NFL insider's scoop could be damning sign Jaguars aren't fully sold on Trent Baalke

The Jacksonville Jaguars raised eyebrows across the NFL when they fired head coach Doug Pederson but decided to keep general manager Trent Baalke around in spite of his role in the team's underwhelming performance the past two years.

Baalke was expected to get the boot alongside Pederson, but owner Shad Khan is pleased with his work. On the other hand, he's aware that keeping the general manager isn't a popular decision, so he could be willing to compromise, according to a recent report.

NFL insider Josina Anderson says Khan is open to adding another voice to the front office that would directly report to him and work alongside Baalke.

"I'm hearing that the Jaguars are potentially open to adding another personnel member to their staff that would report directly to Shad Khan, and work directly with Trent Baalke," Anderson said. "As things stand right now, there's no timeline on when this potential addition will be made, but that's what I'm hearing directly, per a league source.

Later in the clip, Anderson shared the news that former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh will interview for the Jags' head-coaching opening next week. The team had already requested a meeting, it was just a matter of sorting out the date.

"Speaking of the Jaguars as well, former Jets coach Robert Saleh is going to interview with the Jaguars for their head coaching vacancy. He was a linebackers coach from 2014-2016. I'm hearing that he's expected to actually interview next week, sometime between Tuesday and Thursday. We'll get a definitive date soon."

In a later message, Anderson reported that the meeting will be held Tuesday. Here's the original clip and the quote tweet with the update.

Following the ousting of Pederson, Shad, and Baalke met with reporters. The Jaguars owner was asked if he would be willing to dismiss his general manager and said he would be open to the idea if there was someone better for the job. What stood out about the moment was that Baalke was sitting (virtually) with Khan during the presser.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan may not be as high on Trent Baalke as he's thought to be

Trent Baalke is known for being difficult to work with and feuding with coaches. Yet, he appears to have Shad Khan's ear, which is probably why he stayed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. That said, Josina Anderson's latest report doesn't bode well for his future with the team.

Based on the wording, the Jags might not be adding a vice president of football operation — an idea they explored with Rick Spielman in 2022 but ultimately discarded. They may instead bring in someone who would work alongside Baalke. If that's the case, it would be a situation ripe for disaster.

Think about it, Baalke has a combative reputation dating back to his time with the San Francisco 49ers. He could feel undermined or even threatened by the added executive. This in turn wouldn't do for a healthy environment.

Even if Khan does trust Baalke, and he's doing it just to have a second opinion on football subjects, the general manager may not appreciate it. But if it's a case of the Jaguars owner having doubts about Baalke's capabilities, he should then just go ahead and cut him loose. That would be the best-case scenario, especially when you take into account that his presence may be a turnoff for potential head-coaching candidates.

The bottom line is that Trent Baalke's future in Jacksonville seems to be murky even though he survived Black Friday. Who knows? Maybe the Jaguars do realize that moving on from him is the best course of action and pull the trigger.

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