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Jags 2025--GM search underway (1 Viewer)

doeseatplace

Footballguy
Stealing this idea from Bri, my brother in arms who's a fan of the other miserable AFC South team that no one else cares about.

A win in Indy this Sunday will make them 4-2 in the division, and 1-10 vs the rest of the NFL (including losses to the Browns, Bears, Jets and Raiders)

The first, big question is whether Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke survive Black Monday. The fan base believes owner Shahid Khan has been too loyal to the coaches he likes when they fail to perform, specifically
Gus Bradley (4-12, 3-13, 5-12, fired 14 games into a 3-13 season) and Doug Marrone (10-6, 5-11, 6-10, 1-15). He had not problem kicking Mike Mularkey and Urban Meyer to the curb after one season and 13 games, respectively.

A massively underachieving season had many, many inflection points where it would have been completely understandable to fire Pederson. They started 0-4, giving away a game in MIA, losing to the Cleveland DeShauns at home, getting poleaxed on MNF by the Bills and failing to stop a Texans' game-winning drive. Then they beat the Colts, and were off to London, so a coaching change would have no longer made logistical sense at this point. They were embarrassed by the Bears, and had they not beat up on the hapless Pats the following week, a pink slip likely would have been handed out as the charter crossed the Atlantic.

Then three surprising competitive games against the Pack, Eagles and Vikings, which could have been chalked up as moral victories if that were a real thing in the NFL. But like they have all season (and the second half of last season) the Jags just found a way to lose games that were winnable, with the same set of unforced errors. Then they were humiliated by the Lions going into the bye, and it seemed the gig was up for Doug.

But it wasn't. And my guess there were several reasons for this:
(1) Khan is a decent human being, and firing a former Super Bowl winning coach at the season's 2/3 mark wasn't going to turn this pathetic season around. There was really no value to making that move at that point, especially creating more in-season chaos as the Jags and Jacksonville had just finished negotiating a deal on a new stadium.
(2) There was no better option. OC Press Taylor and DC Ryan Nielsen are terrible at their current jobs. Adding overall management responsibilities of the entire team would have made the situation worse. (See: Woody Johnson, Jeff Ulbrich). Former Chargers HC Mike McCoy is QB's coach, but that doesn't inspire confidence. The best aspect of the Jags is special teams (top 5 in DVOA), so one could argue that Heath Farwell was the most deserving.
(3) I think the firing is a package deal: Pederson AND Baalke. Fan base here HATES Baalke (remember this) so if the HC was dispatched at Thanksgiving, the last 6 weeks of the season would have been 100% Fire Baalke negative energy. No one needs that....this is not Duuval's first loser rodeo, so a double digit loss season is par for the course. You could keep Pederson without Baalke (though his record shows he isn't worthy to be retained) but you absolutely cannot keep Baalke around for a new head coach. Trent is the ultimate look-out-for-yourself-and -screw-the-other guy NFL insider, and his machinations are part of what make him so unlikeable.

I admit that until I sat down and started writing, I thought Khan would stay the course. But a fresh start is needed--your $275 million franchise QB has not developed, the roster is filled with holes on both sides of the ball and under Pederson, the team has been plagued by a lack of physical and mental toughness. Remember, when this team lost to the Chiefs 27-20 at Arrowhead in the 2022 division playoffs, it was touted as an up and coming squad, and football fans should start counting on regular January matchups between Mahomes and Trevor. That's how far, and how fast, this team has fallen.
 
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If it helps any I've heard rumors that Lions OC Ben Johnson is a possible candidate to be your new HC.
If he’s really as choosy as people say, not sure that the jags would be at the top of the list. I suppose it’s possible he likes Lawrence the best of the qbs in the availability jobs but idk
 
From a fantasy lens, obviously we don’t know who the new staff will be, but how do you see the RB situation?

Etienne’s 2025 fifth year option was picked up this past April (I’m sure regrettably in hindsight) while Bigsby will be in only year 3 of his rookie deal. So both under contract for next year as of now.
 
Jags' owner wants to be cautious before tossing Dougie P, remember how bad things were prior with social media and the girl flirting with Meyer up in Ohio at his bar...
-Owner will have limited names of coaches that will come there, he'll want to have an idea of who he believes he can get
Khan doesn't want to get stuck hiring Rex Ryan, that's all i'm saying

Even if he wants to push off from DP, he's going to do it professionally so he can attract other coaches to come there
 
If it helps any I've heard rumors that Lions OC Ben Johnson is a possible candidate to be your new HC.
If he’s really as choosy as people say, not sure that the jags would be at the top of the list. I suppose it’s possible he likes Lawrence the best of the qbs in the availability jobs but idk
Lawrence. Florida. No state taxes. 3 decent pros to Jags. Ha ha. I think Lawrence is still an above average NFL starting QB. Has all the tools. A guy like Johnson has the potential take him to the next level. Imo
 
From a fantasy lens, obviously we don’t know who the new staff will be, but how do you see the RB situation?

Etienne’s 2025 fifth year option was picked up this past April (I’m sure regrettably in hindsight) while Bigsby will be in only year 3 of his rookie deal. So both under contract for next year as of now.
Etienne can be a valuable all-purpose playmaker (think CJ Spiller) and he is a great team/community guy, in a small city where that actually matters. But Tank was drafted in the 3rd round last year to be the early down bellcow. His rookie season was a lost year due to fumble and subsequent confidence issues, but he had an outstanding pre-season, focus and work wise, so it wasn't a surprise that his share of snaps and touches increased significantly. He hasn't been as active in the pass game as he's capable of, and he had his first fumble in week 16, reducing his snaps somewhat

The big problem is the O-line. From PFN:

Jacksonville’s pass-blocking numbers have been fairly good. The Jaguars rank fourth in pressure rate allowed (27.3%) but have been helped by the tendency toward a quick-release passing game (2.67-second time to throw).

Jacksonville’s pressure and sack rate numbers look strong, but the quick-release offense mitigates the impact of that in these rankings. Their 20th-ranked PBWR tells you a lot about how this line performs when asked to block for any significant length of time.

The run game is certainly an issue, with just 0.78 RBYBC/rush and a 23rd-placed ranking in RBWR. Those are not completely terrible numbers, but the run blocking is definitely the lesser part of this offensive line’s skill set.


There is a distinct lack of toughness, especially in the middle of the OL, which makes short yardage rushing a crapshoot. Prior to going 4-4 against the Titans, the Jags had a 45.5% success rate on 3rd-and-1. Pederson is a pass-oriented guy to begin with, but if you can't convert even the short ones on the ground, that's the reason you pass 59% of the time over the last two seasons.

The Jags had to bring in gimpy 33 year old Brandon Scherff and 32 year old Mitch Morse to prop up the interior because they've ignored that draft need for years, and the players they drafted (Luke Fortner, Ben Bartch) were simply not physical enough.

Since 2015, the Jags have drafted 9 offensive lineman in 10 years. That's the same number of linebackers (not edge rushers, but linebackers) they've drafter over the same period. WTF?

Anyway, the adequately talented tag team of Etienne & Bigsby is the one of the least of the Jaguars personnel needs going forward.
 
I think Minshew and a summer of McGough and a quarter or two of the CFL guy last summer showed Jags fans how much they would leap to be onto another QBs back.

Y'all can keep firing coaches and turning over the roster but Trevor isn't the next Peyton. That excitement the summer scrubs bring is something Lawrence doesn't anymore. Just move on and keep the current staff and GM.

The roster is so curious for today's game. The supposed hard to acquire positions have loads of talent but the easy to acquire positions are meh.
I'd strongly predict a bunch of UFL and UDFA guys expose some regulars in camp next summer.

It's so fixable.
Maybe Pederson isn't the guy. Maybe they need a more toughness vibe type like Ryans or Vrabel. I don't know. He didn't have that problem in prior stops.
A mean DT, a fighting guard, a bully LB, a big hitting safety...the roster just needs the lunch pail.guys.

Fans of the Jags consistently say poorly ranked PFF players are good players. It's on X constantly. There's definitely a point of view that needs to change. The GM might need to anger y'all by cutting some fan favorites. Idk I just notice it often.

In Titans ville I'm constantly saying "have standards" and that's the perspective losing teams lose. Pollard and Ridley are about 1000 yards. Is that great in a 17 game season? Can I like Pollard but also think he pales compared to CJ and Henry and Demarco and Eddie?

Ya know what Brian Thomas did? He proved the Jags prior WRs were overpaid and overrated. Some bitter truths gotta come out like that.

I think they can turn it around quickly if they just set standards and get some lunch pail guys
 
I would not close the book on Lawrence just yet, feel strongly if he lands on another team that he will look better than he does right now
$275M, he's not going anywhere at the moment IMHO but they way overpaid and didn't even try to make him play out his rookie contract or let it ride Year 4
 
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If it helps any I've heard rumors that Lions OC Ben Johnson is a possible candidate to be your new HC.
If he’s really as choosy as people say, not sure that the jags would be at the top of the list. I suppose it’s possible he likes Lawrence the best of the qbs in the availability jobs but idk
Lawrence. Florida. No state taxes. 3 decent pros to Jags. Ha ha. I think Lawrence is still an above average NFL starting QB. Has all the tools. A guy like Johnson has the potential take him to the next level. Imo
Honestly, I think the Jags are a sleeping giant, awakened with the right coaching staff. Similar in that light to the Chargers. I don’t think there’s another Harbaugh waiting for a job, Johnson will probably have growing pains. But I’m watching out for this team.
 
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I would not close the book on Lawrence just yet, feel strongly if he lands on another team that he will look better than he does right now
$275M, he's not going anywhere at the moment IMHO but they way overpaid and didn't even try to make him play out his rookie contract or let it ride Year 4
Geno and now Sam have proven patience can be rewarded.
I didn't realize his contract late at night and yet remember discussing so...oops.
I'd say set that offense up so it's not so reliant on him then.
 
If it helps any I've heard rumors that Lions OC Ben Johnson is a possible candidate to be your new HC.
If he’s really as choosy as people say, not sure that the jags would be at the top of the list. I suppose it’s possible he likes Lawrence the best of the qbs in the availability jobs but idk
I am not sure why this wouldn't be a preferred destination. I think I would prefer this position to all but the Bears and the only thing more appealing about the Bears is the QB being less than Trevor Lawrence is receiving.
 
I would not close the book on Lawrence just yet, feel strongly if he lands on another team that he will look better than he does right now
$275M, he's not going anywhere at the moment IMHO but they way overpaid and didn't even try to make him play out his rookie contract or let it ride Year 4
Jax is stuck with TLaw until 2028 unless they want to fall on the sword like the Broncos did with the Russ contract. I think his '27 dead cap hit is like 44 million.
 




Jordan Schultz
@Schultz_Report

The #Jaguars' decision-makers have kept a low profile in recent weeks, but there's a league-wide understanding that a complete overhaul, including parting ways with GM Trent Baalke, would be necessary to attract top coaching candidates to Jacksonville, sources tell @NFLonFOX.

There was a belief several weeks ago that Jacksonville might keep Baalke, but it appears the decision-makers decided this week that a full sweep would be necessary.
 
No bueno....


The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired Doug Pederson following the conclusion of his third season with the team.

The Jaguars finished 4-13 on the 2024 season after a 26-23 overtime loss to the Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday.

The team will retain general manager Trent Baalke.
If I had to keep Pederson or Baalke, I'd have MUCH rather kept Pederson. I'd be a better GM than Baalke, I don't think I'd be a better HC than Pederson. Baalke has routinely made awful picks and bad FA moves, Brian Thomas carry that much weight that he makes up for so much wasted capital?
 
Jordan Schultz
@Schultz_Report
The #Jaguars' decision-makers have kept a low profile in recent weeks, but there's a league-wide understanding that a complete overhaul, including parting ways with GM Trent Baalke, would be necessary to attract top coaching candidates to Jacksonville, sources tell @NFLonFOX.

There was a belief several weeks ago that Jacksonville might keep Baalke, but it appears the decision-makers decided this week that a full sweep would be necessary.
I'm guessing this is Ben Johnson related. The rumor around Chicago is that he wants his own GM and the Bears would have to let Poles go to get Johnson.
 
Baalke has got to have something on Khan. Why not just clean house?

We all know and work with guys like Trent.

Their #1 concern is their relationship with the boss, and every move they make is to further ingratiate themselves so they seem invaluable.

Then their #2 concern is to undermine and ratf**k anyone they see as a threat to their #1 concern
 
100% on brand. First time head coach that Baalke can push around

Also, here is his resume:

2010-17--OC and positions coach at 4 small CFB schools (two stints at Brown)
2018-19--***'t WRs coach with the LA Rams
2021--OC at Univ of Kentucky
2022--OC at LA Rams (replacing O'Connell)
2023--back to OC at Kentucky!!!!
2024--OC at Tampa Bay Bucs

He gets an NFL OC job, stays one year, goes back to his college job for one year, and then OC at a different NFL team.

Would you hire a guy with this resume at your workplace? Me neither

But the 167th richest man in the world probably will....

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the Jaguars have requested an interview with Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen for the team’s head coaching vacancy.

Jacksonville won’t be able to interview Coen until next week, as the Bucs are preparing to take on the Commanders in the first round of the NFL playoffs. Coen did a masterful job with the Tampa offense in 2024. The Bucs ranked fifth in EPA per play in 2024, with Baker Mayfield posting the league’s fifth best drop back success rate on this way to a career-best 4,500 yards and 45 touchdowns. Coen’s offense was particularly effective with screens and short area passes. It’s an element of the passing attack that could help Trevor Lawrence get his career back on track after a miserable 2024 campaign. In Jacksonville, Coen would scheme up plays for Brian Thomas, one of the most promising wideouts in recent memory.
 
Frowny faces across the 904 as Ben Johnson chooses the Bears over Duuuval.

Coming in for round 2 of interviews are Robert Saleh, Patrick Graham and....Liam Cohen.

Hard to believe that the Jags would hire a defensive-minded coach
 
Never been a fan of recycled coaches for the most part. They were fired for a reason. Not saying there aren’t exceptions, but just saying.
 

This won't go over well...


Ben Johnson Turned Down Jaguars Because Of Organizational Structure​


The Jaguars had interest and were heavily pursuing former Lions OC Ben Johnson before he signed with the Bears, according to Dianna Russini.

However, Russini says Johnson wasn’t interested in the Jaguars’ “setup.

Jacksonville opted to retain GM Trent Baalke to the surprise of many around the league.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan later said he didn’t think Baalke’s presence would impact their ability to lure a top coaching candidate, but based on Russini’s report, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Either way, the Jaguars have moved on to the second phase of their coaching search and will interview Robert Saleh, Patrick Graham and Liam Coen for the job this week.
 

Yeah, thanks...but no thanks.

BREAKING: Buccaneers OC Liam Coen Withdrawing From Jaguars Coaching Search​


January 22, 2025


According to Adam Schefter, Buccaneers OC Liam Coen is withdrawing from the Jaguars coaching search.

Schefter adds Coen will get a new contract to stay in Tampa Bay that will compensate him as one of the best coordinators in the NFL after an outstanding 2024 season.

It’s a huge win for the Buccaneers, who won’t have to replace a play-caller for the fourth straight year.

Meanwhile, it’s another big blow for the Jaguars who have lost out on yet another promising offensive candidate. Lions OC Ben Johnson wasn’t interested in the Jacksonville vacancy citing the team’s organizational structure.

Jacksonville opted to retain GM Trent Baalke to the surprise of many around the league. Jaguars owner Shad Khan later said he didn’t think Baalke’s presence would impact their ability to lure a top coaching candidate, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.


Coen was supposed to be their Plan B and seemed like the frontrunner, with his second interview scheduled for today. Instead, he’ll remain put and the Jaguars will pivot to other candidates like former Jets HC Robert Saleh and Raiders DC Patrick Graham.
 
So it took losing out on two of the best candidates out there before firing a useless GM?

Kahn should be forced to sell the franchise. Everyone...except him...knew he had to get rid of Baalke.

And now the top two candidates are gone.

Feel bad for this franchise.
I think Jax had a puncher's chance at Ben Johnson if Baalke was gone a week ago.
 
All you Jags fans deserve better than this. Not sure what Khan was thinking, if he was at all.

There's still Brady, Monken, and maybe Kingsbury out there.
 
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Liam Coen said he reached out to Bucs HC Todd Bowles to inform him of his interest in interviewing for the Jaguars head coaching job.

 
I was hoping he'd keep Press Taylor around....

Jaguars coach Liam Coen said he will call offensive plays in 2025.

The Jaguars didn’t bring in Coen to delegate offensive play-calling to somebody else. The 39-year-old head coach got where he is today by dialing up explosive plays and coaching Baker Mayfield to the best offensive season of his career (4500-41-16), and was long expected to call the plays for Jacksonville once his hiring was announced. With ample weapons at his disposal and a quarterback in Trevor Lawerence, who has just four years under his belt, Coen should have plenty of plays to dial up this upcoming season.
 
It's one thing to be an OC and have quick success with mostly veterans with a young and improving OL, decent defensive mind running the ship as the HC in Tampa where he leaves
It's another to walk into a fire full of mostly young players that need a leader that can unite their talent. I question this and don't see Coen as a major upgrade from Dougie P

-He's a bigger loss as OC to Tampa than he is as a major asset for the jaguars. I would have liked to see him sustain the success for a couple seasons in Tampa
They made Aaron Glenn wait 4 seasons as DC in Detroit before he was afforded a head coaching job and I think he's more equipped than Coen to lead a football team
 
It's one thing to be an OC and have quick success with mostly veterans with a young and improving OL, decent defensive mind running the ship as the HC in Tampa where he leaves
It's another to walk into a fire full of mostly young players that need a leader that can unite their talent. I question this and don't see Coen as a major upgrade from Dougie P

-He's a bigger loss as OC to Tampa than he is as a major asset for the jaguars. I would have liked to see him sustain the success for a couple seasons in Tampa
They made Aaron Glenn wait 4 seasons as DC in Detroit before he was afforded a head coaching job and I think he's more equipped than Coen to lead a football team
This same statement can be made about Ben Johnson, but people are praising him as the next great coach. He has the same amount of experience as Cohen as an OC, and arguably comes from a team with more veteran coaching experience and the premier leader of men.
 
It's one thing to be an OC and have quick success with mostly veterans with a young and improving OL, decent defensive mind running the ship as the HC in Tampa where he leaves
It's another to walk into a fire full of mostly young players that need a leader that can unite their talent. I question this and don't see Coen as a major upgrade from Dougie P

-He's a bigger loss as OC to Tampa than he is as a major asset for the jaguars. I would have liked to see him sustain the success for a couple seasons in Tampa
They made Aaron Glenn wait 4 seasons as DC in Detroit before he was afforded a head coaching job and I think he's more equipped than Coen to lead a football team
This same statement can be made about Ben Johnson, but people are praising him as the next great coach. He has the same amount of experience as Cohen as an OC, and arguably comes from a team with more veteran coaching experience and the premier leader of men.
I'm not praising the Bears and haven't posted a word about the hiring of Ben Johnson
DET, MN and GB are light years ahead right now
Feel strongly the shine will wear off him quickly

FTR: Actually feel like Pete Carroll was one of the stronger hires by LVR this off season from what was available. Vrabel also a pretty decent hire by the Patriots
I value experience and coaches that have an understanding on both sides of the ball with a battle plan in hand.
 
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Man, you start reading about this guy and this hire makes you wonder. He could not have handled this more poorly.

Exactly. from Jason LaCanfora

Jacksonville Jaguars (Liam Coen)

Coen’s ambition is being viewed by some as a bit too blind, and a possible red flag. That it took the franchise this long to finally fire general manager Trent Baalke — whom Coen and other candidates had no intention of working with — speaks volumes about Khan’s lingering deficiencies as an owner. The hiring process was laughed at in other corridors.

“He was going to hire [former Jets coach Robert] Saleh if Coen didn’t take it,” the first GM said. “How crazy is that?” Just because Coen learned from McVay doesn’t mean he can lead 53 men. Oh, it’s also his sixth different job in the past six years, and he’s never stayed anywhere for more than three seasons in his 15-year coaching career. “You know I’m old school,” said one longtime executive who has hired many head coaches, “but he can’t stay anywhere for more than one year, man. That’s a bad sign.”
 

Pat McAfee is more about the jokes bu the does seem connected and can step out and reveal things by pulling back the curtain
Seems that Coen refused to work with Baalke and hen Khan fired him, Coen suddenly thought the Jags were serious and took the job.
I still think Coen might not be the right guy but the Jags seemed committed to him and he's making $13M per year, 5 yr deal

-Sounds like the Bucs think he's pond scum now but most of the fan base myself included thought he was a quality OC. Most Bucs fans envisioned him as the next HC in Tampa
 

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