Shad Khan makes it abundantly clear the best Jaguars team ever is in win-now mode

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't won a lot since Shad Khan became the owner, but he expects winning to be the standard moving forward after all the investments he's recently made on the team.

Back when the Jags and the City of Jacksonville agreed to spend $1.4 billion in renovations for EverBank Stadium, Khan told the local media that he wouldn't tolerate another late-season collapse. More recently, he met with players and said that he wasn't misquoted, pointing out that he expects the team to be in win-now mode.

"It's my privilege to welcome all of you to the training camp for the Jaguars, our 30th year. About a month ago, we celebrated the city's partnership with the Jaguars and the approval of funding for the new stadium of the future. "Khan told coaches and players on The Hunt's third episode of season No. 5. "I met with reporters and the discussion quickly turned to football and I was quoted, 'For us, winning is now the expectation.'"

Khan continued, "So I [have] been looking forward to tonight to set the record straight. I was not misquoted, and let me repeat it, winning is now the expectation. Make no mistake, this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars.... ever. Best players, best coaches, but most importantly, let's prove it by winning now."

This is not particularly surprising. The Jaguars showed in 2022 that they were capable of keeping up with the best teams in the NFL, qualifying for the postseason and winning the AFC South. Expected to be even better last year, they instead crumbled under the weight of expectations, finishing 9-8 but failing to make the playoffs.

After the late-season collapse in 2023, the Jaguars' brass made several key acquisitions in free agency. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead, center Mitch Morse, and wide receiver Gabe Davis were among the most important ones. Moreover, they spare no expense to give long-term contracts to franchise cornerstones such as Trevor Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen, and cornerback Tyson Campbell.

Add the construction of Miller Electric Center and the renovations to the Bank, and Khan rightly wants to see results. His remarks to the team begin at the 7:01 mark.

Shad Khan's expectations for the Jaguars are reasonable

Owner Shad Khan isn't lying when he says this is the best Jaguars team ever. They have a Super Bowl-winning coach in Doug Pederson and a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. Moreover, the arrival of Ryan Nielsen has reinvigorated the defense.

Last year, Lawrence led Jacksonville to an 8-3 record to start the season, and that was without a great offensive line. Once he got hurt, the team collapsed. Rightly, the top brass revamped the quarterback's supporting cast to take some pressure off his shoulders.

Leaving aside how much money Khan has spent this offseason alone, once look at the coaching staff and the roster shows that this is indeed the best Jaguars team ever. For that reason, the owner is right to set expectations so high.

How can you build such a well-rounded team and settle for just a trip to the playoffs or a winning record? Both are easily achievable goals even when you take into account that the Jaguars play in the same division as the Super Bowl-bound Houston Texans. This is to say that anything short of an AFC Champion appearance should be considered a disappointment.

Again, the Jaguars have the pieces to make it happen. It's up to them to show that Shad Khan's confidence isn't misplaced.

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