Tag: NFL Head coaching search

Jags issue a statement on Doug Pederson’s hiring

Shad Khan issued a statement about the hiring of Doug Pederson, and oddly enough, it didn’t mention Trent Baalke.

The Jacksonville Jaguars first started the interview process on Dec. 30, and over a month later, they’ve hired the man they started that process with in Doug Pederson.

Pederson will join the Jags with 12 years of NFL coaching experience (also has seven as a player), a 42-37-1 record, and Super Bowl title to his name. For that reason, many seem excited about his hiring, despite it not being the candidate most had as No. 1 on their list. 

Pederson’s hiring ended what had been a sloppy coaching search for the Jags, so needless to say, there were many who were relieved by the news as the Jags also did a poor job with keeping their fans updated. However, owner Shad Khan broke his silence Thursday night and had nothing but great things to say about Pederson.

“Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship,” Jags owner Shad Khan said Thursday night. “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.  I know our fans will warmly welcome Doug and his family to Duval and I personally look forward to having Doug as part of everything we envision for the team, downtown and community in the years ahead.”

The most interesting part about this statement is that it doesn’t mention a thing about general manager Trent Baalke, or working with him. That’s important because he’s the key reason why the Jags stumbled throughout the process as many candidates didn’t want to work with him because of his poor reputation.

Reports have surfaced the last few days that the Jags are looking to potentially hire former Minnesota Vikings executive Rick Spielman to their front office. That’s important because Spielman and Pederson are both represented by PSR Inc., and it’s believed that both would join the Jags in a package deal.

As of Thursday, the team was still continuing their work to add Spielman to a role above Baalke’s, but nothing was deemed official. That said, it seems that could be ironed out in the near future and Pederson would be in a situation where he wouldn’t even have to report to Baalke.

Twitter reacts to Jags’ hiring of Doug Pederson

Doug Pederson will be the Jags next head coach, and though he wasn’t the No. 1 choice to many, it’s a hire that could get the Jags on the right path.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to name Doug Pederson their new head coach, which means the team can now start the process of building around Trevor Lawrence.

Leftwich, who was a former NFL quarterback himself, was one of the top-3 options in the eyes of fans for the simple fact that he’d be a great teacher for Lawrence and has a Super Bowl title to his name. And while most fans were hoping that Bryon Leftwich would’ve been the guy, there is still excitement about the hiring of Pederson as he should be tremendously better than Urban Meyer.

Here are just a few of the few Twitter reactions to Thursday’s big news:

Report: Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich to interview with Jags Friday

Byron Leftwich, a former Jags first-round pick, is finally set to meet with the organization about their coaching vacancy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be interviewing a former first-round selection of the team in Byron Leftwich for their head coaching vacancy on Friday. The news was confirmed by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who reported that Leftwich was set for a late-week interview with the team soon on Thursday.

Leftwich has quickly climbed the ranks as a coach under Bruce Arians, who hired him with the Arizona Cardinals and brought him alone when Arians was hired by the Tampa Bay Bucs. Leftwich got his first opportunity as a coach as an intern for Arians in 2016 and was eventually promoted to a quarterbacks coach role in 2017. Then in 2018, Leftwich was promoted to an interim offensive coordinator role by coach Steve Wilks after the team fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy during the regular season.

Afterward, Arians hired Leftwich again when he took the job with the Bucs in 2019 and made the former quarterback his offensive coordinator. It didn’t take long for the two to have success after acquiring Tom Brady (with who he has a good relationship with) and the trio was able to earn a Super Bowl LV victory last season.

Leftwich could be a good candidate for the Jags for many reasons associated with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He’s done it all from becoming a first-round starting quarterback, been a backup (at one point and time for Arians in Pittsburgh), coached the quarterback position, and has handled offensive play-calling duties, all of which could help him get Lawrence on track.

Caldwell, Perderson expected to interview for Jags HC job, team interested in Leftwich, too

Shad Khan has a busy week ahead of him as the interview process for a new head coach can begin Tuesday. Per Ian Rapoport, he has his eyes set on at least Caldwell, Pederson, and Leftwich for interviews.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Urban Meyer last week and will be able to start their interview process to replace him Tuesday thanks to a new rule passed by the league this month. That means owner Shad Khan has a busy week coming up as he tries to correct what was a huge mistake made back in January.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, both veteran free agent coaches Jim Caldwell and Doug Pederson are expected to be a part of the interview schedule. Rapoport also stated that the team is interested in Tampa Bay Bucs offensive coordinator and former Jaguar Byron Leftwich.

Unlike Meyer, all three of the aforementioned coaches have NFL experience. Pederson and Leftwich have played in the NFL as quarterbacks, too.

Caldwell has coached in the NFL for 18 seasons and seven of those seasons were as a head coach with the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions. He also has 11 years of experience as an assistant, all of which have come with roles as a quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, and/or an assistant head coach. Those stops as an assistant were with the Colts, Tampa Bay Bucs, and Baltimore Ravens, and most recently the Miami Dolphins (2019).

Pederson, on the other hand, has only been with two NFL organizations in the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. He served under Andy Reid during his time with both organizations, but entered the league as a quality controls coach for him in Philly in 2009. Then in 2011, Pederson eventually became the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach under Reid. He followed Reid to Kansas City afterward and was his offensive coordinator from 2013-15 before getting a head coaching opportunity with the Eagles where he won Super Bowl LII.

Lastly, Leftwich got into coaching in 2017 as he was brought on by Bruce Arians as an intern initially (in 2016) when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. After his time as an intern, Leftwich was named the Cardinals quarterbacks coach from 2017-18 and spent 2018 serving as an interim offensive coordinator, too. However, in 2019 when Arians was named the Bucs’ head coach, he brought Leftwich with him and removed the interim label and the pair won the last Super Bowl together. Leftwich also played under Arians from 2010-11 when he was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.

All three of the aforementioned coaches have offensive backgrounds, which isn’t shocking because Trevor Lawrence is the key to the Jags’ success. However, there undoubtedly will be some defensive names to get a shot, too, as there are some notable coaching candidates on that side of the ball as well.