11 draft picks. You can't screw it up, man. You've got to get the right people, you've got to get the right -- and our coaches and the number one thing I'm looking for is a mesh between the personnel department and our coaches.

Ultimately, a coach is in charge who goes in his room. And that's -- you mentioned Janoris. Reakwon McMillan, I've got a bunch of former players out there that I'd love to get, but I've got to make sure they fit in that room.

Q. It's been a few days since you guys put the tag on Cam Robinson. Have you had a chance to speak with him?

URBAN MEYER: I have.

Q. What's been his reaction?

URBAN MEYER: It's been real positive. I've known Cam since he was in college. We've got an extra line coach in George Warhop. I like our line. Can we play better? You're darned right, we are going to play better. But starting with Linder, our center, Norwell, A.J., Jawaan at the right tackle and Cam, we've just got to get better. Every one of them can play better, and I like all five guys, and I think Cam has got a really good future.

Q. I heard you saying you were a golf junkie over there. How good is your golf game?

URBAN MEYER: Depends on the day. I'm about a 9 or 10. But I played 75 to 80 rounds last year. In the previous 30 years I don't think I've played 75, 80 rounds. I love golf.

Q. How many times have you played this course?

URBAN MEYER: Every year we play in a Tebow event. I don't think I've ever played it, just played it. That's going to change now that I'm here.

Q. This event is one of the staples that makes Jacksonville known on the national scene. Your hiring at the Jaguars has really elevated the conversation of Jacksonville nationally. If you would just describe being here and being able to meet people and how much you think that's going to elevate the cache of this entire team.

URBAN MEYER: Well, Amy and I talked about it, we're extremely busy, but I thought it was really important to come out here because this is one of the first times I get to show support for -- I love this community. I know this community very well. Obviously, I was in Gainesville for seven or eight years, our kids were constantly at baseball tournaments. I recruited -- there's great high school football in this area. We do the Tim Tebow event. We come down here just to spend a weekend once in a while. That was a big part of why I took the job. There would be nothing greater to see the 904 and Duval County and Jacksonville just explode behind this team. We have, not a good owner, we have a great owner. And to see him hopefully -- that's why we're all working so hard, to get him some success in the NFL.

Q. With that said, if there's any details you can provide as far as the expanding facilities that I know that's been hinted in different interviews.

URBAN MEYER: Yeah, we're still not there yet, but we're very close. That will happen or that should happen, and I have -- I shared it with our owners. You push everyone to their brink as far as effort and what we expect, but you give them the very best that you possibly can get your hands on. That means the best trainers. We redid our whole sport performance program. I want it to be the very best in the NFL. Ours was the best in college. I'm biased, but the way we did it, we're going to do the same thing here. I think our players deserve -- I think this could be a destination place. What, are you kidding me? You've got Jacksonville, you've got the tax issue, which is important in the NFL, and you've got a great community, you can raise a family here. So why would you not be here if you had the best facilities, best trainers, best coaches and best nutrition, all of the above. We can do that here.

Q. Are you done with that coaching staff building, assembled as of right now? It's set?

URBAN MEYER: Yeah, it's pretty well set.

Q. What do you think the next week is going to feel like, those 48, 72 hours initially especially?

URBAN MEYER: Sweat pouring off my forehead. Trent Baalke, our GM has been fantastic, the corroboration, the communication. I just can't imagine a group working harder, corroborating, digging up -- the hard thing is you're going to sign people that we've never met. I have a real hard time with that. We're going to have people come into our organization, that we're responsible for, the Jacksonville area, they're going to come in -- I'm not comfortable with that. That'll change, hopefully, after COVID, where we get to meet people. But the first two day guys, you don't get to meet, and then after that I think we get to fly them in. I'm still learning the rules.

Same thing with the draft. I went to one Pro Day already, but you can't talk to the player. You're being asked to make some really, really hard decisions that you don't get all the intel. That's why we're doing as much behind the scenes as we can. Really difficult, though.

Q. I don't know how much of an update you've been given on this, but what are your feelings about playing games in London, and can you give us any kind of an update whether the feeling is that that's going to happen this year?

URBAN MEYER: I don't know that. I know we play, I think, one in London. That's what I've kind of been told. I've not done a lot of research on it. I was part of a game, when I was at Notre Dame, we played in Ireland. And the there trip is not bad, the trip home was tough. So I'd give you more, I just have not had time to research it.

Q. So you do anticipate playing one game possibly?

URBAN MEYER: That's what I've been told. This year I don't know because of COVID. I don't know.

Q. Speaking of socially distant, the news came out today that teams will be allowed to have their draft rooms open this year. Obviously your first draft here with the Jaguars. How nice would it be to be able to have the majority of your staff in one room instead of everyone separate?

URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I heard the stories about last year, and I can see -- we're keeping away from each other, but it's so hard to have that dialogue on a video screen, so it's going to be great.

Q. Do you anticipate going to any more Pro Days for prospects? You yourself?

URBAN MEYER: Oh, yeah, sure. We've had probably, I think three guys are out today. I'm going to certainly go to a few more, too.

Q. Any position in particular you're particularly focused on making sure you're in attendance for?

URBAN MEYER: Yeah. I'm not sure I can share that with you, but absolutely.

Q. You're here, you're not in North Dakota today, so I had to ask.

URBAN MEYER: Yeah.