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Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke struggled in Year 3, with Pederson focusing on talent and Baalke on coaching. Jaguars owner Shad Khan could have justified a complete overhaul, but instead chose Baalke, a questionable decision that could affect who becomes Jacksonville’s next head coach. Khan fired Pederson on Monday after a 26-23 overtime loss against Indianapolis, the team’s 18th loss in 23 games, while keeping Baalke.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan had fired the head coach Doug Pederson
Owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Shad Khan, decided to fire the head coach Doug Pederson while retaining general manager Trent Baalke because the team is predictable in the NFL. He said he would not consider a full organizational overhaul since it would be “like shooting yourself in the foot.” Khan expressed his appreciation for Pederson, stating, “Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career.”
“What is a complete overhaul of the franchise?” Khan asked on a Zoom call with reporters Monday afternoon. “Health and wellness of the players, medical statistics, analysis, scouting, and a number of other elements along with contract administration, all of those areas we have really changed [and] improved certainly over the last four or five years. So to change all of that is almost like suicidal.”
He added, “You’ve got 85 people working on that side [of the organization] and you say, ‘I’m going to get rid of them and find 85 new people that are going to be better than that?’ That’s like shooting yourself in the foot. I mean, we need to go to work on something that is broken, that needs to be fixed, and continually be improving things that are working.”
The team’s downfall was attributed to predictability on both sides of the ball. “Deception is a big part of it,” Khan said. “Unpredictability. If you know exactly what we’re going to do on offense or defense, you better have the 22 best players to help us win a football game. So being unpredictable is, I think, is modern football, and we have to be able to show that on the field.”
Pederson guided the Eagles to a first-ever Super Bowl title in 2018 and had the team post two consecutive winning seasons during his first two years in Jacksonville. However, injuries plagued his team last season and nearly prevented the team from making the playoffs in 2023. The purposes behind Pederson’s efforts to get Lawrence healthy and revamp his defensive staff did not pan out for the team.
Pederson’s time with Jacksonville was largely forgettable, aside from a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in January 2023. His final demise came in tight games, where Jacksonville was 3-10 in one-score games this season. Pederson did not receive much public support from players.
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Now, Khan needs to find the right coach to elevate Lawrence and the team, who must be willing to work with Baalke, whose coaching list includes Jim Harbaugh, Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly, Meyer, and Pederson.
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