Jaguars: It was time for Tom Coughlin to go

Jaguars team owner Shad Khan made the right decision to fire the organization’s EVP Tom Coughlin late last week.

Sometimes the best business decisions are the ones you don’t want to make. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan may have wanted to wait until after this season to make a decision on the future of Tom Coughlin but letting him go now was the right move for everyone involved.

Khan made the decision Wednesday evening, which was a “bombshell” to some in Jacksonville and a relief to others who wondered out loud why something had not been done already. Coughlin has been under fire for the majority of the 2018 season for his decisions regarding the team that dates back to OTAs.

Coughlin, who came back on board with the organization as the executive vice-president of football operations prior to the 2017 season, has been the subject of improper handling of players which include Dante Fowler, Jalen Ramsey, and Leonard Fournette.

Now, the team moves on to try and salvage whatever is left of a 5-9 season that has been plagued by ineffective play on offense and at times, lack of defensive effort. The questions, after the news spread across the city of Jacksonville like wildfire, are who steps into Coughlin’s shoes, and what happens to the team’s management structure?

More from Jacksonville Jaguars News

• Jacksonville Jaguars should welcome Derrick Henry into the kingdom
• Jaguars Rumors: Trent Baalke seems to be getting respect now
• Jaguars News: This division rival might be making a big move
• Former Jacksonville Jaguars S Johnathan Cyprien: “New Profession, Same Standards”
• Jacksonville Jaguars TE Evan Engram officially gets the franchise tag: 3 takeaways

None of that will be answered until the season is over, with Jacksonville traveling to Atlanta this weekend to face the Falcons and then hosting Indianapolis in the finale.

What this does do is allow Khan to look deeper into the management of his own football team, to see what is working and how it can be better. It has been assumed the front office would be cleared out at the end of December, which may or may not still happen.

There are also plenty of questions to be answered about the team moving forward.

Will the team pay Yannick Ngakoue? Who starts at quarterback next season? Which veterans will be retained, asked to restructure their contracts or be released because of salary cap implications? And because of team needs on both sides of the football, which players will this front office go after in the NFL Draft?

For a team that is 5-9, the Jaguars are now one of the more popular teams in the league based on the drama that is unfolding inside TIAA Bank Field, not on the playing field.
Hopefully, some of that drama ended Wednesday night.

My dealings with Tom Coughlin, which are few over the years, have been nothing but cordial and kind. And his work with his Jay Fund Foundation has been nothing short of amazing for families dealing with childhood cancer. But football is a different beast and was treated as such.

On Nov. 27, Coughlin stood in front of the local media and told them there were five weeks left in the season for everyone in the organization to show what they could offer this franchise. Coughlin included himself in this conversation. It was a contentious interaction, one that looked forced and uncomfortable. Coughlin has been a cantankerous sort when it comes to dealing with the media and it showed.

It was also the first time in seven months that he had spoken on anything having to do with the football team. It also showed there might have been a disconnect between the man who made decisions on everything having to do with the team and the man who was once the head coach of one of the best expansion franchises in NFL history.

Yes, this move was the right one, but it also means that Khan and the front office now must do its job to move on and find success. If Coughlin is going to be the first one blamed for the lack of production of this franchise then those still in the fold must make better decisions, coach the team a little harder and win football games.

I suspect there are still changes to be made with the Jaguars after the season. But for now, the first domino fell. It should be interesting to see which ones fall after this and what the reaction will be from the fan base and how players and coaches alike respond to it together.