When the season ended, fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars were almost certain that defensive coordinator Todd Wash would be fired but here we are in late January and that isn’t the case. It became obvious that Wash would remain with the staff after John DeFilippo was fired as offensive coordinator and no other coaching moves were made aside from the addition of Jay Gruden.
During last week’s Senior Bowl, the Jaguars’ senior editor John Oehser asked Doug Marrone about the decision to stick with Wash and the third-year head coach said he had multiple reasons to keep Wash onboard.
One big reason was the extensive time they’ve worked together and another was the success the Jags had early in Wash’s time as defensive coordinator.
“I’ve been with Wash for five years,” Marrone said. “I got to watch him very closely when I was the O-Line coach and he was the D-Line coach and then three years as a coordinator. When you look at the body of work, what we’ve done defensively over the course of time, you’re talking about a Top 10 defense. There have been a lot of changes on defense. We have changed to try to put our players in better position. I think in the end it’s going to help us and we’re going to be back to the level of defense we want to play at. And that’s why I made the choice with what’s best for the team.”
During Marrone’s first year (2017) the Jags’ defense put up historic numbers and were arguably the best in the league. They finished first in several categories like forced fumbles (17), passing yards allowed a game (169.9), passer rating (68.5) and defensive touchdowns (seven). Of course, they also developed the moniker “Sacksonville” after finishing second in the league in sacks with 55.
In 2018, the unit wasn’t nearly as elite but respectable nonetheless. They particularly were good against the pass, finishing second in the category and allowing an average of 194.6.
However, it seems the problem most fans have with Wash is his lack of ability to adapt during games. There are also questions as to how good of a defensive teacher he is because he hasn’t shown the ability to get the best out of players who aren’t elite. In other words, fans believe he’s average at best when he doesn’t have multiple blue-chip talents on his unit.
A common theme that has been stressed at the Jags’ facility is playing to the player’s strengths. When looking at Wash’s unit, the most notable change could be moving Myles Jack to outside linebacker amongst others. In his first year as the team’s full-time MIKE linebacker, he struggled mightily and if the Jags are sincere about adapting to their players, putting Jack back on the outside would speak volumes.
If the Jags could put Jack back at the weakside linebacker spot where he looked the best in his career, make a few other defensive tweaks, and Wash can become a better in-game strategist, Marrone’s decision could be a wise one. However, if there aren’t significant changes and improvements made defensively, he could unfortunately end up having to part ways with Wash before the season ends.