Tag: Mike Garofolo

Reports: Jaguars continue to work toward hiring Rick Spielman to front office

The Jaguars are moving toward hiring Spielman, the former Minnesota general manager, to an executive role in the front office, per multiple reports.

On Tuesday, news broke that the Jacksonville Jaguars had interviewed former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman for a high-level front-office position. Now, the rumors that the team wants to add Spielman seem to be picking up steam.

On Good Morning Football on Thursday, NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo said that the Jaguars are continuing to work to bring him in.

“My understanding… is that there’s progress being made, there’s deals being worked on. Nothing official,” Garofolo said. “We’ve seen this Jaguars’ search for a head coach take a couple turns here and there, so I’m not going to say it’s happening until it officially happens, but Rick Spielman potentially joining the Jacksonville front office.

“This is a guy that is highly respected around the league. I know there’s concerns about Trent Baalke amongst head coaching candidates, so this would be a plus in the minds of many candidates.”

Although he was fired by the Vikings, Spielman is still well thought of around the NFL and is credited with several strong draft selections. If the Jags choose to bring him in, possibly in some sort of executive vice president role, Garofolo thinks it could signal the direction the team is heading as far as head coach goes.

“By the way, if Spielman had remained in Minnesota, the expectation was Doug Pederson was going to be high on the Vikings’ list,” Garofolo said. “Pederson interviewed a second time with the Jaguars this week. You see where I’m going with this? Potentially, the pieces coming together in Jacksonville.”

Garofolo isn’t the only one with the scoop on Spielman, either. CBS Sports NFL reporter Jonathan Jones also reported that Spielman to the Jags is picking up steam, and per Jones, Spielman would be in a role above Baalke, who many fans want to be shown the door.

This has been a disastrous coaching search and a rough start to a crucial offseason for the Jaguars. While many wouldn’t be happy with Baalke retained in any capacity, we may at least be nearing a conclusion to the drama in the coming days if things materialize with Spielman and Pederson, who won a Super Bowl as the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2017 season.

Report: Shad Khan asked a candidate if they would work with Trent Baalke while he was in the room

According to Mike Garofolo, at least one candidate didn’t feel comfortable answering questions about Baalke directly and honestly.

Jacksonville’s coaching search continues to take wild turn after wild turn. In an interview with 1010XL, NFL insider Mike Garofolo shed some light on the situation, but based on what he’s heard, it doesn’t make the Jaguars — and owner Shad Khan, in particular, look very good.

There’s been a lot of discussion this cycle about candidates being unwilling to work with general manager Trent Baalke. That was rumored to be a major hangup with Byron Leftwich, and now as Doug Pederson returns for a second interview, the team has also interviewed former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman for a high-level front-office position.

Garofolo addressed these rumors, and he stated that he’s heard from some Jags’ sources that the reticence to work with Baalke hasn’t been directly stated in interviews. However, the next bomb Garofolo dropped was truly stunning.

Apparently, according to at least one candidate, Khan is asking interviewees if they would work with Baalke while the embattled general manager is in the room.

“I know I’ve gotten this from one candidate,” Garofolo said. “I know I’ve gotten it. The question about Baalke and his role and all that stuff, that candidate did not answer directly and honestly because Baalke was in the interview room. It’s up to Shad Khan now to either conduct that communication separately or just open up his ears to the rest of the league and the rest of the fanbase and see that there’s uncomfortability there.

“At some point, if that’s really the case — and I have reason to believe it is for at least a couple of guys — why are you dying on this hill? This is not a guy that’s been with your organization for 10-15 years that you feel strongly about, it’s a guy that you were recently introduced to.”

You can see the full interview here.

If this report is true, it’s more damning information about the way the Jaguars have conducted this process. It’s one thing to stick with Baalke in spite of uproar from the fanbase and around the league, but to base that off interview answers that may have been given under duress is just another level of incompetence.

This process has been a disaster so far, and while the Jags could still end up with a great coach out of this whole ordeal, the way Khan has gone about the search continues to embarrass the franchise at each turn.