4. Free-agent spending habits

The issue that Coughlin had in his first stint with the Jags was his management with the salary cap and his habits in free-agency, which ultimately turned out to be his undoing. In his second stint with the team, it appears as though he simply didn’t learn from those mistakes.

With Coughlin returning as an executive, the Jags consistently picked up high priced free-agents as if they were close to being competitive. As the good franchises in the league have shown, that’s not a way to build a team.
Additionally, some of the free-agent acquisitions made haven’t been wise investments. Andrew Norwell was made the league’s highest-paid guard when he signed and hasn’t been all that impressive since.

Of course, there is also the contract the Jags handed out to veteran quarterback Nick Foles, which is the biggest free-agent contract in team history but looks to be another miss. Both are earning money that could’ve been handed to players who have performed well like defensive end Yannick Ngakoue or perhaps Jalen Ramsey, which brings me to my next point…