The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Doug Pederson after the 2024 season and wasted no time in initiating the search for his replacement. The decision isn't shocking when you take into account that he had success early on but failed to deliver wins the past two years. What was surprising was that owner Shad Khan chose to keep general manager Trent Baalke, who's also had a role in the team's subpar record. A talking head has followed things closely and minced no words about the Jags owner.
Mad Dog Russo of ESPN went on a rant about how incompetent Khan has been, pointing out that fellow owner John Mara has also been dreadful but at least has won four Super Bowls during his stint.
"How about this? Jacksonville owner Shad Khan. He doesn't get a lot of grief," Mad Dog said. "He is by far horrendous. He's on the team since 2011. They have had one year where they won 10 games. Did you know that? The man has been there for 13 years? He's had one year where he's won 10 games, they are non-competitive. Furthermore, he brought Urban Meyer in. He plays two games in London because he wants to become the United Kingdom's team. Trust me, my mother's English."
Mad Dog continued, "Nobody in the world, nobody cares in London about the stupid Jacksonville Jaguars. They're there for two weeks to lose a home game. That's a mess. And then, he fires Peterson and keeps the GM there this week. And then his statement says, Well, 'I understand we're gonna lose some head coaching candidates because I kept the GM.' Well, hold on now, and he's got his kid who's the head of the statistical data. How can you say anything about Jacksonville when you got the kids sitting in the freaking front office? What's he ever done in football? Let's call like we see it."
"We kill the owners all the time. What is awful hassle. We just named a few, Jerry. How many times have we killed Jerry here? Let's call like we see it. There is nobody worse than Khan. Go look at his record. Go look at his record as the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is behind. It's pathetic. So we killed Lawrence, we killed Peterson, we killed Doug Marrone. We killed this... how bout we kill the guy that writes the paychecks? Because this is not freaking an automobile store where he made his fortune. This is an NFL team."
Fellow panelist Jeff Saturday agrees and says that keeping Trent Baalke while admitting that he's going to limit the scope of candidates who are interested in their opening doesn't paint Khan in a favorable light. Below is the full clip in case you want to give it a look. The comments about the Jaguars and Khan start at the 4:54 mark:
Shad Khan must get the Jaguars coaching search right (and dismiss Trent Baalke)
For the sake of transparency, the Jaguars owner said the opposite following the ousting of Pederson, pointing out that Jacksonville will be an appealing destination in spite of Baalke's presence. Similarly, the Jags have played in front of full stadiums in London, so saying nobody cares about them across the pond is an overstatement. Having said that, Mad Dog Russo makes several valid points.
Pursuing Urban Meyer was a crass mistake, one Shad Khan could've avoided if he had done proper due diligence. Instead, he ignored all the red flags and hired him because he was desperate for a winner. Granted, the Jaguars owner deserves partial credit for correcting his mistake instead of doubling down. On the other hand, his trust in Baalke is misguided.
While Baalke has had several hits during his stint in Duval, he's also had several misses. But his track record as a general manager isn't the only reason he also needed to get the boot after 2024. He's difficult to work with and routinely antagonized with the coaching staff during his tenure with the Jaguars.
Ideally, you want your head coach and general manager to be on the same page. That wasn't the case with Pederson and Baalke, and who's to change things will get better? Sure, there will be a new head coach in place but the same general manager who antagonized the previous staff remains in place. That falls on Khan for not paying attention to the team's dynamics.
But leaving aside the current head-coaching search, Khan has had trouble identifying the right people to lead his team on and off the field. Dating back to the year he bought the Jaguars, none of his coaches or general managers have had an inspiring winning record.
The bottom line is that Shad Khan has been a terrible owner. He's not the worst in the NFL, but his performance has left much to be desired. He may not want to hear it, and if that's the case, the fix is simple: Win football games.