The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that has a long history of hiring head coaches that have little to no experience. The Urban Meyer debacle is the most recent of several mistakes but it’s far from the only one. That’s why it was so refreshing to see the Jags hire Doug Pederson with the idea of bringing some stability to the franchise. He comes with experience from teams like the Chiefs and the Eagles and has shown he can get it done.
For years now, the Jaguars have been in shambles, to say the least. The front office continues to make questionable moves. On the bright side, Pederson’s introductory press conference gave us a little insight into what is to come. The filing with the NFL for a person to fill the vice president of football operations.
I like many fans I was rooting for the Jaguars to sign Byron Leftwich to be the seventh head coach. Leftwich stood out as a good candidate after he reportedly gave the Shad Khan an ultimatum. The Khan family has yet again taken a different path and ended up with Pederson as head coach while Trent Baalke remained in the front office throughout the process, which earned criticism from the media and the fanbase.
All things considered, the Jags’ decision to hire him was a good one. He has a superb track record in the NFL, guiding the Eagles to their first Super Bowl in franchise history, and playing an important role in Carson Wentz’s early development.
Doug Pederson is bringing proven methods to the Jaguars.
The Jaguars have finally hired a head coach that has experience. Although Pederson has a chance to turn the organization around, he realizes that this is going to be a build that will take a few years. Khan has shown that he will give the head coach time to see a plan out.
It appears that most of the candidates want to have as much control over their future as possible but Pederson seems to be fine with the Jags’ current model. Baalke likes to have as much control as possible and has a reputation for going through head coaches like they are going out of style. Still, Pederson took the job.
Fans should support Pederson’s quest to improve the Jaguars. Tom Coughlin and Jack Del Rio are the only other two head coaches that had significant success over more than one season. The fanbase for the Jaguars continues to watch the team underachieve every season. On the bright side, he holds a solid track record for building an offense around whoever plays quarterback.
Although Carson Wentz has struggled in the last two seasons, he played at an MVP level in 2017, the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and Pederson was key. But Wentz isn’t the only quarterback that has enjoyed success under Pederson’s tutelage. Nick Foles took the starting job after Wentz tore his ACL and he guided Philly throughout their championship run. Given Pederson’s previous work with quarterbacks, Trevor Lawrence should benefit from his presence and live up to his draft billing in Year 2.
Would Byron Leftwich have been a better choice than Doug Pederson?
Byron Leftwich is praised for his work as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The question that many have had was if Tom Brady was the one who was making the Bucs’ offense work? Brady has a reputation for making the offenses he plays in seem next level. I would have liked to see more of a proven track record without a player at his caliber playing quarterback.
I will be the first one to admit when I am wrong. Leftwich was not the person the Jaguars needed. After all, he has no experience at the head-coach level. The Jaguars are a team that is a few seasons away from contending in any fashion. This is a team that needed a candidate that was able to provide a proven track record.
There is no doubt that he should have gotten a shot at the head coach job somewhere. He would not have been a success if he was learning on the job like Urban Meyer. Leftwich at least has the experience at the professional level and his leadership skills are much like Pederson’s ability to connect with players. But the Jaguars went with the more experienced candidate of the two.
In my opinion, this was not the ideal situation for Leftwich. If he were to join a team that has a more talented roster he would find more success. He could be a candidate to replace Bruce Arians in Tampa. Leftwich could draft a quarterback that he could build his whole offense around. Whatever the case may be the Jaguars and Leftwich are not compatible at this moment in time.
Time will tell on our assessments of the moves this team has made this offseason. The length of the process was a long one. But for now, they seem to have found a head coach that will be able to strengthen the roster.