The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a busy offseason. Following the hiring of Liam Coen as their head coach, and the subsequent additions to his staff, they've begun their search for a general manager to fill the void left by Trent Baalke's departure. The Jags have started the process by placing multiple requests.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN broke the news that Jacksonville requested permission to speak with Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander.
#Jaguars have requested permission to speak with #Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander for their general manager position, per sources.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 3, 2025
Jacksonville gets started on the process.
In Los Angeles, Alexander played a key role in the Chargers' turnaround last year. General manager Joe Hortiz has known him for a while but says that he hired him not because he's his friend but rather because of the confidence in him as an evaluator and a leader.
Not long after Fowler's scoop, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that the Jags had also put in requests to interview New York Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown, Cincinnati Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown, Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager Mike Greenberg.
Jaguars GM interview requests, according to sources:
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 4, 2025
Chargers AGM Chad Alexander
Giants AGM Brandon Brown
Bengals Sr. Personnel Exec Trey Brown
Bears AGM Ian Cunningham
Bucs AGM Mike Greenberg@NFLonCBS
Of the bunch, Ian Cunningham stands out the most, as he's been linked to the Jaguars' vacancy. The Bears front-office executive learned from Howie Roseman and Ozzie Newsome, two of the best general managers in the NFL the past 30 years. That said, he's far from the only intriguing option in the process.
Greenberg has worked in conjunction with Buccaneer's general manager Jason Licht to consistently replenish the Tampa Bay roster. If he leaves, he would be the second Bucs executive to bolt for another club this offseason. John Spytek recently left to become the general manager for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Brandon Brown, on the other hand, is the right-hand man to New York general manager Joe Schoen and has been entrusted with several responsibilities. Last but not least is Trey Brown, who's garnered consideration for general manager positions in recent years and is the second in command behind Duke Tobin in the Bengals front office.
Of course, Ethan Waugh shouldn't be ruled out. He was the assistant general manager during Baalke's stint and was promoted to interim after Baalke's ousting.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have cast a wide net to find Trent Baalke's replacement
The Jacksonville Jaguars are casting a wide net to find a new general manager. It's worth noting that they hired Pro Football Hall-of-Fame left tackle Tony Boselli as their vice president of football operations, and he'll be assisting in the process.
Boselli said when he got the job that he's not planning to oversee the front office but rather to help Liam Coen and whoever they hire as the general manager. Speaking of, the most important thing the Jaguars will be looking for is someone who will be on the same page with the head coach, something that wasn't common with Trent Baalke at the helm.
Circling back to the list of candidates the Jaguars have set their sights on, one glaring omission was former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated had previously said that he would be in the mix for the job, along with Ethan Waugh and Ian Cunningham. Jacksonville could still interview him, but there's a chance it won't.
It's uncertain how long the process will take, but the Jaguars must take the proper time to ensure they end up with the right guy.