Jacksonville Jaguars are 10th most ‘stable’ franchise in the NFL

After a decade plus of floundering near the bottom of the league, the Jacksonville Jaguars now have the foundational stability to compete yearly.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made the playoffs for the first time in a decade in 2017 and they were arguably the best team in the AFC. That’s of course a silly argument to make since they choked away a lead in the AFC championship game and didn’t make the Super Bowl, but there’s no doubt they exceeded expectations this year.

Given the success, you would expect the Jaguars to keep this same core together moving forward.

Danny Kelly over at The Ringer put together his NFL “stability index” – a ranking focused on transitioning from the 2017 season to the 2018. Kelly looked primarily at continuity in the coaching staff, roster, and front office.

While the Jaguars have a fairly talented team, you would expect the uncertainty at the quarterback position to hurt them. It does, but not much as the Jaguars are still the 10th most stable franchise according to Kelly.

"10. Jacksonville JaguarsThe Jaguars return their head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, and most of their devastatingly stout defense—and the foundational run game under Leonard Fournette should remain a constant. But the Blake Bortles decision (do they keep him as starter? Will they be forced to pay his fifth-year option if he can’t pass a physical in March?) looms large. With receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson set to hit free agency as well, Jacksonville’s got some work to do on an offense that held the team back at times in 2017."

For the first time in what feels like a decade, there are no questions in Jacksonville about whether or not the right coaching staff is in place. Doug Marrone was a coach of the year candidate and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett received praise in the postseason for how he managed the offense with Blake Bortles at the helm.

There are also no questions about the front office, even with general manager David Caldwell likely having to admit failure on his quarterback draft pick.

Tom Coughlin’s presence obviously plays a huge part in this, but in reality all this stability comes back to one thing – the Jaguars finally won.

The biggest question mark on the roster is far and away the quarterback position. It’s hard to predict exactly what the Jaguars will do there, so 10th seems like a good spot for the Jaguars here.

What do you think?