Possible Jaguars HC Candidates
By Luke Sims
With the firing of Mike Mularkey, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to get a new head coach soon. They join the Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Arizona Cardinals in the offseason coaching search. The Jags will be looking for their fourth head coach, counting interim coach Mel Tucker, in three seasons. Turmoil is hardly ever a strategy for success, but Jaguars’ new GM Dave Caldwell wants a seamless transition and clean slate to explore all possible avenues. So, what are these avenues?
Schottenheimer isn’t the most popular candidate – at least not if you take a gander at Jags fans on Twitter. Source: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
According to Adam Schefter, both St. Louis Rams OC Brian Schottenheimer and San Francisco 49ers OC Greg Roman are expected candidates for the Jaguars. Roman has been linked to Caldwell through his interviewing process and it is expected that the Jaguars will entertain the idea of bringing him in. Another possible candidate may be Cincinnati Bengals OC Jay Gruden, at least if last year’s coaching search is any indication. Gruden has been a darling of many franchises looking to get a young up and coming offensive minded coach in the top spot, but he has yet to leave Cincy for any of them.
It will be curious to see who the Jaguars pursue and whether Caldwell, himself only 38, is looking to go young or is looking for someone to with previous head coaching experience. The feeling around the twitterverse at least is is that he’ll want to go young and look for a head coach who can bring a fresh take to the Jaguars.
Meanwhile, some people are wondering if the head coaching vacancy is even a desirable job for someone to go to. We may know more about the intentions of Caldwell after the press conference today, but there is no guaranteeing that the Jaguars show their cards so early in the process. For us Jags fans it seems like the position would be desirable for someone who wants to build a team in his own image. For those actually shopping for an NFL team to coach, it may seem like a position with rapid turnover and limited immediate development. But hey, if it doesn’t work out you could end up getting paid for two years to do nothing like Mularkey will be.
– Luke N. Sims
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