Tag: George Warhop

Jags OL coach George Warhop discusses Ben Bartch’s transition into NFL so far

One of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ more interesting picks of the 2020 NFL Draft was offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who was selected in the fourth-round. With many fans believing the team needed help on the offensive line, it didn’t take long for many …

One of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ more interesting picks of the 2020 NFL Draft was offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who was selected in the fourth-round. With many fans believing the team needed help on the offensive line, it didn’t take long for many to demand him as a replacement for starting guard A.J. Cann.

However, in the early stages of camp, it appears offensive line coach George Warhop believes Bartch needs some more time to get acclimated, though he likes his potential and upside.

“I like Ben, I like him. His college tape was good, but level of play didn’t give you a great indicator of what he possibly could be. I thought when he was at the senior bowl before he got hurt, I thought he competed extremely well there,” Warhop said.

“[He] showed some things that we like in our guys, some strength. He has some tenacity. He’s a bright kid. I think it’s really just him getting comfortable. He hasn’t shied away from the competition, just technically getting used to how we want to play, making the transition from tackle to guard.”

As pointed out by Warhop, Bartch’s name began to garner some attention at the Senior Bowl as he was on an all-star roster practicing against notables like Javon Kinlaw, Jabari Zuniga, and Jonathan Greenard to name a few. He held his own in the process and it Cleary was a key in the Jags drafting him No. 116th overall.

As for the strength and tenacity Warhop spoke on, that was on display this week for Bartch as the pads went on. There were times where the media was able to catch him on video holding his own against some of the Jags potential starters like Taven Bryan and Timmy Jernigan.

While it’s unclear if Bartch could overtake Cann as a starter, there is time for Bartch to make progress as the regular season is three weeks away. With no preseason games, it might be an uphill battle if he has a chance to start but clearly the talent is there for him to develop.

Should the Jags look into bringing in former Cowboys OL coach Marc Colombo?

When the staff returns next week, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone won’t just have to worry about filling the two vacant spots left on his staff after Scott Milanovich and John Donovan took new jobs, but he’ll also have to decide if he …

When the staff returns next week, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone won’t just have to worry about filling the two vacant spots left on his staff after Scott Milanovich and John Donovan took new jobs, but he’ll also have to decide if he wants to fire anyone currently on the staff.

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Two coaches who could particularly be on the hot seat are defensive coordinator Todd Wash and possibly offensive line coach George Warhop. We’ve mentions Wash’s issues many times in the past so I won’t sound like a broken record by harping on him. However, much attention hasn’t been brought on the job Warhop did in his first year with the Jags.

The team’s offensive line had its good moments at the beginning of the season as Leonard Fournette rushed for 107 yards or more three times. However, in the second half of the season, he struggled and the offensive line wasn’t doing him any favors in terms of opening holes.

Additionally, the team finished second in penalties and a majority of them came from the offensive line. Jawaan Taylor (who actually finished the season strong) finished second in the league in penalties with 15. Both Cam Robinson and Brandon Linder also hit a double-digit total in penalties, too, with 10 apiece.

With a combination of blocking woes and backbreaking penalties, the unit as a whole was ranked the seventh-worst by Pro Football Focus. That said, upon doing his evaluations, it appears deciding on Warhop’s future will be the second-hardest for Marrone (if Wash is fired) because Warhop is a friend of Marrone’s and coached him as a player. Then again, with Warhop only having a year with the group, he very well could stick around, too.

If Marrone decides he does want to replace Warhop, an assistant who should be under consideration is former Dallas Cowboys offensive line coach Marc Colombo, who new coach Mike McCarthy has decided to not keep from the previous staff.

Many will remember Colombo’s name as he formerly played for the Cowboys (2005-10), Chicago Bears before that (2002-05) and the Miami Dolphins (2012). After eventually retiring a Cowboy, he found himself back with the team as an assistant in 2018 and it didn’t take long to eventually get promoted to their offensive line coaching job.

Under him and Garrett’s other assistants, the offense finished first in yards, second in passing yards, fifth in rushing yards and sixth in total points. Additionally, they went from being PFF’s No. 14 ranked line in 2018, to the No. 4 spot after this regular season. To me, that explains why the team felt the need to fire their old offensive line coach, Paul Alexander, and give Colombo a shot, which clearly paid off.

Many will point out how talented Dallas’ line is in comparison to Jacksonville’s and how it wouldn’t be as easy of a job to mold the unit here, but that might not necessarily be the case. In addition to getting the unit to play better as a group, Colombo really got right tackle, La’el Collins, to step his game up. He registered an 85.5 overall score in 2019, good for the third-best at the position. This is important because Colombo played right tackle during his career and I believe he could really help Taylor take the next step.

Ultimately, we’ll have to see what Marrone decides to do about his offensive line. However, with him barely escaping 2019 with his job it might be smart for Marrone to at least consider Colombo as an option.

Doug Marrone to make coaching staff evaluations in the coming weeks

Doug Marrone will remain the Jags’ head coach, but with coaching evaluations coming up, he may need to let some assistants go.

With Black Monday occurring just a few days ago, there are currently several teams making personnel decisions but the Jacksonville Jaguars, to the surprise of some, aren’t one of them. After meeting with various personnel members throughout the week and coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell on Tuesday, owner Shad Khan made the decision not to make any changes to his staff. However, with another double-digit loss season occurring, Marrone may not be as willing to overlook his staff’s shortcomings as ownership was.

In the process of meeting with the media Tuesday, Marrone revealed that he’d be meeting with his staff and making evaluations when the team returns around Jan. 13, and some have speculated that could mean another slight shake-up within the coaching staff.

Upon looking at where Marrone could make changes, the first position that comes to mind is the defensive coordinator position, which is currently held by Todd Wash. The Jags’ 2019 season was especially a rough one for him as his unit finished the season as the No. 24 ranked team in yards allowed (375.4 YPG average) and the No. 28 ranked rushing defense (139.3 YPG average). While some of his struggles were due to losing several key players in Telvin Smith, Marcell Dareus, and Myles Jack, it’s been painfully clear over the last two seasons that Wash isn’t the best at making adjustments. Some fans also felt that his success from 2017 was due to the plethora of talent the Jags had and not his coaching abilities as he struggled after the departures of players like Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson and could never regather himself.

Another position where Marrone may consider a change is at the offensive line coaching position where he brought in George Warhop, a former coach of his as a player, just last season. Warhop’s group got off to a decent start in the first half of the season as the Jags were able to go 4-4 and Leonard Fournette was able to record two games with over 107 yards rushing and one with over 220 yards rushing. However, after that, the unit looked very below average as the running lanes were hard to come by and the Jags had multiple games where they couldn’t score more than 12 points.

It’s absolutely no doubt that Marrone understands he’s fortunate to still have his job after how 2019 went down. For that reason, fans can’t help but wonder how unimpressed he was with the jobs Wash and Warhop did in 2019, even with the injuries that plagued the team. That said, if there is a change made, it wouldn’t be shocking to see both assistants replace though it also shouldn’t be ruled out that both could be retained.