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.
— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) December 19, 2019
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.
RB Leonard Fournette confirms he won a grievance against Jaguars to get a $99K fine rescinded. Tom Coughlin fined Fournette for his actions (sitting on the bench while inactive) during the 2018 season finale
— Mark Long (@APMarkLong) December 18, 2019
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.