It’s back to square one for the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars.
The team’s season ended this past Sunday with little fanfare. Jacksonville underachieved yet again — finishing with a 4-13 overall record (third in the AFC South).
Despite the presence of Trevor Lawrence and a host of other promising young talents, the Jaguars were essentially lacking the core element of competitiveness.
As such, the lack of wins cost Doug Pederson his job. As reported via numerous sources Monday morning, owner Shad Khan parted ways with Pederson. Pederson coached the team for three years — ultimately finishing with a combined 22-29 record.
After back-to-back nine-win seasons, the Jaguars couldn’t conjure up the mettle or effectiveness needed to be a real playoff threat in 2024 despite playing in a very poor division. Lawrence’s play seemed to regress, and Pederson’s gravitas as a Super Bowl-winning coach in 2017 seemed to be eroding considerably.
The overarching narrative should sit at the feet of Khan. Since buying the team in 2011, the Jaguars have had five head coaches. Now looking for his sixth, one has to wonder whether Khan has enough smart football people around him to make a sound decision.
Interestingly enough, GM Trent Baalke survived the chopping block and will be back yet again. Being a core fixture alongside Khan, Baalke’s fingerprints have been all over this uneven franchise since taking over five years ago.
The hope is that Lawrence can get healthy. With a core featuring Lawrence, Travon Walker, and Brian Thomas Jr., there are definitely some intriguing players on this roster. The key will be hiring a coach capable of meshing it all together.
