Doug Pederson and the Jaguars coaching staff dubbed one of the 5 best in the NFL

The Jacksonville Jaguars hit it out of the ballpark when they hired Doug Pederson as their head coach. In his first season with the Jags, Pederson oversaw a turnover and led the team to the playoffs and their first AFC South title in several years. But Pederson knew he needed to surround himself with coaches that could convey his vision, as he couldn't do it alone. Heading into the 2023 season, that staff got recognition from Alex Kay of Bleacher Report.

Kay put together a ranking of the top 5 coaching staffs in the NFL right now and made sure to include Jacksonville, pointing out that Pederson has been able to get the most out of Trevor Lawrence. Similarly, Kay praises the work offensive coordinator Press Taylor and Mike Caldwell have done landing with the Jags.

"Pederson showed he's truly a quarterback whisperer in the process. Trevor Lawrence shook off an ugly rookie season to make a Pro Bowl appearance, likely the first of many for 2021's No. 1 overall pick. Pederson's play-calling and offensive coordinator Press Taylor's game-planning skills should help the signal-caller elevate to a perennial MVP candidate in the coming years as well.

Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell still has some room to grow after a decent first season on the job. Although they only gave up 20.6 points per game—the 12th-best mark in the league—the Jaguars ranked in the bottom 10 for yardage allowed last year."

Pederson started his coaching career as an assistant for Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles. He later followed him to the Kansas City Chiefs and became his offensive coordinator. Pederson then returned to Philly to replace Chip Kelly as their head coach. He made the playoffs three times and won Super Bowl 52 during his five-year stint.

Looking for someone to clean the mess Urban Meyer left in his lone season with the Jags, the organization picked Pederson after an extensive search. Looking back, owner Shad Khan is surely glad their coaching search lasted as much as it did (nearly two months), as Pederson has the team in a position to make a deep playoff run in 2023.

Meanwhile, Taylor was an assistant for Pederson in Philadelphia, and his first option as offensive coordinator for the Jags. Caldwell also began his coaching career with Reid and coached the linebackers for several teams before becoming the Jaguars' defensive coordinator.

The Jags' offense and defense were some of the worst in the league in 2021 but Taylor and Caldwell got their respective units operating at full gear by the end of the 2022 campaign.

The Jaguars have a well-rounded coaching staff ahead of the 2023 season

Pederson deserves lots of credit of the Jaguars turnaround. In the same manner, Taylor's and Caldwell's work is noticeable. However, the team's success goes beyond their head coach and his coordinators. This is to say that the rest of Pederson's staff should also get a shoutout.

Quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy helped untap Trevor Lawrence's potential. Wide receivers coach Chad Hall is well-respected around the league and seems to be an upgrade over Chris Jackson, who joined the Texas coaching staff after the 2022 season. Also, the offensive line made huge strides under Phil Rauscher's watch and you know running backs coach Bernie Parmalee is good at what he does when you take into account that he's one of the few assistants Pederson retained from Meye's staff.

There's also linebackers coach Tony Gilbert, defensive line coach Brenton Buckner, defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend, outside linebackers coach Billy Shuey. All of them are returning for a second season with the team and will be joined by Nick Holz, who replaces Jim Bob Cooter as the Jaguars' passing game coordinator.

It's true that some coaches and players had a bigger impact than others in the Jaguars' turnaround last year but they all had played a role, which is why they're getting recognition here.

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