The Jacksonville Jaguars have been busy the past few weeks. They hired Liam Coen as their head coach after an extensive search that had several twists and turns, and he's proceeded to fill his staff. But as quickly as things have moved, the Jags still have to check off a massive box on their to-do list, and that's finding a general manager after giving Trent Baalke the boot.
Baalke was ousted when owner Shad Khan realized that he was hampering their head-coaching search. The Jags are currently operating with a full-time general manager. Ethan Waugh is serving as the interim, but the organization will be interviewing a handful of candidates. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes that three key names will be on their shortlist.
Breer posted a clip on YouTube where he's asked who are the Jaguars targeting for their general manager vacancy. He brought up three candidates: Waugh, Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, and former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson.
Waugh is an obvious candidate, given that he was Baalke's right-hand man and has inner knowledge of the current state of the Jaguars' front office. Here's what Breer said about him.
"I think Ethan would have had a better shot at this job if it had been Robert Saleh, the head coach, not Liam Cohen," Breer said. "But nonetheless, I think that they appreciate the work that Ethan's done the last couple of years there, and at least we'll kick the tires on him."
Regarding Cummings, Breer cites his work with the Bears, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Philadelphia Eagles as a reason he'll be an intriguing option for the opening.
"First name will be Ian Cunningham, the Bears assistant general manager. He shares an agent with Liam Cohen. Ian's been knocking on the door for general manager jobs over the last few years. He's been a high-end candidate in a couple different places, a finalist in a couple different places. He actually had an offer in Arizona a couple of years ago. So he's been knocking on that door for a while, and while the Bears haven't had a ton of success, his pedigree is hard to question."
"Breer continued, "He came up in the Raven system at the foot of Ozzie Newsome. He was a southeast area scout there, which is a very important job for a young guy to have. Ozzie Newsome did not put somebody in that region of the country without thinking a lot of them. Rose through the ranks there, then went to the Eagles. Was part of a Super Bowl champion with the Eagles, was their college scouting director, and then became their assistant director of player personnel, and wound up with a Bear. So he'd be the first name that I would watch, and somebody I think they will target."
For context, Ozzie Newsome played a massive role in the Ravens winning two Super Bowls, first as the executive vice president of player personnel. The list of players he drafted is extensive, but it includes the likes of Joe Flacco, linebacker Ray Lewis, offensive tackle Jonathan Odgen, safety Ed Reed, and cornerback Chris McCallister.
On the other hand, Breer thinks that Robinson's familiarity with the AFC South could give him the edge.
"The second name would be John Robinson, the former Titans General Manager. I think J-Rob has a shot at this job. I think if you want a guy who knows the division, who understands the dynamics of a market like Jacksonville, who's really strong on the college side, has a good track record of setting up a department and leading I think John Robinson would be a strong candidate," Breer said.
The Jaguars haven't officially interviewed any candidates for the position, but it's matter of time before they do. Below is the full clip.
The Jaguars must avoid Jon Robinson in their GM search
It's hard to tell how things will play out, but the Jacksonville Jaguars need to avoid Jon Robinson in their general manager search. Sure, he rebuilt the Tennessee Titans roster and helped reach the AFC Championship in 2019. That said, his success waned as his tenure in Nashville progressed.
By 2023, the Titans had enough and gave Robinson his walking paper. In retrospect, it's easy to see why. Aside from the fact that he wasn't on the same page as then-head coach Mike Vrabel, his track record of acquiring talent was less than inspiring.
Back in 2020, Robinson had a massive blunder with offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson in the first round. He lacked maturity, and his off-field troubles led to his release just one year later. But that's just the surface. His 2021 and 2022 class didn't produce a single star. In fact, the former general manager raised eyebrows around the league when he traded wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Eagles in exchange for a first-round pick, which the Titans used on Treylon Burks.
Since then, Burks has had as many touchdown receptions as Brown has trips to the Super Bowl. To make matters worse. Sure, you could argue that Robinson knows the AFC South, but that rings hollow when you take his draft success into consideration.
The bottom line is that the Jacksonville Jaguars probably won't leave any stones unturned in their search for a general manager, but targeting Jon Robinson doesn't make much sense.