The Jaguars fired Urban Meyer, and that makes me feel better about how that offense might perform this week. I think a coaching change might spark that offense to some degree.
Especially with James Robinson. He’s a good back, but there seemed to be some friction between him and Meyer. With Darrell Bevell running the show, I think Robinson will get more carries and will be more effective. Bevell brought up Robinson and his usage in his initial press conference.
And, of course, it helps to be playing at home against Houston. The Texans rank last in run defense. Rashaad Penny had a huge game against them last week.
History shows that other teams have gotten immediate boosts from new coaches. Since 2010, 25 teams have changed coaches during the season, and those teams went 14-11 in their initial games with new coaches. Since the start of last year, new coaches have won all four of their games, and all of those teams have scored at least 30 points.
Darrell Bevell, of course, has been down this road before. He took over for Matt Patricia last year in Detroit, and the Lions won their first game, 34-30 against Chicago.
TEAMS IN FIRST GAME WITH INTERIM COACH, 2000- | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Opponent | Result |
2010 | • Dallas | at NY Giants | W 33-20 |
2010 | • Minnesota | at Washington | W 17-13 |
2010 | • San Francisco | Arizona | W 38-7 |
2010 | Denver | at Arizona | L 13-43 |
2011 | • Kansas City | Green Bay | W 19-14 |
2011 | • Miami | at Buffalo | W 30-23 |
2011 | Jacksonville | San Diego | L 14-38 |
2012 | New Orleans | at Denver | L 14-34 |
2013 | Houston | at Indianapolis | L 3-25 |
2014 | Oakland | San Diego | L 28-31 |
2015 | • Miami | at Tennessee | W 38-10 |
2015 | • Tennessee | at New Orleans | W 34-28 |
2015 | • Philadelphia | at NY Giants | W 35-30 |
2016 | Los Angeles | at Seattle | L 3-24 |
2016 | Jacksonville | at New Orleans | L 27-38 |
2016 | Buffalo | at N.Y. Jets | L 10-30 |
2017 | NY Giants | Dallas | L 10-30 |
2018 | • Green Bay | Atlanta | W 34-20 |
2018 | Cleveland | Kansas City | L 21-37 |
2019 | • Washington | at Miami | W 17-16 |
2019 | Carolina | at Atlanta | L 20-40 |
2020 | • Detroit | at Chicago | W 34-30 |
2020 | • Atlanta | at Minnesota | W 40-23 |
2020 | • Houston | Jacksonville | W 30-14 |
2021 | • Las Vegas | at Denver | W 34-24 |
2021 | Jacksonville | Houston | ? |
—Ian Allan