AFC South 2023 Head Coach Power Rankings: Where Jacksonville Jaguars stand?

Now that the Indianapolis Colts have introduced Shane Steichen as their next head coach, all AFC South teams have a head coach. It took Indy a while to hire Steiche but it won’t matter if he can help them bounce back from a hectic season. The Jacksonville Jaguars know what that is like though, having had to go through the same process last offseason.

The Jags’ search for a head coach to replace Urban Meyer lasted nearly two months and they’re surely pleased with how things turned out, as Doug Pederson led an amazing turnaround. Expecting Steichen to make the playoffs in his first season at the helm might be unrealistic but the Colts’ brass will surely want to see progress. The same is true for DeMeco Ryans, who’s taking over a Houston Texans team that has experienced significant turnover over the last three years.

So how do Steichen and Ryans stack up against their division counterparts? Here’s a power ranking of all AFC South coaches.

No. 4 AFC South HC Power Ranking – Indianapolis Colts, Shane Steichen

Making Jeff Saturday the interim head coach after kicking Frank Reich to the curb was a bad decision. Legitimately considering giving him the job full-time was even worse but the voice of the reason ultimately prevailed and the Colts hired Shane Steichen.

Even though Indy’s roster isn’t devoid of talent, they enter the offseason with question marks at several positions, including but not limited to wide receiver, safety, and most importantly, quarterback.

One of Reich’s (and general manager Chris Ballard’s) biggest failures over the last four seasons was not finding a suitable replacement at quarterback after Andrew Luck retired in 2019. Steichen has Justin Herbert’s position coach in his rookie season and later worked with Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew when he became the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2021.

If there’s one thing Steichen knows is how to develop a quarterback. However, he will now be in charge of a whole team and it’s hard to tell how he will fare with extended responsibilities. For that reason, he sits at the bottom of the rankings until he proves he’s up to the task.