THE MEYER FACTOR

A QB’S fate depends on his head coach. Jacksonville’s is a rookie.

“A good football coach needs a patient wife, a loyal dog and a great quarterback—but not necessarily in that order,” declared Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant. It works both ways. Great QBS invariably have a Canton-caliber coach. In Jacksonville, Lawrence will be playing for Urban Meyer, who’s never been an NFL head coach. Meyer is a college coaching legend, but that means zilch at the pro level. Will he play Jimmy Johnson to Lawrence’s Troy Aikman? Johnson became the first coach to win a college title and then a Super Bowl with the Aikman-led Dallas Cowboys in 1993. Or will his pro tenure resemble Nick Saban’s? Probably the greatest college coach of all time, Saban left the NFL after two drab seasons in Miami, posting a 15–17 record with zero playoff appearances.