Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke never formed a strong partnership, if any at all.
Pederson believed that talent was the main issue in Jacksonville as the losses piled up, while Baalke thought coaching was the problem. In the third year of their collaboration, it was clear that things weren’t working, and everyone within the team understood this.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan had the option to make a full change but decided to pick between the two. He chose to keep Baalke, a decision that might influence who the next head coach of Jacksonville will be.
Khan fired Pederson on Monday, following a 26-23 overtime loss to Indianapolis, marking the team’s 18th loss in their last 23 games. What surprised many was that Baalke was retained.
Khan made the decision while Pederson still had one year left on his contract, and more than five months after Khan called the 2023 team the “best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever.”
“Winning now” was Khan’s message when training camp began, after he committed nearly half a billion dollars to quarterback Trevor Lawrence, pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen, and cornerback Tyson Campbell in the offseason. This was the most expensive roster building period in franchise history.
But Khan hasn’t seen much return on that investment.
“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,” Khan said in a statement.
“In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.” “I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago.”
Pederson, who led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title in 2018, finished 9-8 in his first two years in Jacksonville and made the playoffs in his first season. He became the first coach in franchise history to start with back-to-back winning seasons and was a welcome change after Urban Meyer’s dysfunctional 13-game stint.
But Pederson’s injury-plagued team went 1-5 in the final stretch of 2023 and missed the playoffs after spending nearly two months on top of the AFC South. Pederson thought getting Lawrence healthy and making changes to his defensive staff would turn things around, but neither worked.
“It’s unfortunate because at the end of the day we all had a hand in it,” said receiver Christian Kirk. “I have a ton of respect for Doug. He’s made me a better football player, better man. I think he’s one of the better coaches to have coached in this league, and it’s just unfortunate the way that things went.”
What hurt Pederson further was his inability to help Lawrence develop or create a clear team identity. He gave play-calling duties to Press Taylor despite Khan’s wishes, and he showed little urgency in fixing a defense that struggled under new coordinator Ryan Nielsen.
“There’s a lot of factors that have gone into our season,” said tight end Evan Engram. “It’s not just the coaching. It’s not just one part of it. It’s everybody. I’ve been in this league for a while. I try not to get into the whole that side of it, so definitely it’s always unfortunate when most changes do come.”
The Jaguars finished 4-13, marking their 10th losing season in Khan’s 13 years as owner. Now, Khan will hire his sixth head coach, with current NFL offensive coordinators Ben Johnson (Detroit) and Liam Coen (Tampa Bay) likely at the top of the list.
However, the question remains whether these potential candidates would agree to work with Baalke, given his questionable draft picks and the disappointing free-agent signings.
Pederson, 56, had a 23-30 record with Jacksonville, far from the Super Bowl-winning coach Khan expected when he hired him in February 2021.
His time in Jacksonville was mostly forgettable. The only memorable moment was the remarkable comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC wild-card round in January 2023, where Lawrence led a 27-0 comeback to win 31-30. Other than that, Pederson’s tenure was rather uneventful.
His biggest failure came in close games, as the Jaguars went 3-10 in one-score games this season. Whether this was due to talent or coaching is still up for debate. What was clear, however, was that Pederson didn’t have strong support from his players toward the end of the season, signaling that the team was ready for a change.
Now, Khan must find the right coach who can help Lawrence and the team reach the next level. The new coach will also need to be someone willing to work with Baalke, whose list of coaching hires includes Jim Harbaugh (2011-14), Jim Tomsula (2015), Chip Kelly (2022), Meyer (2021), and Pederson (2022-24).
