Jaguars head coach in 2025 must vow to fix Trevor Lawrence

Coming out of college, Trevor Lawrence was dubbed a generational talent. Unfortunately, he went to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The issue wasn't that he landed in Duval but rather that Urban Meyer was the head coach. Three years later, you could argue that things aren't much better.

Meyer hampered Lawrence's development and it wasn't until Doug Pederson took over in 2022 that the former Clemson Tiger began to show promise. Following an encouraging sophomore campaign, the expectation was that he was going to take a leap. Instead, he ended up regressing because his supporting cast was less than stellar.

Fast forward to 2024, and things aren't better. Instead, they're demonstrably worse, and whoever coaches the Jaguars next year will be responsible for helping No. 16 get back on track.

What went wrong with Trevor Lawrence?

The Jags partly hired Doug Pederson because he had a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, having turned Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate in 2017 and winning the Super Bowl that year with Nick Foles at the helm. The hope was that Doug P was going to help Lawrence and his teammates heal after the Urban Meyer debacle. He did but the team has now stalled.

The Jags ranked 10th in the league in points scored in 2022. They moved to 13th last year and are a dreadful 30th three games into the current season. Objectively, the offense is in worse shape than it was two years ago.

Lawrence certainly deserves blame for the offense's woes. That said, it's hard to make good decisions or maintain good fundamentals when you're pressured on every play. Right now, the Jaguars cannot block, and that's frustrating when you take into account that they've made several investments up front to ensure No. 16 gets protection. Right now they aren't getting a good return on their investment.

In three games, the offensive line has given up 14 sacks and 19 quarterback hits. You will be hard-pressed to find a quarterback that's going to thrive with that kind of protection. As noted before, the front office gave Cam Robinson a long-term extension in 2022. They also handed right guard Brandon Scherff a top-market contract the same year. More recently, they gave left guard Ezra Cleveland a three-year deal worth $24 million and brought in center Mitch Morse in free agency.

Despite sparing no expense to beef up the offensive trenches, Jacksonville fields one of the worst units in the league. Compounding the issue is that their skill-position players aren't help either. Tight-end Evan Engram is out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver Christian Kirk has been plagued by drops and free-agent acquisition Gabe Davis has been mostly a non-factor.

Players' execution or lack thereof is a reason the Jags rank near the cellar in points scored. However, coaching has also played a role. One of the biggest storylines this offseason was who was going to play calls on offense, Doug Pederson or Press Taylor. The former mishandled the situation from the get-go.

Instead of putting an end to the mystery, Pederson chose to keep the decision under wraps. This in turn has brought doubt. Why not be upfront about it? Instead, the head coach is trying to protect his offensive coordinator.

Ultimately, the buck stops with Pederson, so regardless of who's calling plays, he'll get the blame. It shouldn't have come to that.

The Jaguars will focus on fixing Trevor Lawrence

Circling back to Trevor Lawrence, he isn't going anywhere. Not after signing a five-year deal worth $275 million in the offseason. If the organization pushes the reset button, Doug Pederson and most likely Trent Baalke will get the boot. Whoever the Jaguars bring in, he'll be tasked with fixing No. 16. This in turn should make the potential opening appealing to candidates.

The list could change by the end of the season but offensive coordinators such as Klint Kubiak, Ben Johnson, or Bobby Slowik will probably get consideration. After all, all three have either helped quarterbacks bounce back — Derek Carr in Kubiak's case, and Jared Goff in Johnson's, or developed one (Slowik with C.J. Stroud).

The point is that the Jaguars have invested in Lawrence and they'll want to hire someone who'll get the most out of their most important asset. So far, Doug Pederson has failed to do it, and that could cost him his job.

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