Jacksonville Jaguars: 4 possible replacements for OC Jay Gruden in 2021

Pep Hamilton’s expertise could help the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It wasn’t long ago that Pep Hamilton was an up-and-coming head coach candidate and the North Carolina native has plenty of experience when it comes to developing and working with young quarterbacks, a skill the Jaguars could surely use next year.

He began his coaching career at Howard, where he coached from 1997 to 2001 and joined the New York Jets coaching staff as an offensive quality control coach in 2004. He then worked for the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears before joining Stanford’s coaching staff in 2011.

Hamilton coached quarterback Andrew Luck during his tenure with the Cardinals and later worked with him again when he became the Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator in 2013. In 2014, he interviewed for the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching vacancy. Even though the job ultimately went to Jack Del Rio, the fact he got consideration speaks volumes about his body of work.

Earlier this year, Hamilton was the head coach and general manager of the DC Defenders in the now-extinct XFL. Once the league unfolded, he accepted to become the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback coach. This season, he’s overseen the development of rookie quarterback Justin Herbert. The Oregon standout is 331-of-499 for 3,467 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He could do the same for whatever quarterback the Jaguars draft in 2021.