Doug

Pederson

At least part of this was expected. Pederson making it through the entirety of the season was surprising after the Jaguars opened the season with a 2-8 record in the 10 games Trevor Lawrence played this season. Pederson took over a team in distress after Urban Meyer went one-and-done with the Jags in 2021. He immediately elevated them to a 9-8 record and a comeback win in the playoffs over the Chargers, but things only went downhill from there. A hot start in 2023 that saw the Jaguars sitting on a 8-3 record after Week 12 ended with another 9-8 finish and the team missing the playoffs. Last year’s struggles carried over to this season, as Pederson’s future with the team felt all but solidified after a 2-6 start through the first two months of the season. With Lawrence already in two for the foreseeable future and Brian Thomas Jr. looking like a top-15 receiver in his rookie year, the Jaguars look like a prime landing spot for any head coaching candidate. We’ll see in due time how the decision to retain general manager Trent Baalke, who is now 0-for-2 in his head coaching hires, will affect the team, but the coaching search is back on, once again.

The same is apparently true of GM Trent Baalke. Mired at a 2-8 record, the Jags are two-touchdown underdogs vs. the Lions on Sunday. “Based on several conversations, while Jaguars staffers are still working and grinding, there is a pall permeating the situation,” Rapoport said. “A doom.” It’s not hard to see why. Pederson’s style has gone stale even faster in Jacksonville than it did in Philadelphia. The 56-year-old seems to get too easily out-schemed on Sundays, and the locker room vibes that have leaked out to the public seem rancid. Yet another Jags regime change is a matter of when, not if.

Talking with reporters about the state of his team, Pederson told reporters, “I feel like the guys are -- they don’t quit. They keep fighting.” Shortly after that, Cisco told reporters, " I feel like it was... a lot of quit... It felt very early in the game, maybe at halftime, that we weren’t playing as one.” Pederson likely has one last shot to turn things around, against the Patriots in Week 7. For fantasy purposes, a potential buy-low window for Jaguars players may currently be underway. An interim head coach could provide fantasy-friendly, schematic upgrades for the rest of the season.

Well, that’s settled. Reports emerged this week that Jaguars players had lost confidence in their head coach after the team’s 0-4 start, which includes a humiliating Week 3 Monday night beatdown at the hands of the Bills. Jacksonville’s offense, using pre-snap motion at one of the lowest rates in the NFL, ranks 23rd in yards per play (4.8), 20th in first downs (71), and 30th in offensive drives ending with a score. Trevor Lawrence has been among the most inaccurate QBs in football through the season’s first month. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Jaguars move on from Pederson if the team loses another few games to start the season.

Pederson said earlier this year that he needs to consider taking back play-calling duties in 2024 after the team struggled at various points during the season. Offensive coordinator Press Taylor, who was hired by the team in 2022, was tasked with most of the play-calling duties last season, but it sounds like Pederson is ready to take back the reins this season. We’ll learn more about this as the offseason progresses, but don’t rule out Pederson having more say in the plays come Week 1.

The Jacksonville offense, after another lousy first half against the Texans, came out firing in the second half, scoring on three of their first four possessions. That sparked speculation that Pederson had taken play calling duties away from offensive coordinator Press Taylor. “I communicated with Press and the offensive staff, you know, no more or less than I usually do,” Pederson said. “I think grabbing their attention at halftime and just letting them know that the first 30 minutes was unacceptable. It’s not up to what our standards are and our expectations, including my expectations for this football team.” If the Jaguars offense continues to struggle — they’re 29th in EPA per play — look for Pederson to get more involved with the direction of the unit.

“The problem,” the anonymous coach continues, “I’m not sure there’s a No. 1 overall offensive tackle in this class.” Aidan Hutchinson has been the betting favorite for the No. 1 spot for a solid month at this point. The Jaguars have also been attached to some Travon Walker rumors at the spot. Going offense would likely lead to offensive linemen Evan Neal and Ikem Ekwonu.

Rapoport noted that Doug Pederson “has been impressive and Khan doesn’t want to impede significant progress with a new voice.” Pederson was fired after a power struggle in Philly and is already making moves within the Jacksonville organization. It sounds like he will have a strong say in high-level decisions. Rapoport did add that the team is “still moving forward on their search for an assistant GM under Trent Baalke and may hire other personnel jobs.” Baalke has the final say on all major decisions but Pederson’s influence is growing rapidly.

Pederson will have a much more hands-on approach to the Jaguars offense than departing head coach Urban Meyer. For example, he is expected to know which of his players are on the field in a given game. He is also expected to call plays. Pederson was the Eagles’ play-caller for most of his tenure, handing off some of the responsibility in 2020, as the wheels came off the Carson Wentz-era Eagles. Much of Pederson’s appeal as a head coaching candidate was his ability to build an offense that will suit Trevor Lawrence. It makes sense that he will be calling the plays for that offense as well.

It’s a surprisingly good outcome to what had been a chaotic search to replace Urban Meyer, one that seemed poise to result in Bucs OC Byron Leftwich’s hiring until talks broke down over Leftwich’s rumored refusal to work with GM Trent Baalke. Now Baalke appears likely to be sidelined by ex-Vikings GM Rick Spielman, who like Pederson’s former boss Howie Roseman is a wheeler-dealer type. A Super Bowl-winning head coach with Nick Foles, Pederson fell out of favor in Philly due to a variety of factors, including his supposedly underwhelming suggestions to improve his coaching staff following a disappointing 2020 season. He is still a retread chance worth taking for a franchise that has made one underwhelming hire after another after having just two head coaches the first 16 years of its existence. Having molded Carson Wentz before watching him break down, Pederson will be a good mentor for Trevor Lawrence after his concerning rookie year.