The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Doug Pederson after going 3-14 in 2024. However, they weren't planning on cleaning house, strongly considering holding onto general manager Trent Baalke. Once, the Jags realized that would've made it difficult to lure candidates to fill their head-coaching vacancy, they decided to give Baalke the boot.
That turned out to be the right call, as Jacksonville managed to land Liam Coen. Not long after, James Gladstone became the general manager, and together the two spearheaded an instant turnaround.
While Coen and Gladstone are trying to pick up where they left off last year, Baalke has landed on his feet. This time with the Cleveland Browns.
Former Jaguars GM Trent Baalke has landed with the Browns
Mike Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that Trent Baalke has joined the Browns front office, pointing out that he landed a consultant-like role.
This isn't necessarily shocking when you take into account that Baalke was the general manager for both the Jags and the San Francisco 49ers. Granted, he's 82-97, but teams could value his expertise. Cleveland certainly did. Otherwise, it wouldn't have hired him.
And that's the thing, Jacksonville pushed him to the curb because he was divisive and difficult to work with, dating back to his days with the Niners. His track record of drafting playmakers wasn't necessarily dreadful. In his last year at the helm, the former Jags exec found wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and kicker Cam Little. The year before, he selected tight end Brenton Strange, linebacker Ventrell Miller, wide receiver Parker Washington, and safety Antonio Johnson.
Certainly, Baalke had an eye for talent. The trouble is that he wasn't on the same wavelength as Doug Pederson. Couple that with the fact that he had several miscues in free agency (cornerback Ronald Darby, wide receiver Gabe Davis, defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi), and it's easy to see Jacksonville was compelled to oust him.
Trent Baalke could take over the Browns GM leaving the Jaguars
When Trent Baalke joined the Jaguars in 2020, he did it as the vice president of football personnel. He became the interim general manager later that year when David Caldwell got ousted. Baalke interviewed for the vacancy and got the job on a full-time basis. Based on how things played out, perhaps history could repeat itself with the Cleveland Browns.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry hasn't had a great track record at putting together a solid team. Sure, Cleveland won 11 games in both 2020 and 2023, but he has an overall record of 45-63.
You could even make the case that the Browns wouldn't have brought in Baalke if they thought Berry was doing a superb job. And — this is just a conjecture, but — Baalke could convince ownership that Berry isn't delivering results and eventually oversee a takeover.
Of course, there's an equal chance that Baalke will just serve as a consultant in Cleveland, but don't be shocked if he ends up becoming the general manager down the road, based on his track record.
The truth is that Trent Baalke knows how to play the game. That's why he's managed to be a general manager for 11 years and could soon make it 12.
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