Gene Frenette's Saturday sports menu: Khan deserves as much blame as Meyer, SEC dominance, NFL draft nuggets

Jaguars owner Shad Khan came down harder than ever on Urban Meyer, the coach he fired in December, during a USA Today interview last week, saying: “When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that? It’s not possible.”

The problem here is also Khan failing to recognize much earlier how Meyer, who had a well-earned reputation for being a phony long before the Jaguars hired him, would be a bad fit for the NFL.

Khan was so infatuated with what Meyer accomplished at Florida and Ohio State that he overlooked too many off-the-field shortcomings.

Whether it was the 31 player arrests during his time in Gainesville or defending Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith, later fired by the school after a judge granted a protective order for his ex-wife, Courtney, there was an unsavory part of Meyer’s resume — plus not ever working in the NFL — that should have raised a bigger red flag.

It’s no secret Khan was too eager to overlook a ton of concerns about Meyer, believing his phenomenal winning record in college would lead to a Jaguars’ turnaround.

Instead, those Meyer character flaws and the “Urban Liar” reputation that preceded him manifested itself again during his 11-month tenure in Jacksonville.

More from Gene:

Improving the 'D': With Urban Meyer gone, Jaguars defense has real shot to ascend

Piecing it together: Jaguars' rise to a winner starts with Doug Pederson bringing it all together

Top pick: Jaguars' selection of Travon Walker a bold move, but was it the right one?

While nobody could have foreseen Meyer self-destructing the way he did — especially the video in the Columbus bar-restaurant showing him being too cozy with a woman who wasn’t his wife — his NFL inexperience repeatedly surfaced as a problem on a weekly basis. He too often looked unprepared for things that didn’t require a ton of research.

Contrary to a popular narrative, the whole Meyer dustup with Josh Lambo about to what degree he allegedly kicked the Jaguars’ kicker at a practice, which came to light several hours before Khan announced his coach’s firing, was a non-factor in his dismissal. Meyer had already sealed his own fate with his boss by then.

Looking back, Khan deserves more blame for one of the worst hires in NFL history because Meyer had already tipped his hand before the hire. He provided ample evidence before setting foot in the NFL that he might well be out of his element.

Any further public regret now doesn’t change the fact hiring Meyer resulted in mostly a wasted year of development for rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, not to mention more embarrassment for a franchise that has experienced too much of it.

Thankfully, the timing worked out where a competent, Super Bowl-winning coach in Doug Pederson was hired as Meyer’s replacement. It’s time to stop piling on the coach who never belonged in the NFL.

SEC dominance here to stay

Travon Walker was just the beginning of overwhelming evidence that the Southeastern Conference may never lose its place as king of college football.

Walker, the Jaguars' No. 1 overall draft pick, began another record trend for the SEC owning the NFL draft, which is as good a reflection as any on how the league has remained a dominant presence in college football for nearly two decades.

Led by Georgia's single-school record of 15 players being selected in last week's draft, the SEC had 65 selections, tying the all-time record it set in the 2021 draft. Those numbers aren't outliers. It's the continuation of a trend that shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

At the rate Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Alabama’s Nick Saban are consistently recruiting the nation’s best players, it’s highly doubtful any conference will have more NFL draft picks than the SEC for who knows how long. And remember, Texas and Oklahoma will soon be joining the SEC party.

This was the 16th consecutive year the SEC had the most draft picks, and the margin has significantly widened the past five seasons. In the 2018-22 NFL drafts, the SEC has averaged 62.0 selections per year, followed by the Big Ten (42.4), ACC (32.8), Pac-12 (29.6), Big 12 (22.8) and AAC (16.8).

The bad news for the rest of college football is the strength of the SEC, which has won 12 of the past 16 national championships, is only intensifying as time goes by. . . .

Benefitting from draft mistakes

One of the things that went largely unnoticed when the Jaguars exercised their fifth-year option last week on 2019 first-round draft pick Josh Allen, taken No. 7 overall, was how bad draft calls by the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants allowed them to get there.

The Raiders shocked everybody that draft by taking pass-rusher Clelin Farrell with the fourth pick. His miniscule 3.5 sacks over the last two years wasn’t deemed worthy of the Raiders picking up his fifth-year option. The Giants also didn’t exercise the option on quarterback Daniel Jones, the No. 6 pick, and it was those two mistakes that allowed the Jaguars to grab Allen when they did.

Drafting always involves some degree of luck and this was a rare instance where the Jaguars took advantage of miscalculations by other teams, though Allen has to start making more of an impact as well.

Austin signing a double standard?

Of the 16 undrafted free agents the Jaguars signed, none is more compelling than Notre Dame receiver Kevin Austin, who was suspended an entire season by the school in 2019 for multiple team violations.

Before the draft, Jaguars’ GM Trent Baalke estimated the team had taken “probably 20 to 30” players off their board for character concerns. You would think Austin being suspended a whole year by Notre Dame, on top of having two foot surgeries, might make him a prime candidate as a buyer-beware player.

Apparently, the Jaguars felt a little more comfortable after he led Notre Dame with 888 receiving yards and 7 TD catches last season. The NFL was obviously leery of drafting Austin (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), who ran the 40 in 4.43 seconds, because he had a fifth-round grade and didn’t get selected. For a franchise that brags about taking high-character players, this decision appears to run contrary to that priority.

Jaguars' sense of humor

One of the obvious differences in this Jaguars’ regime is Pederson being way more engaging with people than his predecessor. He had several moments of levity during last week’s NFL draft, which also brought out more light-heartedness in Baalke.

Among the better moments came after a Saturday press conference with first-round draft pick Devin Lloyd, who revealed that he lifted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell off the ground on stage during the draft because his mother, Ronyta Johnson, asked him to do it.

When it was suggested to Pederson about wanting to see Lloyd pick him up, he laughed and then said: “No. Only if we win something big.”

Ja-dropping entertainment

If the first two games of the Memphis Grizzlies-Golden State Warriors NBA Western Conference series are any indication of what’s coming, then it’ll be appointment television. As entertaining as Warriors’ guard Steph Curry has been for years with his ridiculous three-point marksmanship, Memphis guard Ja Morant is equally breathtaking as a penetrator and finisher at the rim.

Morant, 22, went from an exceptional player during his first two years in the NBA to elite this past season, averaging 27.4 points per game average. His body control and ability to hang in the air, finishing with either hand, guarantees Morant will be a human highlight reel for years to come.

Kentucky Derby forecast

Since it’s no fun picking the favorite to win, let’s go with these top three for Saturday’s 148th running of the Derby at Churchill Downs: 1. Charge It; 2. Epicenter; 3. Messier.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com; (904) 359-4540

Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: On menu: Blame Shad Khan, too, for Urban debacle, NFL draft reflects SEC muscle