5 key ways the Jacksonville Jaguars won during the 2022 offseason

1. The Jaguars found a Super Bowl-winning HC in Doug Pederson

The Jaguars could have hired pretty much anyone after firing Urban Meyer and they would still have made an upgrade at head coach. Having said that, the top brass didn’t take the search for Meyer’s replacement lightly and instead took their time, leaving no stone unturned in the process. Heck, at one point, Bill 0’Brien and Rich Bisaccia surfaced as potential candidates for the vacancy, making everyone wonder if the Jags would bring in Jeff Fisher and Steve Spurrier for an interview.

After weeks of due diligence and almost hiring Byron Leftwich, the Jaguars chose Doug Pederson. Sure, Leftwich became a trendy candidate during the search due to his ties to the organization but Pederson could be the better candidate in the long run.

Leftwich has moved up the assistant and coordinator ranks since he joined Bruce Arians’ staff with the Arizona Cardinals. And by Arians’ own admission, Leftwich deserves plenty of credit for the offensive success the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had over the last two years. Moreover, he’s ready to become a head coach. On the other hand, Pederson has proven he can get it done, helping the Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history and leading them to the playoffs in three consecutive years.

Pederson has helped the Jags heal after Meyer brought them down last year. He’s also gotten Trevor Lawrence on the right path and has been an important figure in his development. It might sound like hyperbole, but Pederson is the best head coach Jacksonville has had since Tom Coughlin.