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Florida Times-Union
Published 2:59 p.m. ET Jun. 30, 2021
When Urban Meyer looked
to fill his Jaguars coaching staff vacancies nearly six months ago, he set the
bar high for desired qualities.
He looked to hire coaches
ahead of the pack, experts at the positions they coached regardless of whether
they were previously at the collegiate or pro level.
''For every spot, there were multiple interviews,'' Meyer said.
''Expertise is what I’d like to say. I believe 904 deserves the very best.''
For one of the most
critical positions on his staff, Meyer did not have to look far to find his top
choice to coach the offensive line. He hired the same guy that coached the unit
for the past two seasons — George Warhop.
He's one of the four holdovers from former coach Doug Marrone's
staff, including assistant linebacker coach Tony Gilbert, secondary coach
(cornerbacks) Tim Walton and nickel corners coach Joe Danna.
After allowing 44 sacks last season that tied the Dallas Cowboys
for the seventh-most in the NFL, Meyer is entrusting Warhop just
like Marrone did. But Meyer wants better production.
Most importantly: protect Trevor Lawrence, their prized
rookie quarterback.
The Jaguars are hoping the continuity of having all five
starters back — tackles Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor, guards
Andrew Norwell and A.J. Cann, and center Brandon Linder — will be a
difference-maker this time around.
But the unit has allowed 86 sacks over the past two seasons
under Warhop.
''Competition brings out the best in everyone and the way I look
at our offensive line is they're very talented people,'' Meyer said. "We
made a decision to go with the starting five that we had. We've got some other
young players that I know Warhop thinks very highly of. I believe we have the
coach and I believe we have some excellent talent that we will play much
better."
Last year, the Jaguars took a chance and drafted former Division
III guard Ben Bartch from St. John's University in Minnesota in the fourth
round. Bartch still has a ways to go in his development but showed some promise
in limited reps as a rookie.
In April, the Jaguars took another chance and selected former
Stanford tackle Walker Little in the second round. At 6-foot-7, 325 pounds,
Little meets all the measurables. However, he has played only one game since
2019.
He opted out from playing last season for the Cardinal because
of COVID-19 precautions. In 2019, he missed all but the first game of the 2019
season because of a left knee injury.
One of Warhop's critical tasks will be
directing Little's NFL transition so he can be a possible contributor
as a rookie.
Warhop liked what he saw from Little during the offseason
program, but a much better evaluation is ahead for training camp when the
pads come on for live contact work.
''First of all, Walker, he’s a really good athlete,'' Warhop
said. ''And of all those guys out there, if you watch him play, he has
unbelievable flexibility, he can really bend. He’s a smooth pass blocker.
I’ve had multiple tackles drafted in the first or second round and [Walker
Little] came in as prepared or more prepared than any of those guys; in terms
of movement skills, in terms of intellect, in terms of communication."
If the offensive line's production doesn't meet
expectations early in the season, the Jaguars are likely to make changes. That
could mean either Robinson or Taylor losing their starting job to Little.
And Warhop, 59, could be the first Meyer assistant to be on the
hot seat if the Jaguars' pass protection continues to be a problem.
''I'm of the belief that there (are) very few teams if we decide
that we want to hand a ball off, are going to stop us from running the
ball," Warhop said. "But where we struggled last year at times
was in pass protection. And that's a technique issue and a consistency issue.
And that's been addressed and will continue to be addressed, those guys know
it. It's something we're not shying away from, so it'll get better."
Warhop acknowledges that working on Meyer's staff is quite
different from most of the other head coaches he has previously worked for,
including the past two seasons with Marrone.
''Well, if you really want to get into it, into the depth of
what’s going on, unlike in years past, Urban has all the power. He has all
the control, so he can dictate everything from the top down. That’s
huge," Warhop said. "That’s huge in the building, that’s huge
for the players because they know now exactly who they’ve got to please and who
they’ve got to answer to. So, that’s the first thing. And that’s clear and everybody
understands that."
Warhop is highly regarded
around the league and respected by players. And no other offensive coach
on Meyer's staff has more NFL experience than Warhop. Since
1996, Warhop has been an offensive line coach with seven different teams: the
St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers,
Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before he arrived in Jacksonville
in 2019.
Before the NFL, Warhop was a college offensive line coach from
1984-90 at Kansas, Vanderbilt and New Mexico. During his 37-year coaching
career, the only time Warhop didn't coach the offensive line when he was the
offensive coordinator for the London Monarchs of the World League of American
Football (which later became NFL Europe) in 1991-92.
''It's always nice to build a relationship with a coach and not
changing over every year having to learn from a new coach (because) everyone
has different techniques and stuff,'' [Center, Brad] Linder said. ''(Coach)
Warhop truly cares about us, not only as football players but (as) men outside
the building. So, we are all excited to have him back and it's just nice
(because) we have a relationship with him and now it's just going to keep
building."
