Earlier this week, it was reported that Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson’s job could soon be in jeopardy given his team’s uninspired, 0-3 start to the 2024 season. Sources that spoke to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post appear to be in agreement that Jacksonville will indeed be making changes to its coaching staff and/or front office in the near future.
One GM told La Canfora that Pederson would be the first HC dismissed this year, and that, “it’s just a matter of time now. [Trevor Lawrence] hasn’t looked right since they made the playoffs [in 2022], [Pederson]’s offense is terrible, and the defensive coordinator (Ryan Nielsen) looks totally in over his head. That’s a bad football team.”
On the other hand, sources tell Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports that it is unclear exactly what changes owner Shad Khan could realistically make in-season. While much of the blame for the Jags’ poor start has been focused on Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor – which is understandable, given that the team currently ranks 30th in scoring – there is no clear choice to replace either man on the coaching staff at the moment.
Mike McCoy, who currently serves as Jacksonville’s quarterbacks coach, has not coordinated an offense since 2018, when he worked as the Cardinals’ head coach and oversaw a unit that struggled, which led to his own midseason ouster. And while Pederson could certainly take play-calling duties back from Taylor – as owner Shad Khan not-so-subtly suggested should happen back in June – retaining Pederson while firing Taylor seems unlikely.
“No one on staff can replace what Press does for [Pederson],” a source told Jones. Added another source, “I understand everyone’s narrative would be to fire Press. But even from a practical standpoint, I don’t know how you successfully game plan if you fire him. You’re wasting [Lawrence’s] season by doing that.”
Our story from a few days ago indicated that GM Trent Baalke was perhaps on firmer footing than Pederson, though the Jaguars’ struggles obviously are not doing him any favors either. Both Jones and La Canfora make note of Baalke’s ill-fated decision to use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft on Travon Walker rather than Aidan Hutchinson, to say nothing of the top-of-the-market extension authorized for Lawrence this offseason, a transaction that has already garnered heavy criticism.
Per Jones, the relationship between Baalke and Pederson is strained, and there is “misalignment from owner to GM and head coach.” Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, like Jones, says the fact that there is no obvious Pederson replacement on the staff could help the embattled HC at least get the chance to finish out the year. That said, if the losses continue to mount, Khan may feel compelled to pull the trigger on a midseason overhaul, in which case he might be making a call to Bill Belichick.
