Can Jacksonville Jaguars O.C. make Gardner Minshew even better in 2020?

Will the addition of Jay Gruden as the Jacksonville Jaguars new offensive coordinator prove to be the catalyst that makes Gardner Minshew an elite passer this season?

It’s a conversation that had not been had yet, but when new Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden was asked about what he thought about the relationship between himself and quarterback Gardner Minshew, the answer was perfect.

"“It had better mesh,” Gruden said as he talked to the local media on Tuesday via Zoom."

The former head coach in Washington and offensive coordinator in Cincinnati has an opportunity here in Jacksonville to take a broken offense and make it whole again. That’s a lot to ask of Gruden, who was hired by head coach Doug Marrone to help Minshew build on a somewhat successful rookie campaign.

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"“It’s my job to make it mesh, you know, to take on the personality of the quarterback and get him to understand what we’re trying to get accomplished on the play to play, game to game, week to week basis, it’s going to be critical,” Gruden added.“I love Gardner’s competitive spirit. You could see it shine through on tape when he was in college and obviously last year in the games he got to play. Now it’s just a matter of him getting some general knowledge of our offense and me figuring out what he likes, what he doesn’t like, what makes him tick and go from there. I’m pretty easy to get along with, I know he is too so I think it will be a great relationship between the two of us.”"

Now comes the task of taking what Minshew learned in another offensive plan last season and changing the dynamic of the offense and the players around him. Gruden proved to be successful in Cincinnati when he ran the offense for then head coach Marvin Lewis. He had quarterback Andy Dalton and tight end Tyler Eifert as part of his arsenal.

Eifert figures to be a big part of the offense with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was the former Bengals first-round pick who said having Gruden here in North Florida was a major reason he signed a free-agent deal. The same holds true for former Washington Redskins running back Chris Thompson, who inked a deal earlier this month to carry the football for Gruden with the Jaguars.

Gruden will work with Minshew’s strengths, whether it is in the pocket or on the move. His accuracy as a rookie was impressive but still needs work. A short and intermediate passing game that works in rhythm will benefit the former sixth-round draft pick.

But Gruden also believes the game plan will help others on the roster as well.

"“I’d like to move some other receivers around a little bit, Chris [Conley] and DJ [Chark Jr] and see what happens. Then we got Chris Thompson for some backfield stuff, but seeing Ryquell [Armstead] and obviously Leonard [Fournette] do some stuff in the backfield and just get to know everybody and get Tyler Eifert back in the mix and get him moving around and see where Josh Oliver is at and James [O’Shaughnessy],” Gruden added."

Like everyone else in the building, Gruden is adjusting to the virtual offseason, which has not given players a chance to work together in person and in space. Hopefully, when players are allowed back into the building at TIAA Bank Field, that will change quickly.

"“We have to get these guys on the field. I think, from a knowledge standpoint, they’ll know the plays and the concepts, but then getting them out there and seeing them execute it versus some different looks and find out what they’re good at so we can best utilize their skillset. We got to get out on the field soon,” Gruden said."