Shad Khan

Jaguars Owner Shad Khan Voices Support For Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke

October 13th, 2024 at 8:44am CST by Rory Parks

The Jaguars captured their first win of the 2024 campaign last week, defeating the division-rival Colts in a 37-34 shootout to improve their record to 1-4. In light of recent reports suggesting that head coach Doug Pederson is on the hot seat and that the relationship between Pederson and GM Trent Baalke is strained, the victory was a well-timed one for Jacksonville’s top power brokers.

While situations like this always have the potential to change on a moment’s notice, owner Shad Khan is still supporting Pederson and Baalke. In an interview with Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union, Khan noted that the 2022 iteration of his club started the year 2-6 but rallied to make the playoffs and win a thrilling wildcard round contest, while the 2023 version raced out to an 8-3 record, only to miss the postseason entirely.

Reading between the lines, it could be that Khan will not be swayed by the early returns in 2024 and will give Pederson and Baalke the chance to reverse Jacksonville’s fortunes. Plus, as prior reporting on the matter suggested, there is no one currently on the coaching staff who would represent a clear option to take over interim HC duties, a reality that could help Pederson keep his job through at least the remainder of the campaign.

Khan also pointed out that three of the Jags’ four losses this season were eminently winnable, as the club had late leads or the chance to take late leads in all three contests. While the accumulation of narrow losses is never a good look for a coaching staff, Khan appears to be taking the fact that Jacksonville is remaining competitive as a positive sign for the time being.

“So, to me, every game you go to, you want to do everything to win it and this is the NFL, that’s hard,” Khan said. “Every game is competitive. A loss is a loss, but [it’s about] how you lose. To me, the three games we lost early in the season, it’s disappointing, [but] we could have won them.”

Those defeats have not shaken Khan’s faith in his HC/GM duo.

“I still believe in them. I believe in the players, I believe in the coaching staff. I believe in Trent,” Khan said. “Obviously, the results are disappointing for all of them, just as well as me or any other Jaguar fan, but, the key thing one has to understand [is] we have evolved and really got to a level. I think we’ve got the players, we’ve got the coaching, we’ve got the facilities.”

Khan did say this offseason that the Jaguars’ 2024 roster is the best in franchise history, and that winning is the expectation. As such, it would be reasonable to expect a shake-up if Pederson cannot engineer a turnaround and lead the team to a postseason berth, but for now, Khan does not appear to be contemplating a dismissal.

“I admire what Trent’s done, Doug’s done, and I think, how do we support them to have better results, more wins?” Khan said.

The Jaguars, the NFL club with the most consistent presence in England, will play their next two games in London. Should they falter in their contests across the pond, one wonders if Khan’s support for Pederson & Co. will remain strong.

Relationship Between Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke “Strained”; Latest On Jaguars’ HC, GM

September 29th, 2024 at 10:15pm CST by Rory Parks

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.

Doug Pederson Moving Toward Hot Seat?

September 25th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shad Khan addressed Doug Pederson‘s potential hot-seat status in a hypothetical manner this offseason. After an 0-3 start, the former Super Bowl-winning HC is losing the benefit of the doubt. As the Jaguars head toward their London stretch, Pederson may soon be coaching for his job.

Hired after Khan’s embarrassing Urban Meyer decision, Pederson had restored credibility to a downtrodden franchise by producing an AFC South title in 2022. Last season brought a disappointing finish, but the team doubled down on its core this offseason — while supplementing it via free agency — by authorizing the three most lucrative extensions (for Trevor Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell) in franchise history. A miserable Monday outing in Buffalo left Pederson’s team searching for answers, and Khan may be growing restless.

Pederson’s status will be one to monitor in the coming weeks, with SI.com’s Albert Breer indicating during a Dan Patrick Show appearance a lot is probably at stake for big names in this organization over the next few weeks. Adding to what may soon become a clear status, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano labels Pederson a candidate for an in-season firing if the team cannot rebound quickly.

While fourth-year GM Trent Baalke‘s status should be one to monitor here as well, it appears he is safer than Pederson presently. Despite Pederson having coached the Jags to back-to-back winning seasons — the franchise’s first such instance since the 2004-05 seasons — Khan publicly labeled this the most talented roster in Jaguars history. Although that seems a bit extreme considering Jacksonville’s 1999 team went 14-2 and featured seven Pro Bowlers (including Hall of Famer Tony Boselli), Khan’s stance nevertheless turns up the head for his current HC.

After a promising close to the 2022 season and an 8-3 start last year, the Jags are 1-8. The win came in a game Lawrence missed due to injury. Lawrence dealt with several injuries last season, helping explain his tailspin. But the former No. 1 overall pick is healthy now. He has completed just 52.8% of his passes (at 6.3 yards per attempt) while ranking 25th in QBR. Injuries at other spots in Jacksonville’s lineup, particularly on defense, are hurting the team. But Lawrence’s struggles bring bigger-picture questions, considering the team recently matched Joe Burrow‘s then-record-setting AAV ($55MM) to extend him.

Neither Lawrence nor Jordan Love produced enough to earn extensions at that rate, but this is how the QB market functions right now. With the Packers paying for future performance, the Jags are eyeing a leap from the former Clemson prodigy. With guarantees stretching into 2027, the team has seen its centerpiece player submit a concerning start. Pederson and/or OC Press Taylor taking the fall for this should probably be considered in play, with the Jags’ London stretch (Weeks 6 and 7) — or maybe even the two upcoming games — potentially doubling as the do-or-die window.

The England games profile as a big spot for the Khan-led team, since it plays two games overseas — as Khan also owns a Premier League franchise (Fulham FC). The Jags heading to Europe at 0-5 or 1-4 will test the owner’s patience, and he has fired coaches in-season twice in the past decade. In addition’s to Khan canning Meyer during his disastrous season in charge, he axed Gus Bradley during a historically unsuccessful tenure. How Jags ownership went about replacing Bradley suddenly seems relevant.

When the Jags removed Doug Marrone’s interim tag in 2017, Breer notes that decision came largely on the recommendation of Bill Belichick. The legendary coach continues to have a strong relationship with Jags chief football strategy officer Tony Khan (Shad’s son), Breer adds. Dot connecting would point to the Jags considering the six-time Super Bowl-winning HC-turned-omnipresent media figure in 2025, if Pederson cannot turn this operation around.

Belichick’s age will be an issue for teams, as no franchise has hired a head coach older than 66. Belichick would be 73 before Week 1 of the 2025 season, but he obviously brings credentials that will lap everyone else on next year’s HC carousel. That did not matter much this year, as six of the seven non-Patriots HC-seeking teams ignored him, but Jacksonville would be an interesting spot for the coach Pederson beat in Super Bowl LII. Thus far, Belichick had only been closely tied to NFC East destinations. Jacksonville, which did not join Dallas and Philly in considering firing its current HC after last season, may also loom as a legitimate possibility.

As for Pederson, he is 1-for-8 in 10-win seasons; the exception — the Eagles’ dominant 2017 squad — has carried the former Andy Reid staffer. Carson Wentz also rose to an MVP frontrunner before declining over the course of Pederson’s tenure, and Taylor loomed as a factor in the HC’s Eagles ouster. Philadelphia brass was uninspired by Pederson’s aim of promoting Taylor to OC after the 2020 season, and Pederson then brought one of his Philly right-hand men with him as OC in 2022. Taylor received the play-calling reins on a full-time basis in 2023.

The Jags kept their play-calling plans close to the vest this offseason, but Khan seemed to voice a preference for Pederson taking back control. Taylor still plays a key role in play-calling, but at this point, it would be rather odd if Pederson — who called plays throughout his Eagles tenure and served as the Jags’ primary conductor during the 2022 divisional-round season — did not take the lead here.

This regime is running out of time. Even though the Jags have been one of the NFL’s worst franchises under Khan ahead of Pederson at least moving it to a mid-pack operation, it would not be difficult to see another reboot — albeit around some pricey contracts — come to pass if Lawrence and Co. cannot recover soon.

Shad Khan Addresses Jaguars’ Play-Calling Situation, 2023 Shortcomings

June 27th, 2024 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Entering Week 13 competing for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, the Jaguars tumbled to a disappointing 9-8 finish. This led to Doug Pederson canning most of his defensive staff. As for Pederson and the offensive staff, this figures to be an important season — especially now that the Jags extended Trevor Lawrence at a record-tying rate.

Lawrence is now tied to a five-year, $275MM deal, but the contract comes after the former No. 1 overall pick did not build on his late-season 2022 success. Injuries played a central role in Lawrence’s underwhelming third season, but the heat is on Pederson and OC-turned-play-caller Press Taylor.

After Pederson served as the Jags’ primary play-caller in 2022, he handed the reins to Taylor before the ’23 season. A former Pederson assistant in Philadelphia, Taylor — the younger brother of Bengals HC Zac Taylor — had not been a primary play-caller previously. Pederson has not said if he will reclaim those duties this season, but Shad Khan made an interesting comment about the situation. Referencing a New York Times piece alluding to the third-year HC’s job security, the owner said, “If I were in that situation, I’d want my hands on the wheel.”

“Yeah, I have an opinion,” Khan said, via the Associated Press’ Mark Long, on the Jags’ play-calling situation. “But I don’t want to tell people ‘We need to do it’ because then things don’t work out, they look at me and say, ‘We did it because you wanted it.‘ … Doug, he’s empowered. I’m going to let him decide.”

Khan did not indicate this is a do-or-die season for Pederson, though his hypothetical comment regarding the situation could certainly be perceived as the owner having a preference for the head coach taking back the reins. GM Trent Baalke also was believed to be taking a close look at the state of the offense during the season’s final weeks.

The Jags only dropped from 10th to 13th in scoring (DVOA placed Jacksonville’s offense 18th) between 2022 and 2023, but after a strong finish covered for a sluggish start in Pederson’s Jacksonville debut, his 2023 follow-up’s fortunes nosedived in the second half. Lawrence finished in the same QBR position (17th) as 2022, but after the team gave the fourth-year passer a $55MM-per-year deal, it stands to reason it expects a jump from the former elite prospect.

If Taylor lands another shot as the team’s play-caller, it will certainly come with high stakes for the 36-year-old assistant. Pederson showed enough confidence in Taylor he wanted to promote him to OC in Philly following the 2020 season. Eagles ownership disagreed, leading to Pederson’s dismissal two years after Super Bowl LII.

When addressing the events of last season as a whole, Khan called it an “organizational failure.” The Jags, who also made franchise-tagged defender Josh Allen the NFL’s second-highest-paid edge rusher, have one 10-win season during Khan’s 12-year ownership tenure.

“Injuries are a part of the game. We had some of those injuries, but I think it’s organizational failure that it happened,” Khan said. “All of these players I talked to, it’s like how could this happen? What happened?

“For me, it’s really a cause for self-reflection and then something good to come out of it because we just can’t have that this year.”

Pederson’s first season gave Khan some cover for his disastrous Urban Meyer decision, one he backtracked on in less than a year. Although Khan fired Meyer and 2012 hire Mike Mularkey after one season, the Jags owner gave Doug Marrone four-plus seasons and Gus Bradley nearly four years despite the latter’s tenure producing a historically bad .226 win percentage. But the Jags have been one of the NFL’s worst franchises under Khan’s ownership.

The Pederson-Lawrence partnership represents a gateway to potential contender status, and were Khan to fire the former Super Bowl-winning HC, it would tie the franchise quarterback — the only one left standing with his original team from 2021’s five-QB first round — to a third offensive scheme in five seasons. This is a rather deep AFC, however, and it will be challenging for the Jaguars to infiltrate the conference’s top tier. The team will hope a Lawrence leap can elevate the roster, one that added two new wide receivers (Gabe Davis, first-rounder Brian Thomas Jr.) and veteran linemen in Arik Armstead and Mitch Morse, this offseason.

Jaguars’ Shad Khan, Trent Baalke Disagree On No. 1 Pick?

April 25th, 2022 at 7:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Four prospects are believed to be in play for the Jaguars at No. 1 overall, but it might be a matchup between two defensive ends by the time the top decision-makers huddle up for their final decision this week.

Shad Khan will observe the Trent Baalke– and Doug Pederson-led operation’s deliberations this week, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, and the longtime Jaguars owner said he has an opinion on which way the team should go at No. 1. Khan’s opinion appears to be that Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson is the way to go, per Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com, who adds Baalke is backing Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker.

Despite his college production dwarfing Walker’s, Hutchinson now trails the size-speed freak in pre-draft odds to be the top pick. The Walker-Jaguars connection has persisted for several weeks now. Khan has held roster control in the past, and it would not surprise if the 10th-year Jags owner pulled the trigger on his preferred player. Khan would obviously prefer the room forms a consensus and intimated to Breer that Pederson and Baalke have control over the football operation.

“Yeah, I have an opinion,” Khan said, via Breer, of the No. 1 pick. “I do have an opinion. We are supposed to get together on Wednesday, and so I don’t have as firm a decision as I did maybe last year, but I do have it. I think we’ll have to really firm up the draft board, so we have clarity on all the permutations and combinations we’re gonna hit.”

During Pederson’s tenure, the Eagles devoted significant resources to bolstering their offensive line. The new Jags HC may not be opposed to such a strategy this year, despite this draft’s bevy of high-end D-line prospects. The Jags were connected to Ikem Ekwonu early in the pre-draft process, before franchise-tagging Cam Robinson for a second time, and Breer hears Baalke is a fan of the North Carolina State O-lineman. Ekwonu remains in play for the Jags at 1, ESPN.com’s Matt Miller tweets.

The team is rumored to be close on a Robinson extension, and Jawaan Taylor has started at right tackle in Jacksonville for the past three years. Pro Football Focus, which graded Jacksonville’s O-line 24th overall last season, viewed Taylor as the team’s weakest link up front in 2021. Of course, no Jaguar blocker graded particularly well here. Jacksonville added Brandon Scherff but could upgrade at its other guard spot. Ekwonu played tackle and guard in college; some view guard as his better NFL position.

Jaguars’ EVP Search On Hold

March 1st, 2022 at 10:56am CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars were thought to be making multiple additions to their front office personnel, including an executive vice president. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that that search has been put on hold.

It came out in February that owner Shad Khan was conducting a search for a new EVP as part of a general strategy to add more “brainpower” to the organization. Many thought that former Vikings GM Rick Spielman was the favorite for the job, as he had already interviewed for an unnamed position which would outrank current Jaguars GM Trent Baalke.

Instead, Rapoport notes, internal meetings with new head coach Doug Pederson have been going well, to the point where maintaining the status quo at the top of the organization has becomes Khan’s preference. Specifically, Khan “doesn’t want to impede significant progress with a new voice”. It was noted that the team was planning on moving towards a more “collaborative approach”, and turning its attention to long-term building rather than quick-fix solutions with an experienced voice in Pederson.

In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport adds that other front office hires could still be forthcoming. Most notably, an assistant GM is still being sought out; if that ends up being the highest-ranking member of the organization brought in, Baalke would maintain his position of only reporting to Khan himself. For now, it seems as though the Jaguars will enter the offseason maintaining essentially the same structure that they finished the regular season with.

Latest On Jaguars’ Front Office

February 15th, 2022 at 9:54am CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars are in the process of rebuilding not only their coaching staff, but also their front office personnel and structure. As ESPN’s Michael DiRocco writes, the team is looking to add multiple new executives, including an executive vice president of football operations.

As he states, owner Shad Khan is looking to hire not only an EVP, but also “someone to work under” general manager Trent Baalke. It wouldn’t be the first time the Jaguars had a structure like that, as a similar one was in place when the Jaguars were last in playoff contention.

When speaking about the changes, Khan said, “One of the reasons we had the [coaching] search was not only looking for the head-coaching candidate but really to learn about other organizations… So some of the practices, some of the structure that works, we got great insight into it. Strengthening the football operations, more staff, that’s part of our goal. We’ve had too flat an organization and we want to add brainpower and more people to strengthen that”.

Tom Coughlin held the EVP title beginning in 2017 during the Doug Marrone coaching era in Jacksonville. That season ended with a trip to the AFC Championship game, but the organization was streamlined after Coughlin was fired in 2019. Khan elected to try a more coach-centric structure when he hired Urban Meyer, a decision that proved to be borderline disastrous. A return to the previous system so quickly after Meyer’s firing would represent a very fast about-face from Khan and the organization.

Many believe that Rick Spielman will eventually be named as the new EVP. The former Vikings GM recently interviewed for a position that would outrank Baalke, though nothing has been made official yet. In addition, the team would have to meet with at least two external minority candidates for the position in order to satisfy the Rooney Rule.

Especially after the hire of former Super Bowl winner Doug Pederson as head coach, the Jaguars are “taking a collaborative approach”, DiRocco writes. With an emphasis on long-term building, as opposed to a less patient, win-now approach with Meyer, more voices being involved in decision making could be a productive first step towards turning around a franchise which has finished at the bottom of the NFL for two straight years.

Jags’ GM Backs Eberflus for HC

January 22nd, 2022 at 8:39pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jaguars have had a bit of turbulence as they try to replace Urban Meyer, but a favorite has emerged as Colts’ defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus was the first candidate to be invited back for a second interview. An important aspect of Jacksonville’s search, Eberflus has received a strong backing from Jaguars’ general manager Trent Baalke, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

Baalke has a reputation for being a difficult general manager for head coaches to work with. Back when Baalke was the 49ers’ general manager in 2014, many reports of clashes with Jim Harbaugh littered the season, which ended with San Francisco and Harbaugh parting ways. This has made the search for a new head coach difficult as La Canfora reports that top candidates for the job are “only seriously considering it if assured Baalke would be out following the draft.” Baalke has been accused by sources of trying to prize his job security while securing a head coach.

Baalke first endorsed University of Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, but, after O’Brien interviewed for the position, Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan‘s son, Tony Khan, and a high-ranking official with the team shared their issues with O’Brien’s history of toxicity.

With O’Brien out of the running, Baalke set his sights on Eberflus. The four-year defensive coordinator in Indianapolis has overseen a top-10 scoring defense in three of his four seasons calling the defense. Eberflus’s defense was exposed by the very team he’s interviewing for when the Colts’ allowed 26 points in a must-win Week 18 loss to the Jaguars that eliminated Indianapolis from postseason contention.

Jacksonville’s willingness to seriously consider the candidate Baalke prefers points to them potentially wanting to keep Baalke as general manager. If this is the route they follow, it will likely tie Baalke’s future to Eberflus’s. There are still several candidates alive in this search, though. Keep track of the situation by following our 2022 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker.

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke To Keep Job

December 27th, 2021 at 7:29pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite a messy season in Jacksonville, it sounds like Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke will keep his job. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), Baalke will be retained and will assist owner Shad Khan in the search for a new coach.

Baalke will continue to report to Khan, and he’s expected to “work in sync” with whoever is hired to be the new Jaguars HC. The head coach will also report directly to Khan, Rapoport added in a follow-up tweet.

During Baalke’s first full offseason at the helm, the organization managed to add a potential franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence with the first-overall pick, and they managed to hire away Urban Meyer from the NCAA to be the new head coach. Fast forward to now, and the team is 2-13, they’ve fired Meyer, and Lawrence has completed only 58.7-percent of his passes while tossing a league-leading 14 interceptions. Of course, Baalke’s plan was never expected to come to fruition during the 2021 campaign, and while things have been tumultuous (to say the least) in Jacksonville this season, it makes a bit of sense that he’d keep his job.

Baalke sort of fell into the role when he was promoted to GM in January. He was originally hired as director of player personnel under David Caldwell, but after the former GM was fired, Baalke was promoted to take his spot. Meyer was still calling the shots from a team-building perspective, and Khan also plays a major role in personnel moves. Baalke and Meyer reportedly didn’t see eye-to-eye during their stint together, and now Baalke will have an opportunity to build a team his way heading into the 2022 season.

Previously, the executive rose through the 49ers organization and eventually became San Francisco’s GM in 2011. Between the 2011 and 2013 seasons, the 49ers won 36 games, lost a Super Bowl, and appeared in a pair of conference championship games. However, following a 2016 season that saw the 49ers win only two games, Baalke was relieved of his duties.

Meanwhile, while we previously heard that Doug Pederson and Jim Caldwell were among the names that Jacksonville was eyeing as their next HC, Rapoport has added another name to the list. Current Buccaneers offensive coordinator (and, of course, former Jaguars starting QB) Byron Leftwich would “fit on the list” of potential head coaching candidates.

Urban Meyer’s Thoughts On Firing

December 18th, 2021 at 10:06pm CST by Ely Allen

NFL.com recently conducted an exclusive interview with former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer. Meyer was fired by Jacksonville shortly after midnight on Thursday morning.

The interview covered many of the unflattering headlines that have colored the coach’s tenure in Duval, but started with an apology. Meyer apologized to the City of Jacksonville and painted the picture of a successful football future for the City, including a full stadium and a new facility promised by Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan.

Meyer talked a bit about something that he didn’t have a ton of experience with previously: losing. Meyer commented, “Losing eats away at your soul. Once you start losing, it’s hard on everybody.” This was perhaps most clear during what would be Meyer’s last post-game handshake of the 2021 NFL season, in which it seemed he couldn’t be bothered to even look at his former assistant, Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel, after a convincing 20-0 loss. Meyer commented on that moment, claiming that he and Vrabel are really close and saying, “that had nothing to do with [Vrabel]…I can’t take losing. I try to accept it, it just eats away at my soul.”

On many of the recent headlines that were thought to have contributed to his early exit, Meyer argued that they just weren’t true. Meyer said that a reported incident during which team captain Marvin Jones left the facility due to Meyer’s public and private criticism was not accurately portrayed. He also completely denied that he delivered a message to his assistant coaches that he is a winner and they are losers. Meyer also disputed that a preseason altercation occurred wherein he kicked former Jaguars’ kicker Josh Lambo while Lambo was stretching. Meyer was quoted saying, “It was like, ‘Wait a minute, where is this coming from?’ I’ve certainly made a few mistakes but those weren’t right.”

Meyer was asked about another highly criticized decision he made of benching James Robinson for an extended period of time against the Rams. The second-year running back is widely thought to be the best player on the struggling Jaguars. Meyer shrugged the decision off as a miscommunication. “We discussed it as a staff,” said Meyer. “When you see someone lose the ball or even see them be loose with the ball, get them out of the game, get their mind right, and then get them back in. When he fumbled, I said, ‘Take him out.’ We took him out and then we had lack of communication about when to put him back in.”

The other young star on Meyer’s former team is number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Meyer was complimentary of the 22 year old quarterback, commiserating with the tough situation he was put into. Meyer noted the franchise’s 15-game losing streak and injuries to key contributors on offense as obstacles Lawrence had to face. He ended the discussion on Lawrence saying, “There is zero doubt Trevor is going to be a great NFL quarterback.”

Questions were delivered on if there is an ongoing discussion with Jacksonville about the remaining money owed on his contract and on if Khan made the right move. Meyer declined to comment on both questions.

When asked what comes next for Meyer, he replied, “To be determined.” As of now, he has not heard from anyone in the football world about potential coaching opportunities. One can’t help but to think of where Meyer was a year ago, when he claimed he was living “the perfect life:” working at FOX with no plans to coach in the future.

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