Signs point toward the Jacksonville Jaguars firing Doug Pederson once the regular season is over. But if they ultimately choose to keep him around, he'll need to give his coaching staff a makeover. That means getting rid of protegee Press Taylor and bringing someone else to oversee the offense.
Granted, this isn't the first time Pederson is asked to revamp his staff if he wants to stay. When he was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, owner Jeffrey Lurie asked him to make tweaks to his staff and wasn't thrilled with the changes Pederson proposed. Ultimately, he chose to walk away.
Fast forward to 2025, and Pederson could once again find himself in a situation where he needs to choose between Taylor and his job. For the sake of the argument, let's say he picks the latter this time, here are four candidates to replace him.
Jon Gruden, former Raiders head coach
You can accuse Jon Gruden of many things, but being boring isn't one of them. Whether it's as a coach or a commentator, Chucky has always given everyone something to talk about, even if it isn't always a good one, like the time he was under fire for exchanging racist and homophobic emails.
Following his dismissal in 2021, Gruden spent a few years away from the NFL but now wants back. A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reports that the former Raiders head coach will be a hot candidate in the next hiring cycle. Regardless of how interested other teams are in him, the Jaguars should waste no time doing due diligence.
After all, Gruden won a Super Bowl as the head coach of the Buccaneers and turned the early 2000 Raiders into an offensive powerhouse. Sure, that was more than 20 years ago, and his track record of identifying talent in the draft is less than stellar, but he would come to Jacksonville as the head coach. Instead, he would get a shot as an offensive coordinator with a chance to rebuild his stock.
Josh McCown, Vikings quarterback coach
A couple hiring cycles ago, the Houston Texans raised eyebrows across the league because they wanted to make Josh McCown their head coach even though he had no prior experience. Looking back, they might've been into something.
McCown has become somewhat of a quarterback whisperer getting the most out of Joshua "the Passtronaut" Dobbs, Nick Cullens, and former draft bust Sam Darnold. Think about it, if he can make chicken salad with a bunch of journeymen, imagine what he could do with Trevor Lawrence.
The only downside of considering McCown for their potential opening is that he could either follow Wes Phillips wherever he goes or be promoted to offensive coordinator in Minnesota. Then again, there's a chance neither scenario will materialize, and if that's the case, Jacksonville should consider making a run for him.
Alex Van Pelt, New England Pariots offensive coordinator
Bad teams often have talented coaches in their ranks but because they struggle to win games, they are eventually given the boot. Such could be the case of Alex Van Pelt, who could be one-and-done with the New England Patriots in 2024.
The Patriots lacked talent and that's been reflected in their 3-13 record as of this writing. However, Van Pelt showed with the Cleveland Browns in 2023 that he could put together a respectable unit despite the fact that he lost quarterback Deshaun Watson, running back Nick Chubb, and several starting linemen to season-ending injuries.
Surprisingly, Cleveland moved on from Van Pelt after the 2023 season, but he could once be available if the Patriots choose to go in a different direction.
Dave Ragone, Rams quarterbacks coach
Dave Ragone won't have as much luster as other candidates but gained valuable experience as the offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-2023. Sure, the results weren't great. Otherwise, he would still be in A-Town.
That said, Ragone spent the 2024 season working on his craft under Sean McVay's tutelage. His mentor surely showed him the areas of his game he needed to work on and is now ready for a second chance.
Ultimately, Ragone may not be the most appealing choice of the bunch but most definitely deserves an exploratory call.