Jaguars
Regarding the Jaguars’ addition of new HC Urban Meyer, DE Josh Allen said there is a “different environment” around the organization and feels a renewed passion for the game similar to his rookie season.
“It’s just a different environment, different vibe, like I just feel about this team and this year and this coaching staff,” Allen said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. “It’s just I feel like I really haven’t felt this passion and this driven [since] I first got here. When I first got here I was all-in, I was ready, and then stepping back to this year, man, it’s just another … rejuvenation.”
Allen added that Meyer has been “building a connection” with the Jaguars’ players this offseason.
“The name has always stood out as one of the best coaches in college football in recent years, for him being at Ohio State and him coaching at Florida,” Allen said. “So … I always knew who he was and just having him as a coach, realizing he’s about to be my next head coach, it was kind of surreal for a little moment. When I did meet him it was like we took two or three days to get familiar with each other and now I feel like I’ve known him over a year or two years now. We’re building a connection and it’s not just with me. He’s building a connection with everybody throughout the locker room and throughout the building just in general.”
Allen mentioned that he’s excited for Meyer’s plans to install a 3-4 defense for the Jaguars’ defense given he played in a similar system during his college career at Kentucky.
“I was screaming it to my wife when we found out [the Jaguars were switching to a 3-4],” Allen said. “That’s the reason why I’m here [in the NFL] and then transitioning to play defensive end my first and second year was a transition, but it was a transition that I was willing to make and that I had to make and that I felt like I could make at the time. But now being able to go back to those roots that really got me here, I can really get more swag out there. In my terms, I feel like have more swag. I feel like I can move around more. I feel like I can be more active in the front.”
Texans
Texans RB Mark Ingram said one of his main goals with the team is to pass down all the knowledge that he retained over the past 10 years.
“You got to pass the game down,” Ingram said to “Texans TV,” via Texans Wire. “I’ve had guys that when I was young do that for me from Drew Brees to Darren Sproles to Will Smith, rest in peace, New Orleans Saints, Marcus Colston, Roman Harper, Lance Moore, just so many good veterans that I had to come in and learn from when I was a young rookie. So, just being able to pass down successes, pass down failures, pass down getting knocked down and getting back up, and just being able to pass down just how to stay level-headed, just control what you can control, prepare yourself to be the best player you can be.
“You just have to share those experiences to encourage young guys and that’s just how you pass the game down. That’s how you develop a camaraderie within your team. That’s how you develop a love and a bond with your team that is unmatched. When you have that bond within your locker room, it flows to the playing field. You got to hold each other accountable. You’re not going to let your guy down next to you.
“So, when you have those type of conversations and those type of transparencies within your locker room between everybody, you really get to know each other, really get to develop a bond and a love for one another that flows into how you play on the field for one another. So, it all goes hand-in-hand and it’s all relevant.”
- According to Aaron Wilson, the Texans gave OT Roderick Johnson a one-year, $1.15 million deal, with $350,000 guaranteed.
- New Texans DT Jaleel Johnson got a one-year, $1.3 million contract, with a $100,000 signing bonus. (Wilson)
- The Texans have hired former Patriots pro scout Ronnie McGill to a position within the organization. (Wilson)
- Free-agent DE Justin Houston does not plan on visiting with the Texans. (Wilson)
Titans
Regarding the Titans hiring former Eagles DC Jim Schwartz as a senior defensive assistant, HC Mike Vrabel said he has a good relationship with Schwartz based on their time spent in the NFL.
“Jim is somebody that I’ve known,” Vrabel said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s official site. “It’s funny, as we went through our conversations, he was basically a quality control coach for Bill Belichick (with the Browns), and I spent eight years with Bill as a player (with the Patriots). We talked somewhat essentially the same language. So, this process was something we talked about since he finished up contractually with Philadelphia. It worked out and I think it works for everybody with what he is willing to do at this point and time and what we’d like to have him do, and help us out. He is local here, he loves the Titans, and he was excited about coming on board and trying to help us in any way that he could just like everybody else in our organization.”
Vrabel added that Schwartz’s role is to ultimately “help us win” and meet with different members of the Titans’ defense.
“I think what his role is, it’s just like everybody else: To help the team, to help us win,” Vrabel said. “No job is too small for any of us, and I am confident that is what he’ll do. As he works his way into what we are doing, it has been good to see him meeting with different guys and meeting with the defense, and meeting with me.”
Vrabel mentioned that Schwartz will also have input on the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft and help identify prospects.
“I would imagine that maybe he would look at players for the draft, as we get down here and we get a different set of eyes, a guy that has been around the league for a lot of years and has been successful.”
Vrabel added that Schwartz’s “football knowledge” will help the Titans deploy its multiple-front scheme.
“We’re excited about Jim and the defensive knowledge and the football knowledge that he can bring,” Vrabel said. “We play multiple fronts, so that is nothing new. We’ve had five guys at the line of scrimmage, we’ve had four. That’s not something that we haven’t done.”
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