The 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars’ coaching staff has yet to be officially named, but new coach Urban Meyer does seem to be doing a thorough job of finding the best candidates possible. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the staff added another coach with extensive NFL experience in longtime receivers coach Sanjay Lal.
The #Jaguars are hiring veteran wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal, source said. An experienced staff coming together under Urban Meyer and Darrell Bevell.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 28, 2021
Lal, 51, has been coaching in the NFL since 2007 and entered the league as an offensive quality controls coach and assistant receivers coach for the Oakland Raiders. He was promoted to their head receivers coaching role from 2009-11.
After his time in Oakland, Lal held roles as the receivers coach for the New York Jets (2012-14), Buffalo Bills (2015-16), Indianapolis Colts (2017), and Dallas Cowboys (2018-19). Along the way, he coached notables like Cole Beasley, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Randall Cobb, and T.Y. Hilton.
Under Lal’s coaching in 2019, Gallup and Cooper both registered over 1,100 receiving yards, though Cooper started that season in Oakland. Randall Cobb also registered over 800 yards.
Lal spent 2020 with the Seattle Seahawks as a senior offensive assistant. While there he served under Pete Carroll, who is one of the NFL’s best coaches. It’s unclear if he will be a receivers coach for Jacksonville, but his résumé seems to indicate it.
If named the Jags’ receivers coach, Lal will inherit a pretty talented receivers group in Jacksonville as they currently have DJ Chark Jr., Laviska Shenault Jr., and Collin Johnson on the roster. The group was coached by Jags legend Keenan McCardell since 2017, so it’s a possibility he may not be retained by Meyer though an announcement hasn’t officially been made.