Jaguars head coach tracker: Team cast wide net to find Doug Pederson's replacement

The Jacksonville Jaguars parted ways with Doug Pederson following the loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2024 season finale. They originally hired him in 2022 and enjoyed immediate success. However, they progressively got diminished results, and his approach no longer matched the team's vision, so owner Shad Khan decided to dismiss his head coach but kept general manager Trent Baalke around.

Khan told the media on Black Monday that he felt that moving on from Pederson was the right move, pointing out that the Jags weren't getting better with him at the helm.

"Last year, we started off 8-3 and then went 1-5, okay, and didn't make the playoff. Was the winning season, but didn't make the playoffs," Khan responded when he was asked why he dismissed Pederson. "And after that, I started really right in Nashville, sat down with Doug, okay, 'what are we going to do?' And he identified, on the defensive side, we needed to change the staff and so on. And as the season progressed, we weren't doing well."

Khan continued, "We were close like yesterday, but not close enough to win the game, and then, as I spoke to Doug, even last week, for a good length of time, I just came to the conclusion what we were doing was not working, and a change in direction was needed."

All things considered, Khan isn't wrong. The team showed a lack of discipline and routinely looked unprepared in 2024. Later in his exchange with the press corps, the Jaguars owner said that he doesn't think that keeping Baalke around will be a turnoff for potential candidates.

"No, not at all. I think we have a very compelling case of what we can offer the head coach. You know that. I think the players, where we stand on our draft, our salary cap, the city, the bricks and mortars, the facilities our division. I mean, it's a very, very compelling case, but I want the head coach, which we did last time. I mean, they need to be comfortable with what we're doing. Our job is to be able to provide them with all the resources they want. And so we'll go through that process."

Expected to also get the pink slip, Baalke managed to keep his job. This was a bit surprising because he had a rift with the coaching staff last year and is known for being difficult to work with across the NFL.

Heck, one prominent candidate for the Jaguars' head-coaching vacancy went as far as saying that he would be less interested in the job due to the prospect of having to work with Baalke.

Speaking of Baalke, he said that the team would move quickly to put in requests for interviews. True to his work, the Jaguars announced the list of candidates they would interview for their head coach vacancy.

With that in mind, here's a tracker of all the moves and updates regarding the Jaguars' head-coaching search. It will be routinely updated as more information becomes available.

Jaguars head coaching tracker: Full list of candidates to replace Doug Pederson

The Jaguars announced on January 7 that they had placed requests to interview the following candidates:

• Ben Johnson, Detriot Lions offensive coordinator
• Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator
• Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator
• Aaron Glenn, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator
• Robert Saleh, former New York Jets head coach
• Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator
• Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
• Patrick Graham, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator.

January 8 Update no. 1: Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports that Robert Saleh will interview for the Jaguars job Tuesday.

January 8 update No. 2: The Jaguars have oficially scheduled two more interviews for their opening.

Per Albert Breer, the Jaguars have arranged a meeting with Aaron Glenn Friday.

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports broke the news that the Jaguars are scheduled to interview Ben Johnson Friday.

January 8 Update No. 3: The team announced it's put in a request to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

January 9 Update No. 1: The Jaguars have requested an interview with Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo for their opening, per Tom Pelissero.

January 9 Update No. 2: The Jaguars requested to interview Steve Spagnuolo early Tuesday and were given permission later the same day to meet with him Friday, January 10.

The Jaguars have been granted their request to interview Aaron Glenn and will meet with him Saturday, per Albert Breer.

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