New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke have only been together on the job for under two months, but it seems things are going swimmingly so far. Baalke, who was promoted to general manager after serving as the team’s interim following the firing of Dave Caldwell, told the media that after six weeks, his relationship with Meyer is “great.”
“There’s no other word I can say,” he said via Jaguars.com. “There’s a lot of harmony, a lot of collaboration. The thing we entered into is a partnership and that partnership is taking shape. Urban is a very easy guy to work with – difficult in the sense of demanding, but that’s the expectation of this league. It’s a demanding league.”
This characterization may run counter to the public image of Meyer, who is known as an intense, winning-focused coach. But asked to elaborate, Baalke said Meyer’s direct style brings the staff together.
“Communication skills are excellent,” Baalke added. “He knows exactly what he wants. He’s team-centric. When you’re team-centric and everybody’s involved in the decisions, it’s an environment that’s easier to work within.”
The decision to retain and promote Baalke was a bit controversial, as critics pointed to his time in the same role as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, a position he held from 2011-16. Though the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, the team declined from there under Baalke’s watch.
But Meyer and Baalke reportedly hit it off after the former was hired, and it seems that so far, the partnership is off to a good start. Jags fans will just hope that translates to on-field success.
