One thing that defined general manager Trent Baalke's stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars was his inability to get along with Doug Pederson. In public, he praised the head coach, but the two didn't appear to get along behind the stage. That turned out to be his downfall and one of the many reasons the Jags moved on from him. The silver lining is that his predecessor, James Gladstone, has taken a completely different approach, doing his best to work in unison with Liam Coen.
After the Jaguars hired Coen as the head coach, they made sure to pair him up with a general manager who would be on the same page as him. The team settled on Gladstone, and based on his free-agent pickups, it looks like he's doing his best to help Coen.
Not only did Gladstone get a pair of new starters on the offensive line, one of them, Robert Hainsey, played for Coen last year. He could've gone with one of the bigger names in free agency but chose to get the head coach one of his guys.
But apart from Coen, Gladstone is also taking offensive coordinator Grant Udinksi's output into account. To back Trevor Lawrence up, they signed Nick Mullens, who spent the last three seasons with Udinski. Again, the front office could've gotten a different quarterback and asked Coen and Udinksi to work with him, but he's doing a good job of getting them players they're familiar with.
Mullens wasn't the only player with a connection to Udinski the Jags signed in free agency. Tight ends Johnny Mundt and Hunter Long are also familiar with the Jacksonville offensive coordinator.
You could make the case that Gladstone failed to give defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile any players on his wish list, but there's still plenty of time left in free agency, and the Jags have 10 draft picks in the draft, so they'll surely add reinforcements to the defense.
On top of that, Campanile didn't come out empty-handed. The Jaguars signed Jourdan Lewis, who gives him one of the top slot cornerbacks in the league.
James Gladstone is building the Jaguars roster the right way
The Jaguars have gotten criticism for not being more aggressive in free agency. Why signed Robert Hainsay or Patrick Mekari when they could've locked up the more prominent Drew Dalman or Will Fries? Why not make a strong push for Jevon Holland? Similarly, the only weapon they got for Trevor Lawrence, was Dyami Brown, a reserve wide receiver throughout most of his NFL career.
Add the fact that the team's brass moved on from long-time staples Evan Engram and Travis Etienne, and observers are wondering why the Jags didn't do more to improve the roster. The truth is that they did, but not in the way some fans expected.
The Jaguars could've made two or three splash signings in free agency, but they wouldn't have turned into a contender. Instead, James Gladstone realized that the roster had several glaring needs, and throwing money at it wouldn't have made things much better. Instead, he made diligent moves that would help the team without breaking the bank. Maybe that doesn't sound like fun, but that's the only way Jacksonville will improve.
It's also worth noting that all the moves James Gladstone is helping mold the team, especially the offense, in a way that will allow Liam Coen to instill his system and philosophy.
That's surely a departure from how the previous regime operated. And based on the underwhelming results, it's a good thing that James Gladstone and Liam Coen are on the same page.
Here are other Jaguars stories you may also like:
manual