3 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Jaguars HC Doug Pederson heading into the 2023 season
• Pederson managed a turnaround in Year 1
• There are areas in which he can improve heading into 2023
No. 2 Jaguars HC Doug Pederson's biggest strength
Doug Pederson is a realist but won't give up until there's no time left
Right off the bat, when Urban Meyer became the 'head coach' of the Jaguars, he said he expected them to turn into a contender by Year 2. The issue with that kind of bold proclamation is that you're adding unnecessary pressure on yourself and that could eventually come back to haunt you back.
In Meyer's case, he didn't even last one full season in Jacksonville.
Pederson understood that and instead of making promises when he got the job last year, he didn't offer any magic wand solutions. He could've brought up his track record in Philly but didn't. Instead, he said it would probably take a while to get the thing going and added that it would take lots of work hard to leave the cellar of the league.
And that's the thing. Pederson understands that there's no timeline to become a winning team. No process is the same or linear, and in Jacksonville's case, it wasn't always perfect. After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jags were 3-7 and looked out of playoff contention. Pederson seemed frustrated at the time but didn't rule out qualifying for the postseason even though there was merely a slim chance.
Pederson's work paid off and the Jaguars went on to win six of their last seven games to sneak into the playoffs. Not only that, they knocked the Los Angeles Chargers out of the postseason in a stunning 31-30 win.
Heading into Year 2, Pederson isn't once again making promises and is instead focus on putting in all the work that will be required to win the AFC South for the second season in a row and make a deep playoff run.