Although the Jaguars have interviewed a few outside candidates for their general manager job, they are expected to promote from within to replace Dave Caldwell.
The Jaguars are planning to install director of player personnel Trent Baalke as GM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Baalke, who served as 49ers GM from 2011-16, finished the season as the Jags’ interim GM.
Shad Khan made it fairly clear new HC Urban Meyer will be calling the shots in Jacksonville, while the owner will continue to have a strong say in personnel decisions. Jags ownership made a push to sell Meyer on Baalke, according to Albert Breer of SI.com (on Twitter).
In Baalke, 56, the Jags will retain a veteran personnel exec who previously worked alongside a college coach. Baalke hired Jim Harbaugh from Stanford in 2011, and the duo piloted the 49ers to three straight NFC championship games in their first three years together. However, that relationship soured and led to Harbaugh’s 2014 exit. The 49ers fired Baalke after the 2016 season.
Prior to joining the 49ers as a scout during the 2000s, Baalke spent time with the Jets and Washington. The Jaguars hired Baalke in February 2020, and Caldwell’s brief lieutenant will be called upon to play a central role in Meyer’s rebuilding effort — one expected to center around Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars had Caldwell in place as GM from 2013-19, though Tom Coughlin called the shots for three years during that span. Khan fired Coughlin near the end of the 2019 season and canned Caldwell late in 2020 during a losing streak that swelled to 15 games.
Baalke’s 49ers run dovetailed after Harbaugh’s departure. The 49ers missed the playoffs in Harbaugh’s final season, and Baalke’s two replacement hires — Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly — became one-and-dones during a 7-25 San Francisco stretch from 2015-16. While Baalke brings extensive GM experience, he was not connected to any GM jobs between his 49ers firing and this expected promotion. The Jags interviewed former GMs Jerry Reese, Rick Smith and Ray Farmer for the position while also meeting with Louis Riddick and now-Falcons GM Terry Fontenot for the position.
So the pecking order is Shad for high end picks, Urban for football stuff & Baalke to fill in the blanks? I like Shad, but I know more about the pro game than he does.
Dudes a nut, same guy that said he would move team to England if viewership didn’t increase. It hasnt, urban meyer and lawerence won’t change that
LOL 49ers retread.
This won’t end well.
Lawrence will make all just right!
Congrats Trent. You have NO power!
He makes millions of dollars per year to play GM. I think he will suffer through it!!
Over/under 3.5 seasons for Meyer
Under
Mutual agreement to part ways after year 2
lol I feel bad for the jags. This won’t end well, especially for Urban Myer. Gonna be a power struggle then that snake will plant fake rumors in the media to sabotage Myer like hell did with Harbaugh. I was happy for the Jags to hire Myer and have that first pick plus all that cap space but this is a terrible move IMO and could ruin it all
At the risk of nitpicking….
“Dovetailed after his departure”? It seems the writer meant to use phrasing like “belly flop” or “precipitous decline.”
I avoid correcting grammar as that tends to be anti-social at the very least. This is correcting the misuse of word more than grammar.
“At the risk of nitpicking,(proceeds to nitpick the authors grammar)”
Mister ants, if you reread what I wrote and the article, you’ll see I was questioning the vocabulary skills of the writer.
I know, reading is HARD!
This is especially true for football fans, who make other sports fans seem much sharper.
Oh God, it gets worse and worse. I knew they’d keep Baalke on after he wasn’t fired after season’s end, and suddenly Meyer’s name became attached to the Jags. Baalke has to have some hand in convincing a formerly patient owner that this drastic change was needed, right?
Well, that’s speculation in any case. What’s not is that this doesn’t look like it’s ending well.
Awful hire. He destroyed the 9ers
Baalke?? Well now they are required to draft someone with a blown ACL
Two of the biggest egos in pro sports. I wonder who wins the Urban vs Baalke Power-o-rama
Trent Baalke???? Lololol. Good luck with that!
Signed,
Every 49er fan that ever existed
Destroyed the 49er teams under Harbaugh because his ego couldn’t handle the fact that Harbaugh was getting the credit and not him. How will he possibly co-exist with Urban Meyer?
So the 49ers should have stuck with Harbaugh? He’s turned the once respected Michigan Wolverines into a joke.
Hey you’re right. At Michigan he had been less than expected. No question. But in 4 years with the 49ers he took them to 3 NFC title games and one Super Bowl before Baalke’s ego couldn’t take the fact that Harbaugh was getting the credit and he wasn’t. I hope he works out for the Jags but if I owned a team I wouldn’t let that snake anywhere close to my team.
Vic Fangio actually deserved most of the credit for the 49ers success in those seasons.
Urban Meyer’s yes man.