Category: Trent Baalke

Jags’ Trent Baalke attends Alabama’s first 2021 pro day

The Jags’ general manager was on hand Tuesday for the first of two pro days featuring UA players. He was one of several GMs in attendance.

Alabama football is a model of consistency and professional player development in the college game, so it makes sense that when its top players work out before NFL scouts, nearly all of the league is in attendance. The Jacksonville Jaguars were no exception for the Crimson Tide’s first pro day on Tuesday, as they sent one of their top figures, general manager Trent Baalke, to scout star-studded UA.

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There are a number of top Alabama prospects who aren’t participating in the pro day, such as Heisman Trophy-winning receiver Devonta Smith, running back Najee Harris and linebacker Dylan Moses, who are all injured. But Baalke still got the chance to scope out some major prospects, such as offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood, defensive tackle Christian Barmore and cornerback Patrick Surtain II. It’s possible the Jags could target one of those players, if available, with the 25th pick.

In this year’s altered offseason format (which doesn’t include the usual NFL Scouting Combine), pro days are all the more important, as they’re the only chance scouts will get to take an in-person look at prospects before next month’s draft.

Alabama has another pro day on March 30, and it’s likely that some contingent from the Jags (if not Baalke, himself) will return for that one, potentially with the chance to check out players who were not able to go in the first pro day.

Watch: Jags ‘The Hunt’ series begins by previewing vision of Meyer, Baalke for team

The Jags media team begins their video series entitled “The Hunt,” which will give fans an insider preview of the front office’s rebuild.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming up on a very important time in the team’s history and those who work in the front office know it. New coach Urban Meyer has said this himself on many occasions and will be leading the way in terms of mapping out the plan for the Jags to be successful again. Of course, it won’t be easy and is going to take a lot of work, which is why the team will be using a new video series entitled “The Hunt” to give the fans a preview of the front office’s journey.

With free agency set to begin Wednesday, the team released its first episode for the 2021 season this week. In it, Meyer discussed his vision and how he will build up the team to be the winner that Duval deserves. The media crew also followed him to Clemson as the Jags scouted Trevor Lawrence at his pro day.

The series also focused on new general manager Trent Baalke and his team’s process of looking for talent. As many are aware, he will be helping Meyer make the call with the first overall pick (probably on Lawrence) and also will be assisting him on his rookie season throughout the NFL which will come with many hurdles.

https://youtu.be/5bvz6b8WGXo

Jags GM Trent Baalke discusses free agency plans

The Jags general manager said the team would look to spend this offseason, but it will also be looking for value in free agency.

Jacksonville’s offseason strategy became a little murkier following the franchise tag deadline. The team elected to tag left tackle Cam Robinson in a somewhat surprising decision, likely taking it out of the sweepstakes for top free-agent tackle Trent Williams. Additionally, several Jacksonville targets, such as New York Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams and Chicago Bears receiver Allen Robinson, were tagged by their respective teams.

Now, with teams allowed to begin negotiating on Monday and players allowed to sign those deals beginning on Wednesday, the Jaguars must decide how they’re going to spend their roughly $82 million in cap space.

Speaking to the media, Jags general manager Trent Baalke said the team is looking for value, but it also has priorities.

“We do, we certainly do,” he said. “We’re looking at a lot of different positions and a lot of different players and the key word there was value. We’re looking for value. That isn’t always the most expensive player. There’s all different levels of ‘like.’ When we say we like a player, to what level and what value do we place on him? So, that’s going to be critical as we build this team out moving forward is making sure we get the value of the position and the player correct.”

With the league’s official salary cap being finalized at $182.5 million, Jacksonville now knows exactly how much cash will be at its disposal. Baalke expects the team to be big spenders, but he also said he doesn’t intend to overpay.

“…we figured it would be somewhere between 180 [million] and 185 [million] and that’s what we planned on,” Baalke said. “As far as spending, we’re always going to look to push the envelope and spend to the cap on a three-year rolling cycle, whether you’re above or below, but over a three-year period hoping to spend to the cap. We have an ownership that’s willing to do that and we want to do that, so we’re going to use the dollars.

I spoke earlier about value, I think value’s critical. You have to get the value of the players right. Just like building a stock portfolio, if you get a bunch of overpriced stocks, you buy high and sell low, eventually that catches up with you. So, we want to treat the players right and value them correctly and bring them into the organization and give them the best of the best and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

The Jaguars have their work cut out for them ahead of the draft in building a solid starting foundation for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but they certainly have the capital to make it happen. The question now will be if Baalke and Co. can make the right free agency decisions.

Trent Baalke praises Meyer’s communication skills early in their relationship

The new Jags GM said his relationship with Meyer is “great” and that Jacksonville’s new coach is easy to work with.

New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke have only been together on the job for under two months, but it seems things are going swimmingly so far. Baalke, who was promoted to general manager after serving as the team’s interim following the firing of Dave Caldwell, told the media that after six weeks, his relationship with Meyer is “great.”

“There’s no other word I can say,” he said via Jaguars.com. “There’s a lot of harmony, a lot of collaboration. The thing we entered into is a partnership and that partnership is taking shape. Urban is a very easy guy to work with – difficult in the sense of demanding, but that’s the expectation of this league. It’s a demanding league.”

This characterization may run counter to the public image of Meyer, who is known as an intense, winning-focused coach. But asked to elaborate, Baalke said Meyer’s direct style brings the staff together.

“Communication skills are excellent,” Baalke added. “He knows exactly what he wants. He’s team-centric. When you’re team-centric and everybody’s involved in the decisions, it’s an environment that’s easier to work within.”

The decision to retain and promote Baalke was a bit controversial, as critics pointed to his time in the same role as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, a position he held from 2011-16. Though the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, the team declined from there under Baalke’s watch.

But Meyer and Baalke reportedly hit it off after the former was hired, and it seems that so far, the partnership is off to a good start. Jags fans will just hope that translates to on-field success.

Former 49ers executive Tom Gamble has joined Trent Baalke in Jags’ front office

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made several moves in terms of getting a coaching staff together, however, some notable changes are going on in the front office, too. Thursday, the Jags introduced Trent Baalke as their new general manager, but that …

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made several moves in terms of getting a coaching staff together, however, some notable changes are going on in the front office, too. Thursday, the Jags introduced Trent Baalke as their new general manager, but that wasn’t the only announcement made in terms of front office personnel.

Baalke also revealed that his former assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, Tom Gamble, has joined the staff and is working from the team’s headquarters.

“Absolutely. Tom is already down here, on staff and working,” Baalke said when asked if Gamble was joining the Jags. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, we’ve got free agency, we’ve got a draft, we’ve got a situation in the NFL that’s going to be historic, with the cap going down for the first time. There’s a lot of things we need to work through and I’m confident in the group we have, and we’re going to push forward with that group.”

Overall, Gamble had two stints with the San Francisco 49ers and spent a total of 10 seasons with them. His first stint with them was from 2005-12, and the last two seasons of that run were as the 49ers’ director of player personnel. During that period, Gamble oversaw college and pro personnel-related matters under Baalke.

Afterward, Gamble spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-14) as their vice president of player personnel but rejoined the 49ers in 2015. Eventually, in 2016, he was named the 49ers’ assistant general manager. Afterward, Gamble ended up in the Canadian Football League as an assistant general manager for the Montreal Alouettes in 2020.

Gamble ending up with the Jags isn’t shocking after owner Shad Khan interviewed him during his first general manager search in 2013. Gamble was a hot name back then after the 49ers went to the NFC Championship in three consecutive seasons (2011-13). Of course, that was due to having a talented team that Gamble and Baalke helped put together with names like Colin Kaepernick, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, and Joe Staley on the roster.

Now, Gamble has found himself back in the NFL and will look to aid new coach Urban Meyer and Baalke to success. Fans will have to wait until later to find out his title as Baalke said that hasn’t been declared yet.

“Right now, he’s just within the department,” Baalke said about Gamble. “The title thing, I’ve never been a big title guy, we’ll figure all of that out. I think the key is the value he brings to this organization, the value he brings to myself in knowing Tom and working alongside him for as long as I have. I trust him, I respect him and I’m just looking forward to working with him again.”

It appears the Jags’ staffing situation could be wrapped up next week. When they officially hand out their coaching and front office titles, we’ll be sure to report it as the front office group has a huge offseason coming up.

Jags officially name Trent Baalke their GM

The Jaguars officially have a new general manager, and it will be their interim Trent Baalke.

As expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars named Trent Baalke their general manager Thursday. The news comes after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that a promotion was in the works for the Jags former interim.

Baalke, 56, was hired by the Jags in February of 2020 as their director of player personnel under former general manager Dave Caldwell. However, when Caldwell was let go in November, Baalke was named the interim general manager.

Baalke will return to a role he previously held with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 through the 2016 season. During his time as general manager with the 49ers, they went to three NFC championships from 2011-13. One of those seasons led to a trip to the Super Bowl (XLVII) where the 49ers fell to the Baltimore Ravens after the 2012 season.

While with the 49ers, Baalke’s notable selections included quarterback Colin Kaepernick, pass-rusher Aldon Smith, safety Eric Reid, and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. He also played a huge role in scouting Alex Smith before becoming a general manager, and during that process, he met Jags coach Urban Meyer, who was Smith’s coach.

Now, Baalke will be asked to work alongside Meyer in the Jags front office as owner Shad Khan has indicated that the three-time national champion coach is the leader of football operations. Only time will tell how that structure works, but clearly the Jags organization is trying something new.