Doug Pederson denies losing the Jaguars locker room in light of shocking report

The Jacksonville Jaguars fought hard and came close to beating the Houston Texans in Week 4. Ultimately, though, they came up short and are now 0-4. Head coach Doug Pederson raised eyebrows after the game for criticizing the players' effort and lack of execution publicly. Not surprisingly, there are now reports that he's lost the locker.

Insider Jordan Schultz told Warren Sharp of Sharp Analysis that Pederson hasn't done, pointing out that blaming players in a modern NFL doesn't work. He then adds that things have become so dire that Pederson has lost the locker room.

"I just don't see any scenario where this is going to get better. If you're Doug Peterson, a Super Bowl-winning coach Warren, you need to look in the mirror, in my opinion, and take responsibility. I'll leave you with this. I've talked to a few guys in that locker room over the last two weeks, not just the Texans game, but the last couple weeks, and they've told me that that locker room is gone. In regards to the head coach, so when I hear that I hear again, a team in a franchise that is absolutely rudderless. "

While Pederson wasn't necessarily wrong, it's fair to say that he didn't handle the loss to the Texans well. Sure, players failed to execute but he didn't have to go out of his way to defend offensive coordinator Press Taylor. Having said that, the head coach met with the local media one day after the game and told the local media that he doesn't think players have tuned out.

"The locker room, having been with them today, they're disappointed like I am. They're frustrated like I am. It's our job, as we have to point out the good and the bad," Pederson responded when asked if he had any concerns about the locker room. "That's why we watch tape, and that's why we make the corrections so that we can help the players be better players on Sundays, and things just aren't carrying over from practice to the games. That's been our Achilles heel this first month of the season."

"So yes, they're disappointed and frustrated, but no, from the standpoint of, are they turning and going in the other direction? Talked to several of them today. They see it just like we see it. It's one of the things that I'll always do with the players is one that I'm always going to have their back and always going to be up front with them. So I have to support them, and at the same time, I got to show them. It's it's easy for us as coaches to criticize the negative. Even as reporters, it's easy to criticize the negative, right?!

"It's hard to find the positive when things are bad. It's human nature. I personally, I try to find the good in everything, because if I don't, I'm always the Debbie Downer. I'm always the negative one, and I don't want to be the negative one. I will still hold them accountable. I will still hold my coaches accountable. I'll hold myself accountable, but at the same time, I better come Wednesday, make them feel like they could run through that wall. That that's that's my job. That's part of my job."

Here's Pederson's exchange with the local media. His remarks about the locker room start at the 8:21 mark.

Doug Pederson must regain control of the locker room if the Jaguars want to turn things around

The Jaguars are currently the only NFL team that has yet to win a game in 2024. When you take into account that the buck stops with Doug Pederson — something he's acknowledged several times — it's easy to see why he's under heavy scrutiny. Circling back to Jordan Schultz's reports, it's hard to tell how widespread the issue is across the locker room without inside knowledge.

There will always be players who won't connect with the head coach, and there must be more than a few who are displeased with the team's current direction. Having said that, it doesn't look like Pederson is going through the motions. As a matter of fact, it looks like he's doing what he can, even if it's not enough, to get the Jacksonville Jaguars back on track.

On the other hand, it's never good to hear that the head coach has lost the locker room. This doesn't mean Doug Pederson is done in Jacksonville, but if he wants to have a chance of turning things around, he'll need to tweak his approach. He did it back in 2022 when they qualified for the postseason and won the AFC South after a 3-6 start. For the sake of the Jaguars, he'd better work his magic again.

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