The Jaguars fired head coach Doug Pederson on Monday following Jacksonville’s Week 18 loss to the Indianapolis Colts and the franchise’s 4-13 2024 season, team owner Shad Khan announced in a statement.
The Jaguars are retaining general manager Trent Baalke, who will assist Khan in finding a new head coach, the statement read.
“I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Khan wrote.
“Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife Jeannie when that occasion arrives. As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.
“I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago. I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”
Pederson, 56, went 22-29 in the regular season and 23-30 including the postseason during his 53-game stint with the Jaguars. He owns a 64-66-1 regular-season record as an NFL head coach and a 69-69-1 mark including the playoffs and his Super Bowl LII victory with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In August, the Jaguars released a documentary that featured Khan’s message to the squad before their preseason, suggesting it was “the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ever,” all-encompassing.
“Best players, best coaches. But most importantly, let’s prove it by winning now,” Khan said.
That same team experienced two losing streaks of four or more games, was eliminated from playoff contention in Week 13, and at season’s end clinched the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Jacksonville’s offense failed to meet expectations after quarterback Trevor Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension with the club in June. The Jaguars ranked No. 25 in the NFL in yards per game (306.2) and No. 26 in points per game (18.8) in 2024, after finishing the 2023 season No. 13 (339.5) and No. 14 (22.2) in those respective categories.
A combination of injuries sidelined Lawrence for most of the season’s second half. He missed two games after hurting his left, non-throwing shoulder against the Eagles in Week 9, and was placed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion against the Houston Texans in Week 13. He had surgery on his shoulder on Dec. 17.
The Jaguars’ offense averaged 278.1 yards and 15 points per game over the seven contests Mac Jones, an offseason trade acquisition from the New England Patriots, started at quarterback.
Jacksonville’s defense underwent a significant facelift this past offseason. Pederson fired two-year defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and replaced him with Ryan Nielsen, who made his NFL play-calling debut with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023.
Nielsen installed a new scheme, and the Jaguars added a handful of fresh contributors to pair. They signed defensive lineman Arik Armstead, cornerback Ronald Darby and safety Darnell Savage Jr. in free agency; they picked nickel cornerback Jarrian Jones and defensive linemen Maason Smith and Jordan Jefferson between the second and fourth rounds of the 2024 NFL draft.
Yet Jacksonville’s defense took a drastic step back from the year before. It ranked No. 31 in yards allowed per game (389.9), tied for No. 27 in points allowed per game (25.6) and last in turnovers generated (nine) in 2024, down from No. 22 (342.8), No. 17 (21.8) and No. 8 (27) to end the 2023 campaign, respectively.
Pederson’s early returns in Jacksonville were promising
The Jaguars cast a wide net in their search to replace the controversial Urban Meyer as head coach nearly three years ago. Pederson reportedly received the first and last interview out of 10 candidates in a near-two-month process between Dec. 2021 and Feb. 2022.
Aside from his Super Bowl-winning status, Pederson was sought out by Jacksonville to bolster the development of its franchise quarterback and No. 1 overall 2021 NFL draft pick, Lawrence. Pederson was renowned for his work with passers, including Alex Smith as the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator and Carson Wentz and Nick Foles as the Eagles’ head coach.
“Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship,” Khan said in a Feb. 2022 statement.
“I hope Doug can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville, but what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning head coach in the National Football League. It’s exactly what our players deserve. Nothing less. Combine this with his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, and you have why I am proud to name Doug Pederson the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.”
After completing 59.6% of his passes for 3,641 yards with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions as a rookie under Meyer, Lawrence produced a 64.8% completion rate, 10,133 passing yards, 57 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 42 starts under Pederson.
Pederson and the Jaguars caught lightning in a bottle in an 18-game stretch between 2022-23. After entering Week 14 of the head coach’s first season in town 4-8, Jacksonville ripped off five consecutive wins to secure a playoff berth and a sixth during the AFC Wild Card Round over the Los Angeles Chargers in a 27-point comeback, the largest in franchise history.
Jacksonville fell to Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Divisional Round, 27-20. But the Jaguars’ seemingly franchise-altering momentum under Pederson did not immediately halt.
The Jaguars opened 8-3 in 2023, put together another five-game winning streak between Weeks 4-8, and held a 4-1 record in the AFC South through Week 12. They beat three eventual playoff teams in that stretch: The Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Texans.
At that point, Jacksonville had won 14 of its last 18 games including in the playoffs, with Lawrence largely excelling, throwing for 3,719 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Knocked off course, Pederson could not turn the Jaguars around
But Lawrence suffered a high-ankle sprain, and starting slot receiver Christian Kirk endured a season-ending core muscle injury, in Jacksonville’s Week 13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, sending the Jaguars’ 2023 season into a spiral.
Lawrence played through his ankle injury but experienced a concussion in a Week 15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He cleared protocol to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16, only to hurt his throwing shoulder during that game, leading Lawrence to miss the first start of his NFL career in Week 17 against Carolina.
The Jaguars managed their only win of the six-game span to end the season with Lawrence sidelined, beating the Panthers, who finished the year with a 2-15 record, with C.J. Beathard at quarterback.
Jacksonville lost to the Tennessee Titans and was eliminated from playoff contention when Lawrence returned in Week 18. He was listed as questionable entering the weekend.
Despite leading the NFL in total offseason spending in an effort to bounce back this year, the Jaguars did anything but. Jacksonville opened a season 0-4 for the sixth time in its 30-year franchise history, and the first time since Meyer’s lone campaign in charge.
Jacksonville’s first win in 2024, at home in Week 5 against Indianapolis, was nearly stolen by 39-year-old, recent journeyman quarterback Joe Flacco.
The Jaguars held a 34-20 lead with 5:09 left in regulation, but Flacco completed three passes for 135 yards, tossed one touchdown and set up another for Colts running back Trey Sermon, to tie the contest over two drives.
Rookie Jacksonville kicker Cam Little hit a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left and edge rusher Travon Walker sacked Flacco on the final play to ensure the victory.
Jacksonville had to overcome a 10-point opening deficit to New England and its rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, to beat the Patriots overseas in Week 7. Lawrence pitched a pair of touchdowns and wide receiver Parker Washington returned a punt for a 96-yard score in the second quarter to snatch the matchup’s momentum.
The Jaguars only won two more games after returning stateside. They swept their AFC South rival Titans, who finished the season 3-14, with a 10-6 victory in Week 14 and a 20-13 triumph in Week 17.
Jacksonville’s second extended losing streak of the season began in Week 8, opening with one-score defeats against the Green Bay Packers, Eagles and Minnesota Vikings before the Detroit Lions handed the Jaguars their biggest beating in team history in Week 11, 52-6.
NFL Network reported before kickoff in Week 11 that a loss to the Lions could have prompted Khan to fire Pederson and Baalke during Jacksonville’s Week 12 bye. But Pederson and Baalke remained in their roles when the Jaguars returned to action in Week 13, a 23-20 loss to the Texans, and for the rest of the season.
Jacksonville went 5-18 between Lawrence suffering his ankle injury against Cincinnati in 2023 and Pederson’s dismissal on Monday.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.