3 biggest blunders that contributed to Doug Pederson's undoing with Jaguars

When the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Doug Pederson in 2022, owner Shad Khan said that he had found the head coach who could lead the team to the promised land. Three years later, he's acknowledged his mistake by dismissing Pederson after going 3-14 in 2024.

When Pederson took over, the Jags were coming off the Urban Meyer debacle and they needed someone who could help them recover from what turned out to be one of the most taxing seasons in franchise history. Moreover, Trevor Lawrence had a rough rookie season and needed someone who could help untap his talent. Pederson was the man for the job.

During his first season at the helm, Pederson led the Jags to the playoffs and helped them win the AFC South. On top of that, Lawrence saw a notable improvement and became a top-10 quarterback under his tutelage. However, Jacksonville regressed the following two years.

The Jaguars got off to an 8-3 start in 2023 but won just one of their last six games and failed to qualify for the postseason. Expected to bounce back in 2024, they got worse instead, finishing 3-14. So what exactly went wrong? Here are three things that played a role in Pederson's fallout.

Doug Pederson's dearth of accountability

While Jaguars players routinely said that they would be willing to either run through a brick wall or go to war for Doug Pederson, the feeling didn't appear to be mutual. Throughout 2024, the head coach talked about the need to deliver on the field, pointing out that he couldn't play. There's some truth to that.

After all, players must execute, but it's up to the coaches to put them in a position to succeed. Pederson and his coaching staff routinely failed to do that in Jacksonville. Sure, coaches must be critical and push players in practice, but they do that internally, not publicly.

Pederson didn't get the memo and routinely threw players under the bus when he met with the press corps. Heck, during his last availability session, he said that everyone is accountable for the way things unfolded in 2024. He's kind of right, but as the head coach, he's ultimately responsible for the team's success or lack thereof.

The buck stopped with Pederson and he failed to acknowledge that.

Doug Pederson couldn't get Trevor Lawrence to the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks

Dubbed a generational talent coming out of college, Trevor Lawrence struggled in his rookie season, but that's mostly because he didn't have a competent supporting cast and Urban Meyer mismanaged his development. Whoever the Jags hired in 2022 was going to be entrusted with squeezing every ounce of talent out of the former Clemson Tiger. Doug Pederson certainly had the track record.

After all, Pederson turned Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate in 2017 during his stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. And when Wentz suffered a season-ending injury, Nick Foles stepped in his plays, and the Eagles went on to win Super Bowl 52.

Although Pederson's relationship with Wentz soured, the quarterback had a less-than-stellar reputation, so it was fair to assume that the head coach could work his magic with Lawrence. Under his tutelage, the Knoxville, Tennessee native saw considerable improvement in 2022 and even joined the conversation about the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Lawrence kept playing at a high level in 2023 despite the fact that the offensive line couldn't protect and injuries plagued the offense. Then, he suffered a series of ailments that hindered his production and wasn't able to finish strong.

After spending several months recovering, Lawrence was healthy to start the 2024 season. However, he wasn't as good as he had been in previous years. He made puzzling mistakes, and his fundamentals appeared to be off. That had to do with coaching. And that's the thing, Pederson wasn't seemingly as involved in his development, having delegated offensive coordinator Press Taylor.

In the end, Lawrence suffered a shoulder injury that cut his 2024 season short, but his regression was a topic of discussion throughout the year, and Pederson played a huge role in it.

Delegating and not showing leadership

One of Doug Pederson's biggest mistakes was delegating work to his coaches. Granted, the best leaders often share the workload with their subordinates. The issue in Jacksonville was that Pederson didn't have a hands-on approach in Jacksonville, often leaning on his coordinators to oversee their respective issues. That isn't inherently a bad thing.

The problem is that when Pederson saw that things weren't working, he chose not to take the reins, and still trusted his coordinators. It's fair to say that his laissez-faire approach didn't work when you take into account that the Jaguars finished 26th in points scored and 27th in points allowed in the league.

Had Pederson been more involved and demanded more from his coordinator, he might still have a job right now.

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