One player who has been heavily mocked to the Jacksonville Jaguars is Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who declared for the draft this past weekend. After his impressive performance in the national championship against the Louisiana State Tigers, his name is one Jags fans have really gravitated towards because the team needs help at the linebacker position.
Take a chance, because you never know how perfect something can turn out pic.twitter.com/nG7AzrCHJt
— Isaiah Simmons (@isaiahsimmons25) January 18, 2020
Not too soon after declaring, Simmons, like most players, decided to name an agent. Unfortunately for the Jags, it was an agent they know for all the wrong reasons in David Mulugheta.
Excited to join the family! @DavidMulugheta pic.twitter.com/8iJaQtn7sg
— Isaiah Simmons (@isaiahsimmons25) January 19, 2020
As many are aware, Mulugheta was the agent of Jalen Ramsey, who the Jags traded to the Los Angeles Rams after he and the Jags’ front office had a rough saga with each other. During Week 2’s game against the Houston Texans, Ramsey and coach Doug Marrone got into a heated argument on the sidelines that led former front office executive Tom Coughlin to hold a meeting with Ramsey in the locker room after the game. Ramsey left the meeting feeling “disrespected” and demanded a trade through Mulugheta, and the rest is history.
However, the issues allegedly caused by Coughlin didn’t stop there.
Before the season could end, the NFL Players Association won a grievance filed by Dante Fowler Jr. against the Jags in December due to the team fining him over $700,000 for not rehabbing at their facility during the 2018 offseason. As details came to the surface, the NFLPA singled out the Jags by stating that 25% of the grievances filed by players were against them and warned players to be mindful of that before considering them as a destination. The incident later led to the firing of Coughlin on Dec.18.
That leads us to the question of the day: will Mulugheta advise Simmons to avoid playing for the Jags? While Coughlin is gone, one has to wonder whether the player and agent perception towards the Jags will remain the same.
Another thing worth noting is that Ramsey told ESPN that there were four people who met with him after Week 2’s game, saying he respected two of the people present, which leaves two others who fans are left to assume he doesn’t view favorably. At this point, it can be assumed that Coughlin was probably one of those two — but what if there’s a possibility that general manager Dave Caldwell was the other? How does Mulugheta feel about him?
Only time will tell if Simmons is willing to play for the Jags as the decision is ultimately up to him. If there is any silver lining to the Jags’ front office situation it’s the fact that agents seem to view Caldwell more favorably as he’s gotten multiple marquee names to sign with Jacksonville when they previously wouldn’t. With Coughlin gone, maybe Mulugheta won’t have an issue with Simmons coming to Jacksonville, but the saga with Ramsey does make it fair to question Simmons’ potential to be a Jaguar come April.
How do you all at home feel on the matter? Could Simmons’ decision to hire Mulugheta hurt his chances to be a Jaguar? Let us know in our Jags Wire forum.