3 reasons Jacksonville Jaguars hit out of the ballpark with the Doug Pederson hire
Hiring Doug Pederson last year was one of the best decisions the Jacksonville Jaguars have made in recent years. This is more impressive when you consider how close they were to hiring Byron Leftwich as their head coach before he pulled out of consideration for the job due to a disagreement over the team’s power structure.
Looking back, things worked out pretty well for the Jags, as they finished with a winning record and made the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Even though Trevor Lawrence and general manager Trent Baalke also played a huge role in the team’s turnaround last season but you could make the case that they wouldn’t have been as successful without Pederson leading the way.
It’s been precisely one year since the Jags made their head coach and here are three reasons why it was a home run.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars HC Pederson won’t sugarcoat things
As soon as Doug Pederson became the head coach of the Jaguars, he warned everyone it would take time to turn things around. Instead of hyping up fans and creating false expectations, he was upfront about the challenges he faced.
Whenever the Jags lost, Pederson would hold himself accountable and talk about the positives he saw. Similarly, he would acknowledge whatever issues the team had last year and would look for ways to fix them. While that sounds like something every head coach should do, many fail to put it into practice.
Following the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10, Pederson said that he believed the Jaguars could get hot in the second half and make a run. Jacksonville ended up winning six of its last seven games. Looking back, it wasn’t just talking. He sincerely believed the team was capable of turning things around. That’s the mindset you want from your head coach.
When things aren’t going great, you want him to keep fighting and leading by example, which is what Pederson did when the Jags were 3-7 and on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention.