HOFer Tony Boselli hits the nail on the Jaguars' offensive playcaller controversy

One of the biggest plotlines surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason is who'll call offensive plays in 2024. Press Taylor held that responsibility last year but Doug Pederson could take duty back next season. Hall-of-Fame offensive tackle Tony Boselli shared his thoughts on the situation and made a great point along the way.

Boselli made an appearance on 1010 XL's The Drill and said that he doesn't care who calls plays if they can't block up front. The Jaguars alumnus goes on to say that both Taylor and Pederson are capable playcallers, so he doesn't think it won't make any difference, as long as they fix their issues at the line of scrimmage.

"I think we are looking for excuses and reasons that the offense wasn't as good as we were hoping last year. I go back to there's not a bigger O-Line advocate in this world than me, but you got to control the line scrimmage," Boselli told host Jeff Proser. "It's hard to win when you can't run the ball, when you can't get third-and-1. When you struggle in that area, it makes it hard to call plays. I don't care who you are. I'm a big Press Taylor fan. I think he's a hell of a coach. I think Doug's a hell of a coach."

Boselli continued, "I don't really give a sense of care to who call plays. I don't care. If it's Press, I think he'll be great. With Doug, I think he'll be great. I think they can win with your guy calling plays. I think both of them are involved in it anyway. We have this story, and I blame the Jags a little bit for this, because they announced it right before kickoff, right? Or it leaked before kickoff of the Colts game last year announced because it's been a story ever since, Jeff..."

"... Everyone does it a little bit different, but if you have an offensive-minded head coach, he is going to be in the ear of that coordinator and giving his opinions and what he would like and everything like that. And then there's gonna be other situations where we have a coordinator that probably tells everyone shut that, and I'm calling the game and leave me alone. I mean, everyone does it a little bit different. I think it's more collaboration between Doug and Press. I think all week, prepping, getting ready, doing what they want to do, you know? So I don't care."

Boselli goes on to say that he's not trying to start a controversy, pointing out that the team has a common goal, so it won't matter who calls plays as long as they get it right. He isn't wrong. Last year, the Jaguars got manhandled in the offensive trenches. They couldn't keep Trevor Lawrence up right, which led to him dealing with several ailments throughout the season.

Similarly, Jacksonville couldn't pound the ball and outright abandoned the running game at times. This also added pressure on a banged-up Lawrence to win games.

To remedy the issue, the Jaguars signed center Mitch Morse in free agency. He'll replace incumbent Luke Fortner, who was the weakest link on the interior offensive line. They also added depth at offensive tackle with rookie Javon Foster, a fourth-round selection in this year's draft.

On top of that, injuries prevented the O-Line from gelling in 2023. The expectation is that having a healthy Ezra Cleveland will help fix the issue.

Going back to Boselli's comments, general manager Trent Baalke's role in the situation isn't brought up nearly enough. He had the chance to make upgrades to the offensive line several times throughout the offseason but opted not to. Had he made the necessary additions, the Jaguars would've been able to block upfront and the playcaller situation would probably be a non-story now or in 2023.

And in case you want to listen to the whole exchange between Prosser and Boselli, here's the link. They start discussing the playcaller situation around the 8:20 mark.

Press Taylor or Doug Pederson? The Jaguars O-Line must block up front for the offensive playcaller to succeed

Earlier this year, owner Shad Khan said that he had a preference on whom he would want to call plays next season, implying that Doug Pederson should handle that duty. However, the head coach is confident that right-hand man Press Taylor can do a superb job.

While Pederson moved on from defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell after the collapse to end 2023, he chose to keep Taylor around, believing that he could improve but did an acceptable job in his first season holding the responsibility full-time.

And that's the thing, this has become a storyline because one of Pederson's biggest strengths is calling play on offense but he believes Taylor can excel as well. That's why he delegated the responsibility full-time in 2023.

Earlier this year, Doug P said he was considering taking it back, but wasn't sure. For the time being, he's announced Taylor will call plays in Week 1 of the NFL Preseason against the Chiefs.

Ultimately, Toni Boselli is right. It doesn't matter who calls plays if your personnel cannot execute. Fortunately, it looks like the Jacksonville Jaguars fixed the thing that hindered Taylor's playcalling in 2023. Whether he does it full-time next season remains to be seen, but at least he'll get a shot in the preseason opener.

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