Category: Tony Khan

Wrestling commentator legend Jim Ross declares Jags as his NFL team

Jim Ross’ college team has always been the Oklahoma Sooners, but he now has a favorite NFL team.

Many key figures from Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling league have voiced their support for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are coming up on a big 2020 season. However, the team may have received its most legendary endorser this weekend as AEW commentator Jim Ross declared the Jags as his NFL team via Twitter.

Most know of Ross through his work with World Wrestling Entertainment, as he’s called some the most important matches in wrestling history. Most of those matches came during the “WWE Attitude” era, which was dominated by names like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Triple H, Mankind, and many more.

 

 

Ross is also known for his support of football, specifically through his fandom for the Oklahoma Sooners. He’s also expressed his support for the Jags through many AEW broadcasts due to his connection with coach Doug Marrone, who he’s met on several occasions.

Now with Ross making it official that he’s a Jags fan, we should expect to see him in the press box often supporting them alongside AEW stars Cody Rhodes, Brandi Rhodes, and many more. Even if he can’t make a majority of the games, it’s almost a certainty that he’ll be sharing some hot takes on the team via social media.

Former Jag Peyton Thompson says he’s spoken with Doug Marrone since statements on kneeling

Former Jag Peyton Thompson wasn’t impressed by the NFL’s statements on inequality and his voice was heard by his former coach who called him.

In wake of the murdering of George Floyd which was a result of police brutality, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and several NFL teams have released statements to call out racial inequality and send their condolences to the Floyd family. However, it has led to a lot of backlash due to the league’s history with peaceful protesting.

Fans and players have called out the league as a result and among them was  former Jags defensive back Peyton Thompson, who revealed that Doug Marrone and former front office leader Tom Coughlin told players they couldn’t kneel in 2017 during the international series. That seemingly prompted Marrone to reach out to his former player, who was visibly upset about it, and talk things over.

In the end, there were both players who knelt and some who stood in 2017’s game against the Baltimore Ravens in London, but all linked arms including owner Shad Khan to show solidarity. Later, Khan revealed to Sports Illustrated that he wouldn’t personally kneel but would not ostracize those who wanted to because America was about freedom.

“The essence of America is freedom to express yourself,” said Khan. “If somebody does that by kneeling, God bless them. I mean, it’s not something I would do but that would be a personal choice. There shouldn’t be any way to punish, ostracize, or in any way make them feel bad.”

As many are aware Khan became the league’s first ethnic minority owner in the NFL in 2012. A few years later, he was joined by Kim Pegula, the first minority female president/co-owner as her and her husband, Terry Pegula purchased the Buffalo Bills in 2014.

Both franchises can play a big part in helping America with the current racial issues that players are shedding light on. One member from the Jags’ front office, Tony Khan, has already voiced his support for the black community via Twitter and has also shown in his actions by banning those with racist views from his wrestling league known as All Elite Wrestling.

Heading forward, it will be interesting to see how/if Shad and Marrone do to help the league get on better footing with the fans and players on these issues as locker rooms will undoubtedly be affected by what’s going on in America.

Update 11:08 AM ET: Shad Khan released his own statement this morning which highlighted the country’s current issues with racism.

Tony Khan delivers with an insanely entertaining AEW PPV event at TIAA Bank Field

Tony Khan and AEW hit their one-year mark and their anniversary pay-per-view (in Jacksonville) may have been the best so far.

In the wake of COVID-19, Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling has essentially set up shop at TIAA Bank Field for their most recent shows. That included the wrestling league’s top pay-per-view event, “Double or Nothing,” which was originally supposed to be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Despite the roadblocks, Khan delivered a very entertaining pay-per-view in Jacksonville and a lot of fans feel it provided some of the top wrestling moments of the year — if not for quite some time. Among the best parts of the night was the exposure to the Jaguars’ facility and Khan’s ability to sprinkle some entertaining football elements into the event.

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A majority of the event was held at Daily’s Place where the card featured some solid matches. The first notable match was a “Casino Ladder Match” that featured top names in the industry like Brian “The Machine” Cage, Darby Allin, Joey Janela, Orange Cassidy, Scorpio Sky, and Frankie Kazarian (both of SCU), plus many more. We won’t spoil it (see results here), but just know that when there are ladders involved, high-flying action and brutality are pretty much guaranteed.

Some notable matches that followed included a battle between rising wrestling stars MJF and Jungle Boy and a battle to be the first-ever TNT Champion between Cody Rhodes and Lance Archer (featuring Mike Tyson ringside). The AEW men’s and women’s titles were also up for grabs in two brutal matches that featured Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee and Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose.

Where the connection with Jaguars fans came into play was during the main event, which was a first-ever “Stadium Stampede” matchup between The Elite, their friend Matt Hardy and the Inner Circle. The match involved each respective wrestler brawling around the stadium and throwing down in all of the spots that Jags fans would be familiar with, including the field itself.

The match had it all from Adam Page chasing Sammy Guevara on a horse, to Page and Kenny Omega fighting Jake Hager in the east club bar. As we previously reported, Jaxson De Ville also made a cameo and was laid out by wrestling legend Chris Jericho in the process.

In a time where many are at home practicing social distancing, Khan delivered the world with some quality entertainment — and the presence of the Jags franchise during AEW’s highly anticipated event at the home of the team (and one of Duval’s most iconic landmarks) was definitely an added bonus.

NFL Network’s Mike Silver praises what the Khans are building

Some have been critical of the Khans during their time in the Jags’ from office, however, NFL Network’s Mike Silver likes what they’re done.

If there is one thing fans already know about the Jacksonville Jaguars it’s the fact that the team has more than enough critics. However, NFL Network’s Mike Silver is one of the few who believes in what the Khans are building — at least in the distant future.

The veteran writer joined Jags senior writer John Oehser for his latest episode of the “O-Zone Podcast” to discuss the Jags’ outlook. Unlike many of his other comrades in the field, Silver praised the Jags’ leaders in Shad and Tony Khan as the two have made some drastic personnel changes since 2019.

“I’m a big fan of what the Khans have done,” Silver told Oehser, later adding that the Khans are committed to winning.

“I know the Khans want to win and want to do it the right way, and I know their instincts are good,” Silver said. “I know they’ve made a lot of decisions for the right reasons. I think like any new owners in the NFL, sometimes they make decisions they think are right and say, ‘OK, maybe they’re not.'”

The Jags will look drastically different than the one fans watched in 2019 (on and off the field). They got rid of executive Tom Coughlin before the season could end after the NFLPA singled them out for the treatment of certain players. Afterward in the offseason, they released nose tackle Marcell Dareus, then traded veterans Calais Campbell, Nick Foles and A.J Bouye. Each move had its critics, but losing the aforementioned players made fans especially concerned about the teams management.

While many will disagree with Silver, he is one of the journalists who has followed the Jags closely over time and has covered the league for three decades. That being said, he’s seen more than enough football to form such an opinion of the Khans.

When going into details about some of the positives to take from 2019, Silver pointed out the Jags comeback victory against the Oakland Raiders, another team he watches closely.

“People looking at it from afar may not have appreciated how important those last few games were,” Silver said […] “Beating the Raiders in Oakland was not a small thing. That was a huge, huge, huge game thing for the Oakland Raiders. They really, really wanted that for the fans they were abandoning. It meant a lot to the coach and to the players.

“That was a pretty impressive thing for them [the Jaguars] to do, and then to win again at the end and to have Minshew look good […] They came out of that saying, ‘You know what? Maybe we have something to build around here.'”

Even dating back to general manager Dave Caldwell’s and coach Doug Marrone’s first offseason presser, it felt like the Jags thought there was something in Minshew as Silver stated. They stuck to the plan to build around him throughout the offseason, and in a matter of months, they will get to see if he’s the franchise’s guy (if there is football). If so, the Jags can get trending in the right direction and the Khans will be well off to proving their doubters wrong.

Tony Khan to Yannick Ngakoue: A trade won’t happen until the compensation is right

Tony Khan let Yannick Ngakoue know that insults would get the job done if he wants to be traded, however, the proper compensation will.

After being called out on Twitter by Yannick Ngakoue, Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan made two things clear: Insults won’t help the situation and a trade won’t happen until the compensation is right. In other words, it appears no team has wowed the organization enough to come off the disgruntled pass-rusher.

Whew! Talk about a social media showdown.

Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, things have been “quiet” in terms of Ngakoue getting traded. While he did add that discussions had occurred, Pelissero said no offers had been exchanged for Ngakoue.

The asking price for Ngakoue appears to be at least a first round pick and probably some additional picks. An example of what they might be looking for is what the Seattle Seahawks received for Frank Clark last season when the Kansas City Chiefs gave them a late 2019 first-round pick, a 2020 second-round pick, and swapped thirds for 2019.

With the draft occurring Thursday, a draft-day trade shouldn’t be ruled out either for Ngakoue, something we discussed in our last episode of “Bleav in the Jags” with Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline. With a big gap between Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young and the others at his position, maybe a team that didn’t get to fill their needs on the edge will look to do business with the Jags.

If that happens, would that team be willing to give up what the Jags want? Or would the Jags be fine with potentially getting less than expected? Ultimately, time will tell but right now it appears the needle hasn’t moved much on this issue.

Tony Khan calls report on Doug Marrone “100% false”

It’s been a crazy few weeks for the Jacksonville Jaguars and things got crazier Saturday when ESPN reported that the team informed coach Doug Marrone that they would be relieving him of his duties. It didn’t take long for a spokesperson of Shad …

It’s been a crazy few weeks for the Jacksonville Jaguars and things got crazier Saturday when ESPN reported that the team informed coach Doug Marrone that they would be relieving him of his duties. It didn’t take long for a spokesperson of Shad Khan’s to come out and deny the report, and now his son, Tony Khan, has also chimed in on the matter.

In a tweet released Saturday afternoon from his Twitter account, Tony Khan called the report by ESPN’s Dianna Rossini “100% false.”

As many are aware, Tony Khan currently holds the title of Executive Vice President of Football Administration and Technology with the Jags. With that title, he’s been involved in the front office and has worked closely with general manager Dave Caldwell and Marrone.

Several reports have stated that Tony Khan will be more involved with the team’s operations. With front office executive Tom Coughlin being fired, many have speculated that it could be him taking the new role as the Jags front office leader. Ultimately, time will tell what the future holds for him.

As for Marrone’s situation, his status will eventually come to the light. With the Jags’ regular season finale against the Indianapolis Colts coming up Sunday, he’ll have a chance to address the media in his postgame presser. If he has truly been told that Week 17’s game is his last with the team, he’ll likely notify the media, eliminating the wait for Black Monday.

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.