Owner Shad Khan set the bar high for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Following a disappointing end to the 2023 season, he told coaches and players that "this was the most talented Jaguars team in franchise history." While he didn't outright say it, he made it clear that the expectation was to win. Fast forward to Week 12, and the Jags are 2-9. It's fair to say that they've severely underperformed and head coach Doug Pederson just revealed that he played no role in overselling the team to Khan.
One day after the humiliating 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions, Pederson met with the local media. He touched on several topics, and when asked about who sold Khan on the idea that the 2024 Jaguars were the best team in franchise history, the head coach said that he had no idea.
"I don't know. I'm not privy to those conversations that Shad Khan has, or who's he talking to," Pederson said. "I just, I don't know, I can't answer that."
This is noteworthy because Khan made headlines when he legitimately believed this was the best Jaguars team assembled in team history. He made his original remarks and also said that the 2023 collapse was an organizational failure when he reached an agreement with the City of Jacksonville to spend $1.4 billion on renovations to EverBank Stadium.
Later in the offseason, he met with players and coaches to let it be known that he wasn't misquoted when he made his comments about this being the best team in franchise history.
At the time, Khan's comments didn't look farfetched. They had hired Ryan Nielsen to get the most out of a group that underperformed in 2023 and the front office spared no expense to add reinforcements in free agency. Add the fact that Trevor Lawrence was healthy after dealing with injuries last year, and the Jaguars seemed poised to bounce back. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.
The 2024 Jaguars have looked undisciplined and out of sync for most of the year. At times, the offense will show out only to be let down by the defense, and vice versa. Similarly, Jacksonville has been part of several close games but cannot manage to seal the deal.
Not surprisingly, the Jags rank near the cellar in most meaningful offensive and defensive categories, and their 2-9 record is currently the worst in the league. That's certainly not the kind of performance you expect from the "best team ever assembled." This begs the question, who told Khan such a statement? There's one clear suspect.
Trent Baalke might've told Shad Khan the 2024 Jaguars were the best team in franchise history
If Doug Pederson wasn't the one who told Shad Khan about this being the best team, there's only one potential culprit: general manager Trent Baalke. After all, other owners aren't in a position to assess the state of a roster. The same is true for Khan's circle of family, friends, and acquaintances. That leaves Baalke as the obvious choice.
Perhaps Baalke was trying to make himself look good in Khan's eyes, but regardless of the reason, it's fair to say that whoever came up with the idea missed the mark. This is not one of the best teams in franchise history. Far from it, and both the general manager and Pederson must shoulder the blame.
Baalke for his part didn't properly address the defensive front and has mismanaged the roster the past two years. On the other hand, the head coach hasn't been able to get the most out of his players and has made several questionable in-game decisions that turned out to be costly.
In the end, it may not matter who told Shad Khan this was the best Jaguars team ever. It clearly isn't, and unless the team's brass quickly come up with a plan to finish the season strong and bounce back in 2025, both Baalke and Pederson will be gone.