Surprise candidate emerges in Jaguars’ head coaching search

Right when it looked like the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching search couldn’t have any more twists and turns, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell has suddenly emerged as a realistic candidate for their opening.

A sixth-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2008, O’Connell suited up for several NFL teams before retiring in 2012. He was then hired by the Cleveland Browns as their quarterbacks coach in 2015. The following year, he joined the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff and later became the Washington Football Team quarterbacks coach in 2017. He worked his way up and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019. He went on to fill the same position for the Rams in 2020.

Rapaport reports that O’Connell left a positive impression during his interviews with the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos to fill their head coaching vacancy. While the Broncos already hired Nathaniel Hackett (previously a candidate for the Jaguars’ job), O’Connel is a finalist for the Vikes’ opening, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media. If Los Angeles loses to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, the Jags will be able to meet with him right off the bat. If the Rams win, they will advance to the Super Bowl, which means that they would have to wait to speak with him.

The Jaguars’ head coaching search hasn’t been optimal.

Even though the Jaguars had a head start in the search after fining Urban Meyer with a few weeks left in the 2021 NFL regular season, it doesn’t look like they’re close to wrapping up the process. That’s not necessarily a bad thing when you take into account that the Vikings, along with the New Orleans Saints, the Houston Texans, and the Las Vegas Raiders, haven’t filled their respective head coaching vacancies.

The difference is that those teams are taking their time to pick what they think is the right candidate for the job. Meanwhile, it looks like the Jaguars are figuring things on the fly instead of having laid out a plan. Just a few days ago, several reports surfaced that they were going to give the job to Byron Leftwich or were close to it but it hasn’t happened as of this writing. While there’s still a chance Leftwich and the Jaguars will touch base, the news of O’Connell getting an interview in Jacksonville are puzzling.

O’Connell is surely a fine candidate and could turn out to be a good head coach but it doesn’t look like the Jaguars saw him as a candidate until recently and when they realized they weren’t going to be able to land their top options. Why he was added to the search so late in the process is anyone’s guess. The presence of general manager Trent Baalke might be playing a big role in how this is all play out but regardless of the reason, the Jags need to stop playing around and get it over with as soon as possible.