3 things Jacksonville Jaguars must change to find success in 2024

2. Doug Pederson must set the tone, the buck stops with him

It's not surprising that Doug Pederson decided to move on from defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell. While the defense got off to a hot start and racked up takeaways early in 2023, they lost steam as the year progressed. Late in the season, his unit looked sloppy, and unprepared despite the fact that they had enough talent at most position groups.

Following the end of the season, Pederson said that the team wouldn't fix things on the spot and would instead wait until practice or meetings to do so. He wasn't solely referring to the defensive side of the ball. In fact, mistakes also plagued the offense. The difference is that he opted to keep Press Taylor around, arguing that he could improve but overall did a good job in his first season as a play-caller full-time.

Pederson also pinned most of the blame for the offense's inability to score on turnovers and mistakes that could have been prevented. While he does have a point that players must execute, it's up to coaches to ensure they're sharp in practice. That's where Taylor most certainly needs to be better. Being a coordinator goes beyond game-planning and calling plays. They must also make sure communication between players is optimal, which didn't always seem to be the case in 2023.

In the end, Pederson believes Taylor is the right man for the job, and he could be right. It's up to him to prove the head coach made the right call. Moving forward, Pederson must demand better production from both Taylor and whoever the Jaguars hire as their defensive coordinator.

From an outside perspective, it's hard to tell what went wrong in the coaches' room. What's certain is that their approach last year didn't work and need to change how they do things, or else they run the risk of missing the playoffs again next season.