The Fall Guy
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL regular season is over and coaches are starting to get fired as a result. Let’s talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville fired head coach Doug Pederson after going 4-13. They have lost 18 of their past 23 games. He did go 9-8 in his first two seasons before the bottom fell out in 2024. His record in Jacksonville is 22-29.
“I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars,” owner Shad Khan said in a statement.
“Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife Jeannie when that occasion arrives. As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.”
The Jags have retained General Manager Trent Baalke who is entering the final year of his contract. I do raise an eyebrow when only the head coach is fired from a losing team but the GM keeps his job. I view them as a package deal because the GM assembled the subpar roster that could not win games.
Khan will be looking for his sixth head coach since he purchased the team in November 2011 and assumed control in 2012.
Currently the other teams searching for a new head coach are the New York Jets, Chicago, New England and New Orleans. Out of these openings I think Jacksonville is the fourth best job with New Orleans being last.
This next year will be very important because we may finally have to look at quarterback Trevor Lawrence to see if he is a franchise QB. He was considered a generational talent when he was drafted #1 in the 2021 draft.
The Jags were 1-15 the previous year and they hired Urban Meyer for his first NFL head coaching position. They were 2-11 under Meyer before he was fired December 16, 2021. We don’t hold Lawrence’s rookie season against him.
His best season was his second year when he passed for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension, including $142 million guaranteed on June 14, 2024. That tied Joe Burrow as the highest paid player in NFL history at the time of the signing.
Lawrence has dealt with injuries this season, which include a significant AC joint sprain and a concussion so he only played in ten games. With that being said, he did not perform like Burrow in the games he did play.
Rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was great. He had 87 receptions, 1,282 yards and 10 TD’s.
The defense is ranked 31st in yards allowed per game (389.9) and last in passing yards allowed per game (257.4). On offense they were 25th in yards per game (305.8).
The top coaching candidate is Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator. They just secured the top seed in the NFC so they might make a deep playoff run.
Todd Monken, the Ravens offensive coordinator is also someone to look at.
Detroit’s defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady are two more names to consider.
It will be interesting to see who the Jags hire and if they can quickly make them a contender.
