Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell told reporters yesterday that his club would consider veteran NFL coach Tom Coughlin for its head coaching vacancy, but even if Coughlin isn’t selected to lead the team on the field, he could still join the franchise in another capacity. Jacksonville is interested in adding Coughlin to its front office if he doesn’t become the club’s head coach, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), who adds that Coughlin could take the title of VP of football operations.
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While Coughlin doesn’t have any formal NFL experience as an executive, he essentially acted as the Jaguars’ general manager during his head coaching run with the team from 1995-2002. Wayne Weaver, Jacksonville’s owner at the time, never officially hired a GM, meaning that Coughlin was the club’s de facto personnel chief, so he’s exerted control over a roster in the past.
Of course, if Coughlin was hired to the Jaguars’ front office, he could pose a threat to Caldwell’s status, and though there haven’t been any rumors that would indicate that Caldwell could follow departed head coach Gus Bradley out the door, it’s fair to wonder if he and Coughlin could co-exist. Owner Shad Kahn, in fact, indicated that Caldwell would be an integral part of Jacksonville’s search for its next head coach.