Trusted voice outlines most glaring issue with Jaguars amid struggles in 2024

What once looked like a promising season has now turned into a taxing situation for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Expected to challenge the Houston Texans for the AFC South title in 2024, they've instead dug themselves into a hole and are among the few NFL clubs that are yet to win a game. While there are many things wrong with the Jags, there's one in particular that's severely holding them back. Hays Carlyon of 1010 talked about it.

Carlyon joined colleague Gus Logue on Duval Rundown and argued that head coach Doug Pederson isn't getting his message across and his staff isn't getting the most out of his players.

"It's over. I just don't see how ownership can view what happened last night as anything other than the closing argument from the players that this coaching staff isn't reaching them, Carlyon said. "And that's really unfortunate, even by NFL standards, this has been a staggering decline in terms of Doug Peterson, who did a magnificent job in his first year when he arrived, the relationship, the trust between players, and coaches was fractured because of the Urban Meyer debacle."

"Doug Peterson did a great job building that back and had a great first year. Then started out 8-3 last year and you thought 'This is going to be the guy here for a long time', but it just completely fizzled out in a way that I think it would have been impossible to predict. But 1-8 now in his last nine, he's lost his last eight games with Trevor Lawrence as a starting quarterback."

Carlyon has a point. Regardless of who the head coach is in 2025, Lawrence isn't going anywhere. He just signed a five-year deal worth $275 million and whoever goes to Jacksonville will need to work with him. So what suggestion does he offer? The Jaguars must go after an offensive mind that can squeeze every ounce of talent out of No. 16.

"Personally, I would love to cover Bill Belichick. I think it would be a tremendous learning experience. But I just don't think that's the direction that they should go in. It's the direction they might but he's 72. That's not where I would go. They've got to find the next up-and-coming offensive mind. And yes, that opens you up to hiring somebody that's never been a head coach."

Carlyon continued, "I understand all of that, but they've got to go find the next Lafleur, the next McVay somebody like that, the next Kyle Shanahan. I think you look at Ben Johnson in Detroit, what he's doing, 38 years old, fantastic, offensive mind. You could look at Klint Kubiak with the Saints, and what he's been able to do. Take a little bit up there. Joe Brady, who we saw last night for the Bills. I really resurrected his career, doing some great things in Buffalo. That's someone I'd be interested in."

Later in the exchange, Carlyon says that injuries shouldn't been an excuse for the Jags' collapse, pointing out that the Cleveland Browns dealt with several of their own in 2023 and still managed to make the playoffs. Here's his full exchange with Logue in case you want to give it a listen.

Moving on from Doug Pederson seems inevitable for the Jaguars

All things considered, Hays Carlyon makes plenty of sound points. Regarding last year's meltdown, injuries severely hampered Trevor Lawrence but the Jaguars still had ample talent, especially on defense to keep them afloat. Instead, they lost five of the last six games to end the season, including winnable matchups against the Cleveland Browns and the Tennesee Titans in the finale.

On the other hand, there's no way to get around it. Doug Pederson was pivotal in helping the Jags recover from the Urban Meyer debacle but his luster has faded. Players aren't responding to him, and Lawrence doesn't seem to be pleased with the offensive game plan and playcalling.

Leaving aside how Lawrence may or may not feel about the coaching staff, they are surely not putting him in a position to succeed. Sure, his decision-making could be better but the playcalling (and the offensive line) isn't doing him any favors. For that reason, the consensus seems to think the Jaguars need a do-over.

Based on how things have unfold this season, it's hard to disagree.

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