Shad Khan

Shad Khan On Coughlin, Caldwell, HC Search

February 4th, 2017 at 4:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

During interviews with the franchise’s first head coach, Shad Khan said Tom Coughlin did not ask for control over the Jaguars’ 53-man roster. But the owner gave it to the former Jags and Giants HC despite Coughlin not having any NFL executive experience.

“For this thing to work, Tom can’t be a hood ornament,” Khan said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. “For him to contribute, he has to have some authority and this is one way of giving him the authority. In all fairness, he never asked for it. The more I thought about it and reflected on it, he doesn’t want to be a pencil-pushing executive. We want his experience and his judgment to help the Jags win.”

This will mean a lesser role for GM Dave Caldwell, who will sink a notch lower on the Jags’ totem pole behind the franchise’s new executive vice president. Khan respects the way Caldwell constructed the roster while noting the 42-year-old executive could learn from the 70-year-old Coughlin.

“I think Dave’s done a great job on talent, but he’s a young guy. I think he can learn lot from Tom. There might be a natural human emotion [from Caldwell] of, ‘Gee …’ but I think if you look at what’s best for the Jaguars, I think this is the structure,” Khan said, via John Oehser of Jaguars.com. “Dave gets to do the talent, and I think he’s worked hard. It’s, ‘How do we get more wins?’”

Khan acknowledged the disparity between the interest in the Jaguars’ HC job in 2013 compared to the 2016-17 search that ended with interim HC Doug Marrone in the top sideline spot. While promoting the interim HC doesn’t sound as glamorous as hiring then-Seahawks DC Gus Bradley, Khan, via Oehser, pointed to the talent on the roster making a different impression this time around. The Jaguars have not won more than five games in a season since 2010 but were a trendy pick to make some noise last season.

“I think the big difference was we had a huge amount of interest this time around. The most important thing was really getting it down to the short list [of candidates], and literally anybody and everybody we wanted to talk to was interested. It also confirmed that we do have the talent. Otherwise there wouldn’t be the interest. Four years ago that was the common thread – that ‘you guys are so far [from contending]’ that they [candidates] could get something more to their liking. This time around we had the talent and we had the interest.”

Reactions to Jaguars’ Hirings

January 9th, 2017 at 8:25pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jaguars have officially announced the hiring of head coach Doug Marrone and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin. The organization also announced the two-year extension for general manager Dave Caldwell. Owner Shad Khan released a statement regarding the moves (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter):

“I have confidence that one day soon we’ll look back on today’s news as the moment that inspired and ultimately established the Jacksonville Jaguars as a football team that wins, week to week and season to season.

“I am honored to welcome Tom Coughlin back to Jacksonville, where winning was customary under his leadership. I know he expects the same in his return to head our football operations, and that’s good news for us and Jaguars fans everywhere. The extension of Dave Caldwell’s contract speaks to his excellent work thus far and the continued importance of complementing our talented and promising roster.

“I am particularly enthused to introduce Doug Marrone as our new head coach. Doug is a strong football man in every respect and offers us qualities that will serve us well in all facets of the team, from the meeting rooms to game day and much more. The results will speak for themselves in time, but with Tom coming in to join Dave and Doug, there is no question the Jacksonville Jaguars are a stronger football team today.”

Let’s take a look at some reactions out of Jacksonville following the organization’s busy day…

Caldwell will report to Coughlin, reports ESPN.com’s Mike DiRocco. The writer assumes that Coughlin “will have final say over personnel issues as well as the draft,” although the organization hasn’t confirmed whether this will be the case. A source told Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter) that Coughlin presumably “has the final say on everything.”
Marrone believes Blake Bortles can be a franchise quarterback, and this mindset played a significant role in the hiring, reports Rapoport (via NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal). The organization clearly valued continuity, but Rosenthal notes that there will be “pressure on Marrone and Caldwell to turn Jacksonville’s fortunes around quickly.”
Bortles certainly sounded optimistic about the hiring. “I think Doug has earned the respect of the offensive players and I’m excited for him to get this opportunity and the direction of this team,” Bortles told DiRocco.
Rosenthal notes that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will presumably keep his role. Hackett worked under Marrone with Syracuse and the Bills.
Meanwhile, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets that the Jaguars’ defensive coaches were told they’d be retained if Marrone got the job. Alex Marvez of The Sporting News provides even more clarity (on Twitter), noting that the team will at least be keeping defensive coordinator Todd Wash and linebackers coach Robert Saleh.
Mike Smith was thought to be a close second for the Jaguars job, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets. The former Falcons head coach served as the Buccaneers defensive coordinator this past season. In seven seasons in Atlanta, Smith led his squad to a 66-46 record and four playoff births. Roy Cummings of FloridaFootballInsiders.com writes that Smith is still in the running for the Chargers‘ head coaching gig.

Zach Links contributed to this report.

Jaguars Fire Gus Bradley

December 18th, 2016 at 5:05pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s fourth quarter comeback by the Texans cost the Jaguars more than a win. It also cost head coach Gus Bradley his job. The Jaguars have announced that they’ve relieved Bradley of his duties as head coach. Owner Shad Khan released a statement on the team’s website:

“I thanked Gus Bradley today for his commitment to the Jacksonville Jaguars over the past four seasons. As anyone close to our team knows, Gus gave his staff and players literally everything he had. Our players competed for Gus and I know they have great respect for him, as do I.

Gus also represented the Jaguars, the Jacksonville community and the NFL in nothing less than a first-class manner as our head coach. That counts for a lot. It is unfortunately evident that we must make a change. I thought it would be best to do it immediately after today’s result so Gus can step away, relax and regroup with his family during the Christmas and holiday season.

Dave Caldwell agreed and will now be charged with exploring all options to hire the best head coach possible to lead what I feel is an extremely talented team and reward a very loyal and patient fan base in Jacksonville.”

Bradley was considered an excellent signing by the franchise following his success in Seattle from 2009 through 2012. Serving as the team’s defensive coordinator, Bradley’s defenses improved during each of his four seasons. During his final season in Seattle, his squad allowed only 15.3 points per game, which was the best mark in the NFL.

“He’s got a brilliant football mind,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said at the time (via ESPN.com). “He’s got a way of reaching people and touching people and getting the best out of them, coaches and players alike. He’s got everything that you’re looking for.”

Unfortunately, that “brilliant football mind” didn’t translate to wins on the field. In his three-plus seasons with the Jaguars, Bradley compiled a 14-48 record. His .226 winning percent is the second-lowest mark in league history. This will be the second major change on the Jaguars coaching staff this season, as the team fired offensive coordinator Greg Olson back in October.

Fortunately for the Jaguars, it appears that Bradley is the only casualty at this time. Based on Khan’s statement, it appears that general manager Dave Caldwell will retain his job. The team hasn’t won more than five games since Caldwell was hired in early 2013, but the team has had some success in the draft. Blake Bortles, Allen Robinson, Aaron Colvin, Telvin Smith, Dante Fowler, Jalen Ramsey, and Myles Jack are among Caldwell’s selections.

ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets that Caldwell is planning on announcing an interim head coach during tomorrow’s press conference. Both Jason La Canfora and PFT’s Mike Florio point to offensive line coach Doug Marrone as a natural fill-in. Marrone led the Bills to a 15-17 record between the 2013 and 2014 season.

Gus Bradley’s Job Secure Through 2016?

October 26th, 2016 at 8:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jaguars owner Shad Khan addressed the team earlier this week in an attempt to address Jacksonville’s futility in what was described, via Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com, as a non-confrontational address.

However, another takeaway that appears to have emerged from the meeting: Gus Bradley‘s job could well be safe throughout the season. Due to an organizational philosophy under Khan that steers clear of in-season coach changes, the embattled fourth-year leader looks to have the rest of this season to stake his claim to the Jags’ job, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Facebook link).

Rapoport adds a change could be made after the season if this spiral continues, and the Jags are coming off another embarrassing defeat, a 33-16 loss to the Raiders that saw multiple defensive starters get ejected and another penalized for a racial slur. The Jags are 14-40 under Bradley and 16-54 in Khan’s four-plus seasons as the owner, the first of which a 2-14 campaign in 2012 under Mike Mularkey‘s sideline leadership. Khan fired Mularkey and then-GM Gene Smith following the ’12 slate.

Khan asked several unspecified players their opinion of why the team is struggling, per DiRocco, and inquired what he could do to help the effort. Jacksonville is now 2-4 after receiving a decent amount of preseason hype.

“He said, ‘Hey, what can I do to help? Why have we gotten off to a slow start? What we can do to turn it around?’” a Jags source said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. “A lot of guys got up and talked, players and coaches and he sat back and listened. It was good. He didn’t make a bad thing worse.”

The former Seahawks DC would certainly be a Black Monday candidate at this rate regardless of the support Khan is showing presently.

AFC South Notes: O’Brien, Titans, Khan

January 30th, 2016 at 10:46am CST by Ben Levine

Texans head coach Bill O’Brien had a lot of good things to say about his new additions to the coaching staff. Since the end of the season, the organization has added special-teams coordinator Larry Izzo, receivers coach Sean Ryan and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver.

“Larry came highly recommended to me from a number of people,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “When we brought him in to interview, I thought he did an excellent job. He was able to really articulate really his plan for special teams and how he saw things.

“He had studied our tape. He kind of knew what we were doing. I was very impressed with him. I had known him as a player. I had never coached with him. I think he’s going to be a good addition to our staff.”

Check out the link to see what O’Brien also had to say about Ryan, the former Giants receivers coach, and Weaver, the former Browns defensive line coach. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC South…

The Titans will have some interesting decisions to make with the top overall pick in the draft, writes Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. The writer currently opines that the team should look to trade the pick for extra assets, although he notes that that’s easier said than done.
Wyatt writes that the team could use help on the offensive line and at running back, although the writer wouldn’t be a fan of signing Ray Rice. Wyatt also points to the secondary and linebackers as areas that could use some reinforcement.
At the Jaguars‘ State of the Franchise meeting, owner Shad Khan was adamant that the franchise will be staying in Jacksonville. “This is a community that has supported this franchise faithfully and impressively for over two decades,” he said (via Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com). “And we don’t want to just exist here, we want to flourish here.”

Jaguars Owner on Bradley, Caldwell, Future

October 24th, 2015 at 9:04am CST by Ben Levine

The Jaguars certainly spent some money this offseason, committing more than $70MM in guaranteed money to the likes of Julius Thomas, Jared Odrick, Jermey Parnell, Davon House, Dan Skuta and Tyson Alualu.

Ownership certainly hasn’t received the production they had been anticipating, as the Jaguars have gotten off to a 1-5 start. This has led some to question the job security of head coach Gus Bradley and general manager Dave Caldwell.

Prior to his team’s game in London tomorrow, owner Shad Khan was clear that no changes are imminent, but he did acknowledge that his franchise is struggling. To see what else the owner had to say, check out some other quotes below, all via Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com…

On whether Bradley or Caldwell’s jobs are in jeopardy:

“The only sane – and the only proper thing to do [is to make no in-season changes]. It has never even crossed my mind from that viewpoint.

“Believe me, they want to have success more than any of us do. They’re highly motivated. I think they’re really disappointed we’re not having the success we should [be having]. We have to see how the season unfolds. There is more than half the season out there and then we’ll be able to see what’s been done.”

On whether the team has taken a step back from 2014:

“Life in general and football in particular, it’s not a straight line going up. We know where the starting point was and we want to see where the ending point is and what the journey has been over the last three years.”

On whether the team has enough roster talent to be competitive:

“There are a lot of pieces in place there are certainly a lot of reasons for encouragement. But eventually, the way you measure a football team, or any sports team, is by wins and losses.

“It’s very, very important that we don’t become a victim of the status quo. The performance and actions on the field is what dictate [what happens] going forward.”

Jags Owner Talks London, Front Office, FAs

November 8th, 2014 at 8:25am CST by Ben Levine

As the Jaguars prepare to take on the Cowboys in London tomorrow, Jacksonville owner Shad Khan spoke to a group of reporters at a Hyde Park hotel earlier this morning. This included Ryan O’Halloran of the The Florida Times-Union, who compiled the owner’s various quotes. The whole piece is worth checking out, but we’ve collected some of the more interesting notes below…

On his team playing in London for the second consecutive year, and the team’s scheduled game in 2015:

“We have to look at where we are as a franchise in Jacksonville, how many tickets we’re selling and what are the [fan and business] engagements. Everything is geared toward stabilizing the franchise in Jacksonville.

“Our goal is we want to sell out every game. It’s money [from ticket sales], but more importantly, it’s the energy in the stadium. We want to have the home-field advantage. We have that [scheduling] flexibility now. Last year, we thought we really needed the 49ers to help us and they did that.”

On the team’s competitive play:

“That is very, very encouraging to me. have a huge amount of confidence in [general manager] Dave [Caldwell] and [coach] Gus [Bradley] and they’re encouraged. Some of these players are the future of the franchise and will be with us for a long time. It’s very important they mature, but we want them to mature quicker.”

On free agency:

“We were active this year – look at our defensive line, which is pretty good and they’re mostly free agents. We’re going to be very active for a number of reasons. Other teams don’t have the luxury we have – they have constraints and can’t sign everyone. We’ll be on the flip side.”