The Jacksonville Jaguars coaching search didn’t go as smooth as fans were hoping for initially, but in the end, the team came out with a great option in Doug Pederson. With him now leading the way, the Jags have a Super Bowl-winning coach who has plenty of NFL experience and even has player experience.
Most importantly, the Jags hired an offensive-minded coach who is good with quarterbacks. Pederson has worked with several notable quarterbacks like Michael Vick and Alex Smith, both of whom were No. 1 overall picks like Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Even when looking outside the quarterback position, though, the offense, in general, is excited about Pederson’s addition. That includes right tackle Jawaan Taylor who says the Jags have gelled well with the veteran head coach and are eager to see what the future holds.
“He’s a great guy overall,” Taylor said on “Good Morning Football” this week. “We’re very excited to have him. We love him to death already. He’s a great guy and is a players coach and he’s always preaching to get 1% better every day, and we’ve been doing that starting with the OTAs in Phase 2 and Phase 3. It’s been great. We’ve been gelling to him and believing in him and he’s a great leader so far. We can’t wait to see where he takes us and we’re very excited to have him.”
It feels like a night and day difference at the Jags’ facility thanks to the coaching change the Jags made in February. Around this time last season, the players may have had their doubts about former coach Urban Meyer who didn’t treat some of his players and coaches right throughout his brief stint in the NFL.
Now, the Jags have a coach in Pederson who understands players due to being one in the league himself at one point. Pederson also has a staff full of coaches, too, with notables like Mike Caldwell, Deshea Townsend, and Richard Angulo assisting him, to name a few.
Taylor also said he was confident in the offensive line after an offseason where they added a few new notables like rookie Luke Fortner and veteran guard Brandon Scherff.
“We’ve all been embracing the [offensive line] competition. I’m very confident in the offensive line and what I’ve been seeing,” he said. “We added a couple of new pieces to the offensive line and everybody has been gelling man and getting that chemistry down. We’re looking really good man, I got a lot of confidence in them.”
Taylor is currently in a competition with 2021 second-round selection, Walker Little, for the starting right tackle role. Taylor has also been utilized as a swing tackle in organized team activities. That said, if he doesn’t beat Little, he would be the Jags’ most experienced backup offensive lineman with just under 50 career starts under his name.