Jalen Ramsey takes a deeper dive into Jags saga, reveals who was ‘disrespectful’ to him before trade

We all know about Jalen Ramsey’s issues with Tom Coughlin, but on the ‘Catching Fades’ podcast with Aqib Talib, Ramsey claimed that former GM Dave Caldwell disrespected him, too.

One of the darkest periods in Jacksonville Jaguars history was when the news broke of All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey wanting a trade from the organization. A former Top-5 selection from the 2016 NFL Draft, Ramsey was probably as big of a defensive star as a small market team could have, and much of that was because he backed it up on the field. 

However, during the Jags’ second regular-season game of the 2019 season, it all hit the fan after Ramsey got into a verbal altercation with former Jags head coach Doug Marrone. As heated as that argument looked, though, it wasn’t the issue that led to Ramsey leaving — instead, it was a confrontational meeting with management after the game that left him feeling disrespected. 

In an interview with Aqib Talib on the “Catching Fades” podcast, Ramsey shared new details about how the post-game conversation went down. After Week 2’s game of 2019 (against Houston) the All-Pro corner says he was approached by son of Shad Khan, Tony Khan, (both of whom he said he respects), who asked Ramsey if he’d be willing to chat with them privately. However, when Ramsey came to the meeting, he was shocked to see that two others were standing alongside the ownership duo. 

Of course, as confirmed in 2019, one of those people was front-office leader Tom Coughlin. The other, according to Ramsey, was former general manager Dave Caldwell, who didn’t initially speak as Shad Khan started the conversation.

“I get in the office and it’s Tony, Shad, Tom Coughlin, and Dave Caldwell,” said Ramsey. “It’s four of them in there and then it’s just me and they were like…standing like in a semi-circle just all looking at me. So I’m hot now […] first of all, you told me it was just you and pops and now I’m in here [with more than ownership].

“[…] I want to say Shad started to speak first and was very respectful. You know ‘Jalen we got a lot of respect for your game’ this, that whoop-de-woo… ‘Are you and Doug going to be good? We don’t want anything going on between a key player and our head coach.’ I’m like ‘We good. It is what it is and that’s just part of the game.'”

Ramsey said that after Shad Khan spoke, Tony Khan chimed in with many of the same sentiments and suggested that Ramsey at least consider apologizing.

“Tony said something, too, and was real respectful, again,” Ramsey said. “Basically repeated what his dad said and kind of kept it moving like ‘Man we really think y’all should talk before anybody talks to the media. Y’all two should talk just to make sure y’all good and maybe you need to apologize to him.’

“And then I told him […] ‘Respectfully, I’m not about to apologize to him.’ I said, ‘That’s a part of the game. Emotions get high and we might get into it. It ain’t no beef, ain’t nothing going on between us. Me and coach good. We’ve always been good.'” 

Back when this was originally reported in 2019, Coughlin was widely speculated to be the one who Ramsey was referring to when he said he was disrespected. However, in this particular meeting, Ramsey says it was Caldwell who angered him in a confrontation that Ramsey claims was explosive.

“So then, Dave Caldwell, who was the GM…he took the total opposite — I guess they were in there playing good cop, bad cop. He took the total opposite approach. He started cussing and started trying to cuss me out, like ‘You need to go [expletive] apologize.’ […] I said ‘No, that ain’t happening.’ 

“And then he said something else, but I forgot what he said. You know how when you’re in shock sometimes, you give like that little laugh, like ‘He’s crazy.’ So, I gave him a little grin and he’s like ‘Oh, is this funny to you?’ And I just started shaking my head, and then he was like, ‘Well, just get the [expletive] out!’ And he opened the door, and I just walked out like laughing a little bit, and he slammed the door behind me.”

Ramsey said that’s when he called his agent, David Mulugheta, and informed him that he wanted a trade as the team seemed content with losing and didn’t handle business well. Many fans would agree after the team overpaid the wrong people (Blake Bortles and Nick Foles) and seemingly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by letting homegrown talent escape their clutches (like Allen Robinson, Yannick Ngakoue, Ramsey). 

Another issue presented by Ramsey’s retelling is that, if it’s an accurate summary of events, Coughlin and Caldwell had an unusually high level of involvement in the conflict. As front-office members, player-to-coach situations aren’t for them to handle. The issue might have been best left to those involved and ownership, if necessary.

Of course, as owner and the man who hired Caldwell and Coughlin, Shad Khan shares some accountability here. But after allegedly witnessing this situation with Caldwell, the team’s friction with Coughlin, and its dysfunction in general, it appears ownership was taking notes. 

If Ramsey’s explanation of that fateful meeting is accurate, it’s clear why Khan moved to a coach-centric approach with Urban Meyer, where the coach’s vision takes priority over others in the organization. 

Report: Former Jags executive Tom Coughlin sustains rib, lung injuries in bicycle accident

Former Jags executive Tom Coughlin is currently recovering from a bicycle accident which resulted in rib and other injuries.

Former Jaguars executive Tom Coughlin received a bit of a scare this week after being involved in a bicycle accident in Jacksonville. Per ESPN, he fractured four of his ribs, slightly punctured his lung and had a small head injury that required stitches afterward.

Per Coughlin, another man on a racing bike blindsided him and came out of nowhere, clipping the front of his bicycle. Coughlin also stated that he thought he was aware of his surroundings, however, he missed the other person and the accident occurred as a result.

Coughlin initially went home before going to the emergency room of Baptist Health. It was there where he had X-rays, a CT Scan, and was told he would be under a four-to-six-week recovery window.

Alongside the rest of Jags Nation, we’d like to wish him a speedy recovery and send prayers as Coughlin makes his run back to full health.

Former Jags executive, HC Tom Coughlin says he wants to remain involved with NFL

Former Jags executive Tom Coughlin would like to get back into the NFL in some way despite how things with the Jags went.

Tom Coughlin hasn’t had to clock in with the Jacksonville Jaguars for over a month but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been keeping himself busy within the football community. Last week, it was revealed that he was advising new Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, who is a former assistant of Coughlin’s and is in the process of building his coaching staff.

This week, he had an appearance on Zach Gelb’s radio show on CBS Sports, where he told Gelb he wants to continue working in the league and is hoping to one day find another job in the NFL.

“I love the game,” Coughlin said. “I love the people involved in the game. And to continue to be involved in some capacity would be a very good thing for me, because I need to be active, I need to be busy. I want to be busy. So the routine is very good for me. It’s been that way for a lot of years. And we’ll just see what prevails.”

Transcribed by Pro Football Talk

Coughlin was fired by the Jags Dec. 18 in wake of the NFLPA grievances that were filed against the organization during his time there. The situation that particularly was brought to the light was the team’s decision to fine former pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. over $700,000 for rehabbing away from the team’s facility one offseason.

Running back Leonard Fournette also revealed that he won a grievance last month, which allowed him to get a $99,000 fine rescinded for his conduct in 2018’s season finale against the Houston Texans.

Coughlin was also asked about the things he felt went wrong with the team while he was there, and as we’ve stressed, he felt the issues mostly revolved around the quarterback position.

“There’s a lot of factors involved,” Coughlin said. “Obviously, there’s no excuses. But injuries take their play. Blake Bortles had some issues in 2018, and then after that obviously we got into the new quarterback situation and so on and so forth.”

When Gelb gave Coughlin an opportunity to speak about his recent run-in with the NFLPA, he elected to pass on the offer stating that it was not necessary.

“I don’t need any opportunity to talk about that,” Coughlin told Gelb.

It’s not shocking that Coughlin doesn’t want to retire from football but it’s hard to envision Coughlin finding work in another front office after the league witnessed the heat he caused towards the Jags’ front office from the NFLPA. Then again, he’s so respected as a coach maybe someone will give him a minor role in the league when the dust settles.

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.

[lawrence-related id=27721]

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.

Jags Wire Podcast: Discussions on Tom Coughlin’s firing and why it was overdue

With it being a while since our last recording, Jags Wire contributor Jacob DeLawrence and myself decided to head to the lab for a brief recording on the firing of Tom Coughlin. Here at Jags Wire we’ve been on record for saying the move was one that …

With it being a while since our last recording, Jags Wire contributor Jacob DeLawrence and myself decided to head to the lab for a brief recording on the firing of Tom Coughlin. Here at Jags Wire we’ve been on record for saying the move was one that long should’ve been made and went into details as to why.

Additionally, we discussed what Shad Khan’s biggest problem has been since running the franchise and what needs to be done to fix it.

[protected-iframe id=”69d956ab8fd04cfedfdab03f118b4b5f-105974738-159322853″ info=”https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/7461165/embed/v4″ width=”100%” height=”300″ frameborder=”0″ style=”background-color:transparent; display:block; padding: 0; max-width:700px;” scrolling=”no”]

Report: Tom Coughlin, Jags front office ended contract talks prematurely with Yannick Ngakoue

Albert Breer shares some insight on how Yannick Ngakoue’s contract extension went this summer.

Since his firing on Wednesday (and even earlier in the week), a lot has surfaced about the way Tom Coughlin ran things in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ front office and fans have been rightfully sounding off. Unfortunately, some of the standout players that he’s angered the most are no longer with the team, which is exactly why fans should be glad that defensive end Yannick Ngakoue lasted through Coughlin’s tenure.

One of the biggest topics of the season was Yannick Ngakoue’s contract situation. In July, there was a report that surfaced stating the Jags shot him a short-term offer worth $19 million per year. However, thanks to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, we now have some info on how the negotiation process went down.

In a nutshell, it wasn’t pretty.

Just before training camp last summer, Coughlin declared that the Jags had made their final and best offer to pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue. The problem? It was late July, and negotiations were still in the early stages, having only started earlier that month. And the comments sufficiently angered Ngakoue, who was planning on reporting to training camp, to the point where he launched a training camp holdout instead. And this was a player that the team wanted to sign.

Back in May, Ngakoue told the media he wouldn’t holdout for organized team activities or any offseason events afterward, but ended up doing so anyway. We now know he had a more than valid reason to do so based on Breer’s report.

As most are aware, it takes a little time to iron out a deal like the one Ngakoue has/had earned at the time. That said, there feels like there was a lack of effort on the Jags’ end when reading these statements. Meanwhile, it seems as though they had no problems putting together long-term deals for players brought in from other organizations like quarterback Nick Foles and guard Andrew Norwell. That’s not a good look by any means.

It also makes sense that the details behind the short-term deal in which was shot Ngakoue’s way would “leak.” With Coughlin out of the picture, however, fans should feel a little more comfortable about Ngakoue’s chances to stay.

Did Tom Coughlin’s recent run tarnish his legacy?

For the first time in a long time, the Jacksonville Jaguars returned to the team facility without Tom Coughlin being there. The former Executive Vice President of Football Operations was relieved of his duties Wednesday, which means the atmosphere …

For the first time in a long time, the Jacksonville Jaguars returned to the team facility without Tom Coughlin being there. The former Executive Vice President of Football Operations was relieved of his duties Wednesday, which means the atmosphere may be a lot less tense for the next two weeks.

The firing stemmed from the NFLPA coming down hard on the Jags and singling them out as a franchise that players may want to avoid playing for. The reason for those harsh statements came as a result of the Jags fining their players excessively under Coughlin’s leadership.

Two grievances, in particular, came to the light this week with the first being a situation where Dante Fowler Jr. won a case for being fined for not rehabbing at the Jags’ facility during the 2018 offseason. The second grievance that came to the light was one filed (and won) by Leonard Fournette who was fined for not being available to play in 2018’s season finale due to an ankle injury.

When looking at the ridiculousness behind each aforementioned case, the toxic atmosphere that was built, the product on the field and the way things ended, some believe Coughlin’s legacy could be impacted. Aside from 2017, the team looked a mess under his leadership as Jalen Ramsey was traded after a saga with the front office, coach Doug Marrone was left to answer questions for the front office and terrible contracts were handed out. Simply put, Coughlin built a dumpster fire and the Jags became a team that went from being respectable to a laughing stock in just three years.

Shockingly, a majority of the players in the locker room felt that Coughlin’s legacy remained intact. The reason for that was mostly because they respected his résumé  as a coach as opposed to as an executive. That said, we’d like to know if the fans at home feel the same on the matter.

Did Coughlin tarnish his legacy in your eyes, or do you still view him as the legendary figure who did more good than bad for the franchise? Let us know in our Jags Wire forum.

Twitter reacts to Jaguars’ firing of Tom Coughlin

The Jacksonville Jaguars fired front office executive Tom Coughlin Thursday, sending shockwaves through the NFL. Here are some reactions from Twitter as many connected to the team or football community chimed in. .. – Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) …

The Jacksonville Jaguars fired front office executive Tom Coughlin Thursday, sending shockwaves through the NFL. Here are some reactions from Twitter as many connected to the team or football community chimed in.

Ramsey is also no stranger to the crosshairs of Coughlin as he used the treatment of Coughlin as a reason to force his way out of Jacksonville. Ramsey is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams.

Current Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette appears to be shocked by the reaction to the news. Fournette is no stranger to the ire of Tom Coughlin. Fournette was fined $99,000 in a 2018 season finale game against the Houston Texans for sitting on the bench and appearing disinterested in the game in a move that Coughlin called “disrespectful and selfish.”

Not everyone agreed with the firing of the former two-time Super Bowl winning head coach. Pittsburgh radio personality Mike J. Asti was not a fan of the timing or the treatment of Tom Coughlin considering all that he has done for the Jaguars franchise.

Dallas Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr. did not express any sympathy of Coughlin and was critically scathing in his remarks about the firing of him.

Senior NFL Columnist Pete Prisco was more sympathetic towards Coughlin as a person and a key figure to football, but also understood why he was let go.

Former Jags beat writer for First Coast News, Mike Kaye, thinks the Jags simply made the right move.

Now for a few fan reactions:

 

Coughlin will finish his football executive tenure with a 20-26 record, two postseason wins and one AFC South division title.

Jags fire Tom Coughlin

The Jags have begun their process to rebuild their franchise as Tom Coughlin was fired Thursday.

With just two games remaining and the NFLPA calling them out, most felt that the Jacksonville Jaguars would be parting ways from Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Tom Coughlin, by the end of the season. However, it appears they didn’t want to prolong the situation any more.

Wednesday evening owner, Shad Khan issues a statement announcing that Coughlin had been fired, leaving their EVP role vacant for the moment.

Coughlin’s firing came after the NFLPA won two grievances against the Jags this week by former defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. and running back Leonard Fournette. The Jags also could be dealing with others as the NFLPA reported that the Jags account for 25% of recent grievances that have occurred recently in the NFL.

Fowler’s grievance was the first of the week to occur as the team violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by wrongfully fining him over $700,000 for rehabbing away from the team’s facility in the offseason. Fournette, on the other hand, won a grievance for $99,000 after the Jags fined him for being inactive due to an ankle injury in 2018’s season finale against the Houston Texans.

In addition to his issues with the NFLPA, Coughlin failed to put a winning product on the field since being hired in 2017. While the team was a game away from the Super Bowl in 2017, they’ve regressed mightily since, accumulating a record of 10-20 over the course of the last two seasons. Add in the cap issues and bad calls at the quarterback position, and it would seem that Khan simply had no choice to move on as the Jags’ fanbase have grown very disappointed with how things have gone.

Jalen Ramsey, Allen Robinson share thoughts on Twitter after NFLPA wins grievance over Jags

With the NFLPA winning its grievance against the Jacksonville Jaguars it was only a matter of time before players started chiming in on the situation and former cornerback Jalen Ramsey unsurprisingly jumped on the opportunity. Like his teammate …

With the NFLPA winning its grievance against the Jacksonville Jaguars it was only a matter of time before players started chiming in on the situation and former cornerback Jalen Ramsey unsurprisingly jumped on the opportunity. Like his teammate Dante Fowler Jr. did, Ramsey took to social media to share his thoughts and posted the following tweet:

As you all at home can see, former Jags receiver Allen Robinson had a response as well, which may be hard to judge. However, it’s worth noting that Robinson is on record for saying he felt that he also needed to get away from the Jags’ organization.

As for Ramsey, it’s pretty much stating the obvious that Coughlin was one of the reasons he left, but he probably wasn’t the only reason he left. Being the star he is, it shouldn’t be ruled out that Ramsey also wanted to land in a more desirable market where he could expand his career beyond football.

Regardless, it’s clear the Jags are a circus at this point. With a rebuild coming up, fans are right to be concerned at the moment because the perception of the team isn’t good right now, which will make the process an uphill battle.