The way the season is going in Jacksonville, it’s looking more and more likely that the Jaguars are going to have some new leadership in 2025. The consensus in league circles is that the team is highly likely to move on from head coach Doug Pederson. The question that seems to be trending lately for Jacksonville is whether or not general manager Trent Baalke will be soon to follow.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, there has been increased speculation on whether or not Baalke will be sticking around to choose Pederson’s replacement, should he be fired as expected. Having already been eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-10 record while, at this point, competing for a top draft slot, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Pederson is out, but with Baalke, it’s not as sure a thing.
In an appearance on Herd with Colin Cowherd, FOX Sports’s Jordan Schultz claimed he doesn’t believe Baalke gets fired because he’s entrenched himself with team owner Shahid Khan and chief football strategy officer Tony Khan.
Here are a few other rumors from coaching circles in the NFL:
- Arthur Smith‘s recent success jump-starting the career of veteran quarterback Russell Wilson has put him back in the head coaching spotlight. The Steelers offensive coordinator may have to wait a little longer, though. Per Graziano, Smith is more likely to find his way back into head coaching races after the 2025 season than in the upcoming offseason.
- Like the Jags, the Patriots are another team already eliminated from the post season and in the running for a top draft slot. That doesn’t appear to mean the same thing for New England’s head coach, though, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Jerod Mayo is only in his first year as Patriots head coach and as an NFL head coach in general. Team owner Robert Kraft was part of the decision to set Mayo up for a coach-in-waiting situation, so it’s hard to imagine that he’s lost the vision on that front this early.
If the Jags stick with Baalke, then they need to bust out the tarps again. Terrible GM.
Mayo is almost certainly safe. Baalke managed to weasel his way into his current job by infiltrating the prior Caldwell regime, and conveniently be in the right place at the right time when Caldwell was fired (in case you can’t tell, I do not consider this coincidental).
Considering that this is the avenue that Baalke used to get the job in the first place, it’s not surprising to see that he might survive due to his cozying up to his boss. After all, we already saw this play out once with Baalke in San Fran with Baalke surviving his coach’s demise (twice). He’s a survivor, you can say that much.
Baalke might outlast the cockroaches. Hey, Tony Khan, youre football strategy aint workin!
I know they are not mentioned but I think Dabol and Zac Taylor are gone too.
Im aware of the criticism for Cincinnati’s ownership, but I still think job is going to be the most attractive one.
I think Mike Mccarthy gets a little grace. Not saying I think he deserves it, Im just predicting he stays another year.
I think the Raiders job is so unattractive that Pierce may get another shot too.
And apparently NOBODY wanted the “greatest coach ever” so he took his ball and went to NC.
I think Daboll getting fired has been the assumption for a while now, but I agree with you.
I also don’t really expect Taylor to get fired, even if he probably deserves it. I don’t know what his contract situation is without looking, but there’s the stigma of the Brown family not wanting to pay two coaches so there’s at least that. I’d imagine they might fire Anarumo and look to rebuild their defense, because at least the offense is mostly holding up its end of the bargain. Depending on the narrative that you’re trying to push, you could claim that Taylor deserves credit for that but I also agree that he just isn’t a very good head coach.
Russell Wilson has a SB ring and 9 Pro Bowl appearances but Arthur Smith should be credited with jump starting his career? Hilarious!