Jaguars’ Trent Baalke Wanted Doug Pederson To Fire OC Press Taylor?

The Jaguars stood 8-3 at this point last season but have gone 3-14 in the 17 games since that hot start. As a result, Doug Pederson is almost certain to be fired by season’s end. GM Trent Baalke is also on unstable ground.

Pederson remains employed as Jaguars HC, with owner Shad Khan thus far resisting the former Super Bowl-winning coach join Urban Meyer and Gus Bradley in being dismissed in-season. But it appears only a matter of time before Pederson is gone. Some around the league believe Khan will have no choice but to fire both Pederson and Baalke to start the 2025 offseason, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

[RELATED: Baalke-Bill Belichick Jacksonville Partnership Unlikely]

Sitting 2-9 after a 52-6 demolition at the hands of the soaring Lions, the Jaguars rank last defensively despite that being the area Pederson focused on in terms of staff turnover. Pederson fired two-year DC Mike Caldwell and most of his staff but opted to keep OC Press Taylor despite Baalke having conducted a close look into the state of the offense with Taylor at the controls. Pederson made Taylor the team’s full-time play-caller in 2023, and that plan carried over into this season. The younger brother of Bengals HC Zac Taylor, Press has not distinguished himself during a dismal Jags season.

Baalke and Pederson are not seeing eye-to-eye presently, and SI.com’s Albert Breer notes Press Taylor’s presence is a key reason why. Baalke is believed to have wanted Pederson to make more staff changes, with Taylor’s name coming up as one the fourth-year Jags GM would have liked to see go. As was the case with the Eagles, however, Pederson has been loyal to Taylor. This is not the first time Taylor’s name has come up as a Pederson anchor, nor is this the first report of Pederson-Baalke strife.

The Eagles shot down Pederson’s plan to promote Taylor to OC in 2021; the team fired Pederson soon after. Nevertheless, the former Philadelphia honcho brought Taylor with him to Jacksonville and has stuck by him despite steady criticism. The Jaguars have tumbled from 13th to 28th in total offense since last season and 13th to 23rd in scoring. Trevor Lawrence‘s absence has played a small part in the decline, though the former No. 1 overall pick has been healthier than last season on the whole.

It is rather interesting Taylor’s name has caused so many issues for Pederson dating back to his time in Philly — only to see no action taken. Taylor remains in place as Jags OC, though his tenure in that role will be capped at three seasons. This has marked Taylor’s first OC opportunity, but Pederson promoted him to pass-game coordinator with the Eagles. That drew scrutiny once Carson Wentz regressed; Taylor did not interview for another OC post once the Jags hired him in 2022. Taylor, 36, has been a Pederson staffer throughout the latter’s HC tenure, even though it was Chip Kelly who initially brought him to Philly.

The reported HC-GM friction aside, Fowler adds some believe the coach has not lost the locker room. Baalke has plenty to answer for as well, seeing as he greenlit the three most lucrative extensions in franchise history (for Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell) only to see the team plummet off the contender tier. This came two years after Baalke’s famous Travon Walker-over-Aidan Hutchinson call. GMs do not receive second chances on the level HCs do, and it appears more likely than not the former 49ers front office boss’ second GM opportunity is nearing an end.