5 moves that sent Jaguars into a tailspin after the 2017 season

5. The Jaguars haven’t found an answer at general manager.

There is no doubt the Jaguars have made some terrible decisions regarding their general manager hires. Back when Wayne Weaver was the owner, Gene Smith was calling the shots. Things didn’t get much better once Shad Khan bought the team, as he’s been willing to allow any general manager to see their plan through even when it’s clear it won’t pay dividends. Neither owner has been able to strike gold when it comes to picking a good general manager.

Gene Smith was at the start of this cycle. During his three-year tenure, he seemed to favor smaller school prospects and some players were unknown until the card reached the podium. That right there is digging for a diamond in the rough. It is not to say that talent does not come from these smaller colleges but there tend to be reasons some of these players didn’t make it into the top programs in the country. The players Smith drafted did not spend a significant amount of time on the team and left the roster devoid of much talent once David Caldwell took over.

Now, Caldwell wasn’t much better and made a series of moves that could be described as questionable. He signed some players that would have positive impacts on the team and was responsible for the Jaguars’ playoff run in 2017 (Myles Jack wasn’t down!). However, they fell off a cliff not long after and they haven’t been able to recover since then, having won a combined 15 games over the last four years.

After giving Caldwell the boot, the Jaguars brought in Trent Baalke. He had a solid 2021 NFL Draft but his free-agent class failed to have a big impact this past season. Moreover, his reputation is something that continues to render the organization. It’s been reported that his presence could have a negative impact on the team’s ongoing head coaching search. The Jags are in desperate need to increase talent in almost every position and if he’s going to hold them back, they need to strongly consider moving on from him. Simply, he is one of the biggest question markers of the future of the Jaguars.