It’s been a wild start to the offseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it seems there’s yet another layer to unravel. The team is still searching for a head coach, and according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there could be a new decision-maker with a say in that process. Per Rapoport, Jacksonville interviewed former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on Monday for a “high-level front office position.”
Spielman, who was fired on Jan. 10 after serving as the general manager in Minnesota for the last 10 seasons, was also the general manager for the Miami Dolphins in 2004 and then served as the vice president of player personnel for the Vikings from 2006-11 before being promoted.
The #Jaguars interviewed former #Vikings long-time GM Rick Spielman for a high-level front office position in-person yesterday, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. One of the more respected GMs over the last decade, Spielman would be a key addition in Jacksonville.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 1, 2022
There’s no further detail about what role that may be, but we can certainly speculate. Given Spielman’s experience and reputation, as well as the fact that Rapoport says it’s a high-level position, it seems likely that it would be an executive vice president position, possibly in football operations with a similar role to the one Tom Coughlin held from 2017-19.
Despite fan protest and rumors that general manager Trent Baalke’s presence has limited the potential coaching pool, it seems that owner Shad Khan plans to retain Baalke. However, bringing in someone like Spielman, who has had several very successful draft picks (especially at receiver, where he drafted Stefon Diggs and Justin Jefferson) could help bring a new perspective to the process.
Regardless, the Jaguars have wasted the head start from firing head coach Urban Meyer after 14 weeks, and they need to figure out their front-office situation quickly if they plan on wooing a desirable coaching target.