Jaguars make changes necessary for change on offense

Now that the Jacksonville Jaguars have made major changes to its organization by firing offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and benching Blake Bortles, will this team return to its winning ways?

I have always believed in Cheryl Crow’s song “A Change Will Do You Good.” As an anthem for the need to refine things and improve the outlook on any situation, maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars will follow the singer’s advice and continue to make changes within the organization.

On Monday, the team announced that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett had been fired and quarterback Blake Bortles would sit down of Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts in favor of backup Cody Kessler. These changes come in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and while fans may rejoice in the news of these moves, they come later rather than sooner.

This might have been done a few weeks ago, which could also have ended the skid this franchise has suffered through.

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Make no mistake, the Jaguars are a team sinking faster than the Titanic right now and need some modicum of victory to gain some mediocrity. It’s hard to find a silver lining in a season that had so much promise, to begin with but has fallen on hard times.

The move affected the locker room after the news was given to the players. While losing has been contagious, players showed their admiration and respect for Hackett in his departure.

"“I thought he was doing a wonderful job, but it’s the nature of the business,” defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. “We need to start winning, or we all need to look in the mirror about who can get let go. It sucks.”"

Yes, it sucks. The city has felt the same way watching talented players come up short for the past eight weeks (including the bye week). They want a winner as much as the organization wants to end this “streak” no one wants to claim. It’s been hard on everyone associated with the Jaguars, the fans and the community.

When the Jaguars won the AFC South and fell in the AFC Championship game, there were no worries about “next season” that this team would make it back to the playoffs and would be better in 2018. Injuries halted progress. A poor passing game stalled on many occasions. The defense has been good but not even close to being great.

There has been plenty of finger pointing as to the issues of this organization and not enough solutions for these problems. Until now.

Firing Hackett made an impression on this roster as it was discussed on Jaguars.com.

"“It shows, ‘Hey, we need to make some changes,’’’ Tyler Shatley said. “But right now we’re just focused on one game at a time, one week at a time.”"

Shatley, who has replaced Brandon Linder at center in the lineup, has played with a makeshift offensive line that cannot keep the quarterback’s jersey clean. Maybe a change does this team good. Maybe Scott Milanovich, the team’s new play-caller,  will find a magical elixir to cure the impotent offense.

What the Jaguars have now is a chance to play for pride and prove they can be a better team in 2019. The playoffs are out of the question. The quarterback position is still in disarray. And the coaching staff may still see more change. This is what the season has come to. Like it or not, the Jaguars will end 2018 with unfulfilled promise and questions about the future roster.

At least, although I do agree it’s a little too late, change has been made. Whether it makes a difference in the final month of the season is still a mystery.

It’s a chance to write a better ending than the one that would have been written had there been no change at all.