The Jacksonville Jaguars had their first interview to replace Urban Meyer on Dec. 30, which means today marks a full month since their search began. To put it lightly, it’s been quite a puzzling process as four teams have named head coaches ahead of them despite the Jags having an early start.
Fans would be hard-pressed to find a media outlet that wouldn’t dispute that the reason for their stumbling process is current general manager Trent Baalke, who has established a poor reputation over time. As a result, it appears it’s been difficult to find coaches who want to work with him. That includes Byron Leftwich, who looks like the Jags’ lone finalist as Matt Eberflus and Nate Hackett were taken off the board this week.
Many reporters seem to be under the impression that Leftwich hasn’t been given the green light because he’d like to replace Baalke with Arizona Cardinals executive Adrian Wilson. When considering Baalke’s résumé, it makes sense. But if Shad Khan did sign off on Leftwich, the decision could set the Jags on track for a more successful run because of Leftwich’s general manager candidate.
There is no disputing that the Jags have a well-documented culture of dysfunction that will be a tall task to fix, but Leftwich’s desire to bring Wilson with him could be a blessing in disguise for the Jags. The reason for that is that Wilson wouldn’t just provide a good set of eyes for scouting, but he’d also give the Jags a general manager who has changed an organization’s culture as a player first-hand.
For proof, look no further than Wilson’s retirement press conference, as Wilson discussed the situation he was drafted into with the then-struggling Cardinals:
“We didn’t do a lot of winning here early on in my career, but that grind and that adversity I think helped mold a lot of guys,” Wilson said. “That helped mold Larry Fitzgerald. I know for a fact that helped mold Darnell Dockett and Anquan Boldin. I can keep naming guys that were just top guys that were winners coming here [from college], but we didn’t win early on. So, it helped develop that grind mentality where we had to grind that much harder than some teams that had eight or nine Pro Bowlers on their team where they didn’t have to do as much.”
If that situation doesn’t mirror that of the Jags, I don’t know what does.
And Wilson wasn’t exaggerating about losses — after his rookie season, the Cardinals had five seasons with six wins or less. But after that, they acquired records of .500 or better six-of-eight times before Wilson retired. Half of those seasons consisted of playoff appearances with one of those seasons ending in a trip to the Super Bowl
In a nutshell, Leftwich is trying to bring the Jags the perfect general manager for their cultural struggles — and they’d be hard-pressed to find a better candidate.
Later in the same presser, Wilson shared additional details about the key role he played in steering the Cardinals’ locker room from their losing ways:
“Just going through the process with all my teammates and seeing guys grow,” Wilson said. “Seeing Calais [Campbell] grow as a player, you know. Seeing Rashad Johnson grow as a player, and Justin Bethel. All the guys who are sitting in the crowd now, just seeing them grow from a young player to who they are now.
“Now, those guys are the cornerstones of our organization so I would like to think I had a hand in helping those guys kind of realize the way. […] I think for those young guys, man that’s everything when you see a young guy come in, and next thing you know, he’s signing a five-year deal for big money. I mean, that’s everything to me that means that they get it.”
For a franchise that has struggled to retain talent, as we’ve seen with Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue, to name a few, this is exactly the type of executive who could change that. Wilson’s statements prove that he is a suitable person to identify great leaders who could ultimately get long-term deals while aiding their teammates to have a similar mindset.
Most of Wilson’s executive career involved collegiate scouting as a regional scout (2015-18) under current Cardinals’ general manager Steve Keim, a close friend of Wilson. During Wilson’s retirement presser, Keim sat directly beside him to speak on his career.
It was then when Wilson’s career after football became evident, as he also brought a mock draft (alongside his retirement speech) to show Keim, a move that didn’t go unnoticed by Owner Michael Bidwill.
After four seasons of scouting college prospects, Wilson received a promotion into the pro personnel department, spending two seasons as a Director of pro scouting (2019-20) and a Vice president of pro scouting (2021-present). This past season, the Cardinals made evident just how good their ability to identify leaders is, and under Wilson’s management, the team snagged notables like J.J. Watt, James Conner, and A.J. Green.
While Watt ultimately played in just seven games, his signing was worth the risk as the Cardinals gained a leader who is now bound for the Hall-of-Fame. Meanwhile, Green and Conner made sizable contributions on offense for quarterback Kyler Murray.
In the previous year, the team made a monumental trade by snagging DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans. These are exactly the type of moves that could put a solid group around Trevor Lawrence and have him competing in no time.
As of now, it appears Leftwich is in limbo. Only time will tell if they pick up the phone and hire him, but it’s hard to name a better option than him. And that’s not only because he’s a former player with familiarity with the organization and a great offensive mind, but because he’s got the perfect general manager candidate to breathe life into a struggling franchise.