Ranking Jaguars 5 top offseason priorities after hiring Doug Pederson

No. 2 Jaguars’ offseason priority – Restructure the front office.

Even though it seemed like general manager Trent Baalke affected the Jags‘ head-coaching search due to his poor reputation around the league, he remained in Jacksonville of the whole process. In fact, owner Shad Khan told the local media when introducing Doug Pederson that he sees Baalke as an asset to the organization.

However, Khan might restructure the front office. He also said that he’s filed a request to hire a vice president of football operations (EVP), which means that the Jaguars would change the way they run things. An EVP could help Kahn oversee the team and Baalke’s grasp of power would diminish. If he’s really a team player and an important piece to the puzzle, he won’t probably mind having to report to someone above him. On the other hand, Pederson wouldn’t have to answer to Baake under that model, which would help him focus on doing his job efficiently.

One candidate for the EVP position is former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, who recently interviewed for a ‘high-profile’ job in the front office. Although the Jaguars still need to go through the hiring process, which includes fulfilling the Rooney Rule correctly, Spielman may be the favorite to get the job.

The Jaguars made it to the AFC Championship with Tom Coughlin as the team’s EVP. The game passed him by and ultimately did more harm than good but at least for a season, he had the team on the right track. Having someone overseeing the football operations would increase Jacksonville’s chances of turning things around.