Category: Todd Wash

Doug Marrone to make coaching staff evaluations in the coming weeks

Doug Marrone will remain the Jags’ head coach, but with coaching evaluations coming up, he may need to let some assistants go.

With Black Monday occurring just a few days ago, there are currently several teams making personnel decisions but the Jacksonville Jaguars, to the surprise of some, aren’t one of them. After meeting with various personnel members throughout the week and coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell on Tuesday, owner Shad Khan made the decision not to make any changes to his staff. However, with another double-digit loss season occurring, Marrone may not be as willing to overlook his staff’s shortcomings as ownership was.

In the process of meeting with the media Tuesday, Marrone revealed that he’d be meeting with his staff and making evaluations when the team returns around Jan. 13, and some have speculated that could mean another slight shake-up within the coaching staff.

Upon looking at where Marrone could make changes, the first position that comes to mind is the defensive coordinator position, which is currently held by Todd Wash. The Jags’ 2019 season was especially a rough one for him as his unit finished the season as the No. 24 ranked team in yards allowed (375.4 YPG average) and the No. 28 ranked rushing defense (139.3 YPG average). While some of his struggles were due to losing several key players in Telvin Smith, Marcell Dareus, and Myles Jack, it’s been painfully clear over the last two seasons that Wash isn’t the best at making adjustments. Some fans also felt that his success from 2017 was due to the plethora of talent the Jags had and not his coaching abilities as he struggled after the departures of players like Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson and could never regather himself.

Another position where Marrone may consider a change is at the offensive line coaching position where he brought in George Warhop, a former coach of his as a player, just last season. Warhop’s group got off to a decent start in the first half of the season as the Jags were able to go 4-4 and Leonard Fournette was able to record two games with over 107 yards rushing and one with over 220 yards rushing. However, after that, the unit looked very below average as the running lanes were hard to come by and the Jags had multiple games where they couldn’t score more than 12 points.

It’s absolutely no doubt that Marrone understands he’s fortunate to still have his job after how 2019 went down. For that reason, fans can’t help but wonder how unimpressed he was with the jobs Wash and Warhop did in 2019, even with the injuries that plagued the team. That said, if there is a change made, it wouldn’t be shocking to see both assistants replace though it also shouldn’t be ruled out that both could be retained.

Report: HC Doug Marrone, GM Dave Caldwell have a “good chance” to return to Jags in 2020

The Jags may not make a head coaching or general manager change in 2020 with Tom Coughlin now out of the picture.

Despite football executive Tom Coughlin being fired, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone has stressed that he’s focused on fighting for his job with just two games left. If he has a strong showing in the process, it appears both he and Dave Caldwell will keep their jobs in 2020, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

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With Black Monday just over a week away, Rapoport stated something fans already knew and that was the fact that Coughlin didn’t make anyone’s job easier, including that of Marrone and probably Caldwell, too. For that reason, owner Shad Khan wants to see how the two do without Coughlin making the atmosphere tense.

Rapoport is right about how detrimental Coughlin was for the organization as he chased away some solid players, most notably Jalen Ramsey. However, several players have come out to say they appreciated Marrone’s communication with them throughout the year, with the most recent being Leonard Fournette. Their respect for Marrone also was on display in last Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders, as they went out and fought hard for him and got the victory.

As for Caldwell, it’s very possible Coughlin made some decisions that he didn’t agree with. Shelling out a boatload of money to Nick Foles in free-agency may be at the top of the list and the handling of the top-3 picks from Caldwell’s 2016 class (which consisted of Ramsey, Myles Jack, and Yannick Ngakoue) also may not be something he was happy with.

Personally, I think the Jags should pull off a clean sweep because making half measure changes has never worked for them. They did it in the past by keeping Caldwell and firing Gus Bradley, and prior to that by keeping general manager Gene Smith and pairing him with Mike Mularkey. Both situations ended up being catastrophic and the Jags have only had one winning season during Khan’s whole tenure.

Additionally, the Jags have looked very unprepared since coming from their bye week. They went through a stretch where they lost five games by 17 points or more, which hadn’t been done since the 80s. Sure, a lot of that was a result of Todd Wash’s struggles as a defensive coordinator, but it isn’t as if the Jags have looked good on offense either through the stretch.

Todd Wash discusses why Jags are having issues against the run

The Jags’ linebacking corps has been an issue all year and DC Todd Wash confirmed the main issue most fans have been pointing to all along.

The Jacksonville Jaguars team as a whole has struggled in their last two games but the fans especially have been pointing fingers at the defense, who’ve struggled mightily against the rush. Dating back to their loss to the Houston Texans in London they’ve given up 480 total yards to opposing rushers and many fans have pinned those issues on the team’s linebacking corps.

Heading into this regular season, the linebacker position was an area of concern with Telvin Smith’s retirement and Myles Jack not having a strong 2018 season. Now, the fears of the fanbase have seemingly come true, as the group is struggling with shedding blocks, which has led to some of the Jags’ issues against the rush.

Jags defensive coordinator Todd Wash pretty much confirmed what some fans were speculating about the linebacker play Thursday and admitted he has to do a better job prepping his unit in general.

“Well in our system we’re an attack front, so it’s not like we sit and try to cover up linemen and keep them off the second level, Wash said. “So, within our system that’s not what we do. Some systems they do, but for us, we’re an attack system and then when you get on a block you have to get off a block is basically the way our system is built from the front seven and nickel, or the front eight and base.”

Wash added that playing “downhill,” as some have suggested, isn’t necessarily the answer either because in today’s game that would put the linebackers out of position to help out in the passing game, too.

“Not that everybody knows, but if our linebackers just run downhill, we’re going to get killed in the passing game,” Wash added. “It’s just the way we play our system. It’s the way Gus [Bradley] plays it, it’s the way [Robert] Saleh plays it, it’s the way they play it in Seattle. Your linebackers can’t get just downhill, a lot of people don’t understand that, a lot of people don’t understand football to be honest with you. So, our scheme allows them to go east and west, but when he does see it, we need to see our linebackers getting downhill better than we have.”

Of course, all of the statements above are not to say the linebackers are solely to blame, but they’ve clearly been a big part of the defense’s issues. Add in the loss of Smith’s pursuit speed and now fans are looking at a defense that is significantly worse than 2017’s group, which led the team to the AFC Championship.

Needless to say, the Jags’ inability to get off blocks are just some of the fundamental things the team has likely emphasized in practice this week. However, with the Tennessee Titans, Derrick Henry and their powerhouse mentality up next, we’ll see just how much they have improved throughout practice as Wash’s job could hang in the balance.

Jags drop to No. 22 spot in USA TODAY power rankings

The Jags took another drop in USA Today’s power rankings after Week 11’s loss to the Colts, however, the fall was minimal.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars were pummeled by the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday and their playoff chances declined drastically as a result. They also took a small slide down USA TODAY’s power rankings, coming in at the No. 22 spot after previously being ranked No. 20.

22. Jaguars (20): Focus has been on quarterback transition, but what about a defense burned for nearly 60 points and 800 yards over its past two appearances?

Our comrade Nate Davis is right, while Nick Foles’ day was unimpressive outside of the first quarter Sunday, the Jags’ defense gave up an embarrassing total of 264 rushing yards on the day. Colts running back Marlon Mack had a solid day, rushing fo 109 yards and a touchdown before sustaining a hand injury and having to leave the game. To make matters worse, the Colts’ No. 2 tailback, Johnathan Williams, had an even better day, accumulating a career-high of 116 yards on 13 carries.

The Jags’ struggles on defense Sunday weren’t exactly surprising because they’ve been one of the worse teams in football when it comes to stopping the run under Todd Wash in 2019. Previously, they were gashed by the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans in London.

As for Foles, he was 33-of-47 for just under 300 yards and a pick in his return. He had some solid moments to open the game but was clearly pressing afterward. He had several moments where he was throwing in double coverage but thankfully the Colts weren’t able to cash in on those opportunities. He’ll need to have a better day Sunday as the Titans have been very opportunistic against the Jags in the past.

Instant analysis: Jags get embarrassed by Colts despite Nick Foles’ return

The Jags entered Sunday’s must-win game needing to show some life and did the exact opposite.

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Week 11’s game against the Indianapolis Colts looking to capitalize on a must-win situation but that did not happen. In fact, it wasn’t even a close game as the Jags fell flat with the final score being 33-13.

The Jags were coming off their bye week almost at full strength with just one player on their injury report, while the Colts were without their top receiver, T.Y. Hilton, however, that did not matter. The Colts offense still found success on the ground as the Jags’ defense had another terrible outing against the run. By the time the clock hit 0:00 the Colts had garnered 264 rushing yards mostly thanks to Jonathan Williams, who had 116 yards and Marlon Mack, who exited the game early with an injury but had 109 yards and a touchdown. Simply put, Week 11 marked yet another poor showing from Todd Wash, which should leave the status for his job potentially in the air.

The Jags’ offense wasn’t much better, however, and that was despite the return of Nick Foles from his Week 1 collarbone injury. The veteran had a forgettable day despite the plethora of passing attempts he made (33-of-47) and passing for just under 300 yards and a pick. Of course, those stats were padded due to the Jags being behind for most of the game. Additionally, he had some poorly thrown balls throughout the game, but it’s worth noting he’s just returning from a two-month hiatus. Still, it was not a performance fans will be happy about — and rightfully so.

The Jags also had some questionable offensive play-calling by John DeFilippo. Similar to their previous loss to the Houston Texans in London, the team didn’t give Leonard Fournette a lot of carries early and it resulted in him finishing the game with just eight total carries (for 23 rushing yards) on the whole day. With him being one of the league’s top rushers many fans will question his usage, which is puzzling, to say the least.

In all probability, the Jags have played themselves out of postseason contention although the Houston Texans lost handily Week 11 as well. Still, they will have to get over this loss quickly with a trip to the Tennessee Titans coming up. Kickoff for that game will be at 4:05 EST on Nov. 24 via CBS.