Jacksonville Jaguars: Looking at the bigger picture in 2020

Is the game plan Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell using going to mesh with what team owner Shad Khan wants for this franchise?

You get the sense that regardless of the statement Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan made on Dec. 31 after it was announced both team general manager David Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone were retained for the 2020 season, this football team is taking a different approach to winning in 2020.

Khan wants a “win-now” mentality for the front office and coaching staff. That message has been sent, but has it been followed given the moves the team has made this offseason?

It appears Caldwell is building a winner for the future while Khan wants changes for the better immediately. Those two directions will either butt heads at some point this season or one side will have to concede to the other. There has been only one winning season in the time Khan has owned this franchise and by the looks of things, it continues to look like an aberration.

Can Caldwell’s new blueprint, which has some of the older outlines from the beginning of his tenure in 2013, survive another potentially disastrous season?

It might actually make more sense for this team to be torn down and built back up now instead of waiting another year.

The reality is a roster with Calais Campbell, Marcell Dareus, A.J. Boyue and others haven’t won anything in two seasons. The defense has regressed in both 2018 and 2019 and injuries have derailed any kind of possible improvement from one week to the next.

When I had a chance to talk to Marrone with other members of the media on Tuesday, he outlined what kind of team he envisions for the upcoming season. It falls in line with what he has tried to produce on the field since he took over as head coach on a permanent basis following the 2016 season.

"“We want to be a big, strong, tough and smart football team. I think we want players that really enjoy playing, that love the game. We don’t want a lot of drama. We want people to be on the same page, as far as everything we’re doing is all about just trying to win,” he said.More from Jacksonville Jaguars NewsJacksonville Jaguars in position to let RT Jawaan Taylor hit free agency in 2023Jaguars GM Trent Baalke hopes HC Doug Pederson has trust in himReport: Jacksonville Jaguars ready to use franchise tag to keep Evan Engram if neededAntonio Johnson a trendy pick for Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 24 in 2023 NFL DraftJacksonville Jaguars have a rat problem, get poor marks in NFLPA team report card“All the individual things will come if we win football games. That’s the one thing that I’ve always tried to preach from the beginning, from when I first started coaching, whether it be as a position coach or as a coordinator or as the head coach, those are the things that I’m looking for.”"

Winning has not been this team’s strong suit lately, with 11 of them over the course of two seasons. Things must change. Marrone is aware of it. This coming season, he will have more input in this roster and players who have been brought in through free agency and who the Jacksonville Jaguars will draft later this month.

"“Usually bigger people can tackle better, they’re a little big bigger, and as long as they’re athletic enough, and they can run their feet and run their hands and get people down on the ground, so that’s a priority for us and what we’re trying to accomplish there,” Marrone added.“I think offensively we’re expecting our offensive line to take a big jump from what they did last year, but again, how many weapons, how many playmakers do we have surrounding the quarterback position? Do we have enough of those guys that can make plays? That’s really the key when you look at it, explosive plays are coming from playmakers.”"

Look for the Jaguars to jump from the state of free agency to improve both sides of the ball in the Draft where the team has 12 picks. It’s unlikely 12 players will be selected by Jacksonville, but the emphasis is to use those picks to make this team better in any way possible.

There has been plenty of talk about the Jaguars trading up or back, depending on how other teams use their own picks. Jacksonville has made moves in three of the last four years to gain a higher second-round selection, which has produced Myles Jack, Cam Robinson, and Jawaan Taylor.

"“Two of the 12 picks are first-rounders (Nos. 9 and 20). The Jaguars also have three picks in the fourth round and two in the fifth and sixth rounds. That gives Caldwell the flexibility to move up into the second and third rounds, where they have just one pick in each round if there’s a run on a position of need or they’re eyeing a specific player,” Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com explains.“That’s where he can afford to be more aggressive and try to add as many impact players as possible to fit into the win-now mandate.”"