Jaguars probably won't listen to suggestion about Press Taylor to turn season around

The Jacksonville Jaguars got their first win of the season when they beat the Indianapolis Colts. Although they showed promise, they still have a long way to go if they want to succesfully turn things around. There are several things the Jags could do it, and Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report came up with yet another one.

Knox drew up a list of things struggling NFL teams should do to salvage the season and suggested Jacksonville give offensive coordinator Press Taylor his walking papers, pointing out that removing him from the equation would potentially help them get in the end zone more often.

"While getting more out of Lawrence and Jacksonville's 21st-ranked scoring offense won't fix every problem—the Jags rank 31st in total defense and 30th in points allowed—it would be a big step in the right direction.

Therefore, it's time Jacksonville considers moving on from offensive coordinator Press Taylor—or at least removing him from the play-caller role.

Taylor, who shared play-calling duties with head coach Doug Peterson in 2022, took over full-time last season. After ranking 10th in both points and yards in 2022, Jacksonville ranked 13th in both categories last season. Jacksonville has tumbled further this year, and offensive efficiency remains a serious problem."

The Jaguars have one of the worst offenses in the league but they made strides the past two seasons. They reached the 20-point mark in Week 4 and would've beaten the Houston Texans if it weren't for a handful of miscues. While they came up short, the playcalling wasn't the reason they lost. Still, Doug Pederson got lots of deserving criticism for publicly blasting players in an effort to defend Taylor.

Pederson wasn't necessarily wrong. Drops and overthrown passes held the offense back in Week 4. The issue is that he went out of his way to stand up for his offensive coordinator. To nobody's surprise, there reportedly was chatter about the head coach losing the locker room. He vehemently denied it and players came to bat for him. Still, it was fair to wonder how the Jags would fare against Indy. They showed out.

Trevor Lawrence had his best outing of the year, completing 82.4 percent of his throws for 271 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Running back Tank Bigsby, for his part, registered his first-ever 100-yard game in the NFL.

Similarly, rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. went off, hauling in five receptions for 122 yards with a touchdown. This makes you wonder if Taylor is truly the reason behind the team's struggles.

The Jaguars and Doug Pederson won't be firing or demoting Press Taylor any time soon

Doug Pederson has had high confidence in Press Taylor dating back to his days as the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, he wanted to promote him to offensive coordinator and when owner Jeffrey Lurie disapproved of his choice, he instead walked away.

When Pederson landed with the Jags in 2022, he brought Taylor with him and gave him playcalling duty part-time. He got full control of the responsibility the following season. The Jaguars went on to make the playoffs in 2022 and got off to a strong start in 2023. During that span, you hardly heard any complaints about his performance on the job. But then, Jacksonville started to struggle and the offensive coordinator got most of the flak.

While Taylor could've done a better job at the helm, it's also important to consider that the offensive line couldn't block and Trevor Lawrence was dealing with injuries. This is to say that the offensive coordinator played a role in the 2023 collapse but was far from the main reason. That's why Pederson came to his defense, pointing out that he could improve but generally did well in his first year handling the playcalling duty. And that's the thing.

Pderson has backed Taylor up through the ebbs and flows, so he won't be parting ways with him any time soon. Add the fact that there's nobody else to take his place and the offensive coordinator will only be let go if the head coach gets the boot. All things considered, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

When the Jaguars lose, fans and the media talk about Press Taylor's job security. When they win and the offense is clicking, it isn't brought up. Heck, everyone but him gets praise. Doug Pederson knows this and will live by the proverbial sword.

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