WOW! Meet your new Coaches! Jaguars got this right!
By Terry OBrien
I couldn’t be more pleased with the announcement, or pending announcement, of Ernest Byner and Rob Boras as new assistant coaches. Take nothing away from Mike Tice and Kennedy Pola, both are top quality men and coaches. I hope the best for them both, but their replacements are fantastic!
Let’s start with Rob Boras. If there has been one thing the Chicago Bears could count on, it was the play of the Tight Ends. In 2008, Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen combined for 95 catches. 95 CATCHES!!!! I can’t contain myself… 95 CATCHES!!! Hello Marcedes, Hello Zack Miller! If you can make early picks in your fantasy league, get either of these two. 95 CATCHES!!! This is an over the top good coaching selection. Marcedes and Zack are both offensive weapons that can contribute a lot more, looks like they will be! They had about 50 catches together this year. I expect over 100 catches next year.
Welcome Rob Boras! Is Desmond Clark our next Torry Holt? Maybe, probably not, but maybe. Desmond was very outspoken about losing his coach. I can understand why. I don’t understand why Rob Boras was thrown out with the others to save Lovie Smith. Rob did nothing wrong. In fact he did a lot right.
Ernest Byner is coming to Jacksonville! Ernest Byner and Kevin Mack played with Bernie Kosar and Ozzie Newsome in Cleveland when they knocked on the door of the Super Bowl twice. John Elway led the “Drive” and in the other opportunity there was the “Fumble”. That got Ernest a one way ticket to the Washington Redskins where he only became a pro bowl runner with a 1200 yard season followed by a 1000 yard season. He finished his career with Cleveland/Baltimore and when he retired Ozzie Newsome hired him into the Baltimore front office.
In 2004 Ernest became the Redskins running backs coach and met a young man named Clinton Portis. In his 4 years at Washington, he coached a 1,000 yard rusher each year. LaDell Betts, remember him (I don’t) was a 2006 1000 yard rusher. In 2008 Jeff Fisher hired Ernest to help Chris Johnson mature. I guess that worked out well.
So what does David Garrard, Ernest Byner and Chris Johnson have in common? They are all standout East Carolina Pirates. David Garrard and Ernest Byner are going to get along very well. Ernest will feel right at home real fast. What I think is the best things about Ernest is first, he was a very low thought of prospect coming out of college. A guy like Rashad Jennings can look to him for a role model. Second, he knows what it feels like to be the hero, the goat, fired, and then come back as a hero again. He really does have it all. He gained 8500 yards in his career, not bad for a 10th round draft choice. This is a fantastic addition to the staff.
Suddenly I don’t care who is calling the coaching moves behind the scenes. These are very high quality choices. This is further evidence the Jaguars are moving up. Go get those season tickets. The excitement is on the way!
– Terry O’Brien