Anyone have any thoughts about what the Jacksonville Jaguars are doing so far this offseason? It's easy to criticize, but they don't seem to be making moves that seem consistent with, how do you say, winning games. Just one head-scratcher after another over the last six weeks.
In mid-December, executive vice president Tom Coughlin was fired. Coughlin had won 2 Super Bowls with the Giants and had some success as the team's head coach way back when, but his methods were apparently out of date -- and ran afoul of the CBA, besides. Few tears were shed over Coughlin's departure.
In late December, an ESPN reporter said head coach Doug Marrone was informed he'd be fired following the team's Week 17 game. Either the report was bogus, which is possible but seems unlikely, or the team had a change of heart after the team won in Week 17. Team owner Shad Khan released a statement saying, "The decision I am making to keep our staff intact for 2020 has nothing to do with our victory on Sunday and everything to do with my positive meetings with [GM Dave Caldwell], Doug, the coordinators and our players, as well as my belief that this is not the time to consider an overhaul of our organization." Marrone and his mediocre tenure which includes a Championship game appearance in 2017 and two disappointing seasons since will continue. Yay?
The Jaguars fired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo -- apparently he's the fall guy for the offense's struggles -- and hired Jay Gruden. That seems promising, as Gruden had some success running offenses in the past. But then yesterday they brought in another coach who they were apparently considering for that job, failed Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, and named him the quarterbacks coach. So it will be his job to work with Nick Foles, hopefully getting him back to his Super Bowl MVP level of play, or develop Gardner Minshew.
Will the Gruden-McAdoo pairing work? It's hard to see. McAdoo's resume is pretty uninspiring. He was a tight ends coach for the Packers from 2006-2011 and then quarterbacks coach in 2012 and 2013. Aaron Rodgers had already won a Super Bowl before the tutelage (?) of McAdoo. The coach parlayed that background into a failed stint as head coach of the Giants. McAdoo is probably best-known for ending Eli Manning's starting streak in favor of not a top draft pick quarterback but Geno Smith. That lasted one start, and McAdoo was unceremoniously fired a week later.
Jacksonville is keeping GM Dave Caldwell around, but they brought another cook into the front office in new director of player personnel Trent Baalke. That name will be familiar to many; he was GM of the 49ers from 2011-2016. He was named Executive of the Year after that first season, and the Niners went to a Super Bowl. But everything fell apart, with Jim Harbaugh getting fired, Chip Kelly flopping, and Baalke ultimately getting canned. That was three years ago, and Baalke hasn't been a hot commodity in front office searches.
At a glance, the front office and coaching staff both look kind of messy. Jacksonville at least should hear fewer boos if the team is bad, since it's already agreed to play a quarter of next year's home schedule in London.
There's some talent on the roster. Leonard Fournette has been a productive all-purpose back. Dede Westbrook has shown flashes of being a quality NFL wideout, while DJ Chark was one of 2019's breakout performers. There's some talent on defense, and extra draft capital from the Jalen Ramsey trade.
But taking all these moves together this looks like a team in disarray, with a convoluted front office, lame-duck coaching staff, and mess at quarterback where the highly paid guy might not be as good as the youngster (who also might not be a quality starter). The Marrone-Gruden-McAdoo grouping is potentially toxic, with all three failed head coaches of recent vintage.
We still have free agency and the NFL Draft ahead, but at a glance I don't see myself going anywhere near Jacksonville's players in next year's drafts. It just doesn't look good.
--Andy Richardson