Tag: Press Taylor

Taylor: Jaguars’ Mitch Morse ‘confident in who he is, what he’s done’

Taylor: New Jaguars center Mitch Morse ‘confident in who he is, what he’s done’

Doug Pederson praised Jaguars free agent center signee Mitch Morse shortly after signing in March for his abilities as an NFL offensive lineman and the veteran leadership he’d provide to Jacksonville’s front five.

While pads have yet to be put on as the Jaguars conduct voluntary offseason team activities (OTAs), making the former compliment hard to gauge, Morse has thus far lived up to the latter billing in the eyes of Jacksonville offensive coordinator Press Taylor.

The nine-year pro has acted as a strong example for other linemen in positional and team meetings, ensuring he captures and understands every detail issued by his new coaching staff.

“This is a guy that’s very confident in who he is, what he’s done,” Taylor described Morse. “You see it show up the way he handled himself in the huddle and the meeting room. He’s not afraid to speak up and ask questions.

“Some young guys that are new to a system are probably going to wait until a meeting ends and go grab a coach on the side, ‘Hey, you said this; what did you mean by that?’ Mitch will stop a meeting and make sure he’s on the same page of what the coach is expecting.”

That being said, Taylor noted, Morse has had no issue learning the Jaguars’ offensive system.

It likely helps that Morse’s offensive coordinator during his rookie season with Kansas City in 2015 was Pederson, to whom Taylor is a coaching disciple, before Pederson received his first NFL head coaching opportunity with Philadelphia.

“Football hasn’t really changed over the course of many years, but each offense has their own language. It’s how quickly can we get everybody on-boarded with our language. ‘What does it sound like for us? When you say this, what does this mean?’ ” Taylor explained. “Mitch has done a great job getting himself up to speed with that.”

Morse was the most significant addition to Jacksonville’s offensive line this offseason after the team finished with 59.6 pass-blocking and 40.6 run-blocking grades during the 2023 regular season, ranking No. 21 and No. 31 in the NFL in those respective categories, per Pro Football Focus.

Morse earned 63.7 run-blocking and 71.7 pass-blocking marks from PFF in 2023. Over 126 career appearances, each of which he’s started, Morse has allowed just 11 sacks.

He appears poised to take over as Jacksonville’s starting center this season, replacing the team’s 2022 third-round selection in the NFL draft, Luke Fortner, who posted 40.0 run-blocking and 54.9 pass-blocking grades last year. He allowed four sacks in 2023.

Otherwise, the Jaguars’ offensive line is largely expected to look the same in 2024 as the unit of 2023.

Seven-year Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson returns after missing eight games over two chunks of the 2023 campaign due to suspension and injury, while Anton Harrison looks to build upon a strong rookie campaign at right tackle entering his second pro season.

At guard, Ezra Cleveland enters his first full season with Jacksonville on the left side after his midseason trade acquisition from Minnesota last year. Brandon Scherff returns for his third season with the Jaguars, on a restructured contract, and his 10th year in the NFL on the right.

Taylor suggested there will be room for position battles along the front when pads come on later in the offseason program. But for now, the unit is tasked with absorbing coaching points and developing camaraderie within the scheme. Morse is serving as a critical part of that process.

“We’re trying to create an identity of who we envision ourselves being within the scheme. It’s tougher to have position battles when things aren’t very physical,” Taylor said.

“Right now, you’re looking for understanding, the details, looking for some urgency. But that physical piece is the element that misses throughout the offseason that we’re trying to take our time with as we move forward. You’ll get a little bit more preview of that through training camp, obviously preseason games as these things continue on.”

Trevor Lawrence ‘expecting’ Press Taylor to call Jaguars plays in 2024

Trevor Lawrence “expecting” Press Taylor to call Jaguars’ offensive plays in 2024.

“It’s hard as a quarterback to change around and change systems, change play-callers all of the time. That can be difficult. So, I like where we’re at.”

Hours before their 2023 season began on Sept. 10, reports surfaced that Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson had awarded the Jaguars’ offensive play-calling duties to coordinator Press Taylor, a surprise given Pederson’s success in charge of the unit during his first season with the team.

In an effort to not be caught off guard again, paired with Jacksonville’s step back offensively under Taylor’s tutelage, the question of whether or not Pederson would re-assume the task has persisted from fans and media alike throughout this offseason.

Pederson didn’t exactly shut such inquiries down when they were pitched by reporters at the NFL Combine, instead suggesting the need to review his and Taylor’s responsibilities in the offense moving forward.

“It’s something that’s part of the evaluation process,” Pederson said on Feb. 27. “I have to evaluate myself and Press as decision-makers and play-callers and see what’s best for our team.”

Adding that he had not yet decided who would occupy the role in 2024, Pederson said that further conversations would be had with Taylor to determine an ideal path forward for Jacksonville’s offense.

If quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s outlook offers any indication, it would appear no changes are imminent and that Pederson and Taylor’s discussions have occurred behind closed doors, if at all.

“I haven’t had any conversations about anything necessarily changing or staying the same,” Lawrence said on Tuesday, before noting that he anticipates Taylor holding onto the job.

“I’m excited and I’m expecting it to be Press at this point because that’s kind of the direction we’ve been heading and what I expect, I’m not hearing anything. That’s where we’re going and I’m excited for it.”

Should Lawrence’s read on the situation prove correct, Taylor will be tasked with getting the offense back to the form it showcased under Pederson, if not better. The Jaguars declined in nearly every major statistical category offensively in 2023 compared to 2022.

While the unit generally ranked around league average under Taylor, finishing No. 13 in the NFL in yards (339.5) and points (22.2) per game compared to No. 10 in those categories (357.4 and 23.8) under Pederson, its rushing game production dropped by 27.7 yards per game (falling to No. 24 from No. 14), its yards per play reduced by half a yard (down to No. 15 from No. 8), and its turnover count increased by eight (jumping to No. 5-most from No. 19).

Granted, its signal-caller, Lawrence, was hampered by multiple injuries (knee, ankle, concussion and shoulder) from Week 6 on, after the Jaguars began the campaign averaging 23.7 points per matchup over their first six.

Following his stated March return to full health, Lawrence suggested that the Jaguars’ offense would benefit from the continuity of the system and Taylor’s approach to play-calling as it aims to develop more consistency in 2024.

Should Taylor remain in the position, he would be the first play-calling offensive coordinator to oversee Lawrence in back-to-back years in the passer’s pro career, entering his fourth NFL season.

“I think we’ve had success with both guys calling plays in the past, even last year, we could’ve been better offensively, but we did have some success. I do like the continuity, the consistency that I have with Press, I know him really well. I think that’s a good thing, that we’re keeping that intact. It’s hard as a quarterback to change around and change systems, change play-callers all of the time. That can be difficult.

“So, I like where we’re at, I think that we’ve made some really necessary changes this offseason already, now we’ve just got to implement them and get great at it. I think it’s about creating an identity and being really good at what we do. I think we have a clear vision and picture of what that is.”

Jaguars seemingly eliminate passing game coordinator position

At least for now, it seems there will be one less coach in Trevor Lawrence’s ear next season.

When the Jacksonville Jaguars rounded out their coaching staff with a flurry of additions Thursday, it was mostly defensive coaches hired.

Ryan Nielsen filled the void left by the firing of Mike Caldwell as defensive coordinator, and several assistants who were colleagues of Nielsen’s in Atlanta or New Orleans followed him on to the staff.

Interestingly, one position that wasn’t filled was a spot on the offensive staff. At least for now, the Jaguars’ passing game coordinator role sits vacant.

In 2022, it was Jim Bob Cooter who held the title until he left to become the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. Nick Holz took over the position in 2023, but that only lasted one season before he became offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

It’s certainly possible that another hire will happen to round out the staff, but it seems more likely that the coaches will get to work without a replacement for Holz.

The Jaguars passing game wasn’t exactly a smooth operation during the 2023 season. Third-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw 14 interceptions — a jump from his eight picks in 2022 — and he was sacked a career-high 35 times. Still, the team finished ninth in passing yards.

Perhaps Doug Pederson feels there were simply too many cooks in the kitchen. Between Pederson, offensive coordinator Press Taylor, and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy, and assistant quarterbacks coach Andrew Breiner, there are already a handful of coaches in Lawrence’s ear. While the head coach felt a pass game coordinator was necessary the last couple years, the team’s sloppy performance in 2023 may have changed his mind.

Jacksonville needs a much sharper fourth season out of Lawrence, and it looks like it’ll be a smaller coaching staff tasked with helping him accomplish that.

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Jaguars front office reportedly ‘looking hard’ at Press Taylor’s offense

Is a power struggle brewing for the Jaguars?

Shortly after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 disappointing season ended with a skid that cost them a spot in the postseason, head coach Doug Pederson decided to fire defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell.

It seemed that offensive coordinator Press Taylor survived the chopping block and would return in 2024. Pederson even went so far as to say that Taylor “did a nice job” in his first season as the team’s full-time play-caller.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, it appears not everyone in the Jaguars’ organization agrees that Taylor did well.

“There was at least some buzz the past few weeks of the season that the Jacksonville Jaguars’ front office, led by [Trent] Baalke, was looking hard at where the offense is under Taylor,” Breer wrote. “And if you remember, Pederson’s loyalty to his coaches is what, in the end, wound up leading to his firing with the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Pederson has been steadfast in his support of Taylor dating back, as Breer wrote, to their time together coaching the Eagles. It would be a surprise if he reversed course and parted with Taylor now because of pressure from Baalke and/or other Jaguars executives.

If the situation devolved into a power struggle between Baalke and Pederson, it’s hard to imagine the general manager would be safe. While the franchise thrived in 2022 off the back of a free agency spending spree, not enough of the team’s draft picks in three years under Baalke have become impact players.

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Doug Pederson: OC Press Taylor ‘did a nice job’ as play-caller

Don’t expect Press Taylor to follow Mike Caldwell out the door.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a major coaching change Monday night when Mike Caldwell was fired as defensive coordinator along with several other defensive coaches. Don’t expect offensive coordinator Press Taylor to follow him out the door.

During a press conference Monday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was complimentary of the job Taylor did in his first season as the full-time play-caller for the team.

“I thought it went good,” Pederson said. “Can it be better? Yeah, it can be better. I think at times, when you struggle offensively like we did at times, I don’t care who is calling plays, you might as well look at that thing with your eyes closed and just pick a play. Because it’s hard, it’s difficult; I’ve been there.”

Taylor, 35, has been Pederson’s protégé for nearly a decade now. After joining the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff in 2013 as a quality control coach, he was elevated to assistant quarterbacks coach in Pederson’s first season at the helm of the franchise. Taylor eventually became the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in Philadelphia before joining Pederson’s staff in Jacksonville as offensive coordinator in 2022.

Last season, Pederson and Taylor split play-calling duties, but those were handed off to the latter on a full-time basis in 2023. But the Jaguars offense didn’t live up to its lofty expectations and instead finished 13th in yards and points.

So what was the issue? According to Pederson, turnovers and a lack of continuity along the offensive line made things challenging for Taylor.

“You go up and down the field, you turn the ball over in the red zone,” Pederson said. “You just can’t do this, it’s not play calling, it’s not the scheme or the design of plays, it’s just having the urgency of ‘we have to protect the football better,’ things of that nature.

“I thought overall, Press did a nice job of organizing the offense, the game planning that we did, and even calling. I would have to go back and look at all the numbers, but I think points and different things like that, we were better (than last year). We can still get better on third down and in the red zone, all of that. He did a nice job.”

The Jaguars will likely spend the offseason trying to upgrade the interior of their offensive line after struggling to get any push at all in the run game. Wholesale changes to the offensive scheme and coaching staff don’t appear to be coming any time soon, though.

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Doug Pederson: Jaguars ‘still locked in and focused,’ not tuned out

Despite four straight losses, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson feels his team hasn’t lost vision of its goals.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are teetering on the edge of, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence aptly put it Sunday, “pissing away” the 2023 season.

After finishing November with an 8-3 record, the Jaguars have lost four straight and are now in jeopardy of losing the AFC South crown to the Indianapolis Colts or Houston Texans. Each of the team’s four December losses have been more painful than the last.

A tight overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was followed by a turnover-filled performance against the Cleveland Browns that still came down to the wire. The Jaguars’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens was close in the second half before turning into a 16-point win for the visitors. But the worst was Jacksonville’s last performance, a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was even worse than the 30-12 final score shows.

At this point, it’s fair to ask if the Jaguars have checked out mentally with two weeks left in the regular season. Head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t think that’s the case, though.

“I’ve had conversations with players the last couple of days and guys are still locked in and focused,” Pederson said Tuesday. “They know, I might’ve said this after the game, it’s not like they’re going out there and trying to make these mistakes.

“We just have to be more aware of what’s happening. As coaches, we’ve got to continue to coach them up and put our players in positions to be successful on game day. I don’t feel like they’re tuning out at all.”

Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor believes the same.

“I don’t think anybody in our group has lost confidence,” Taylor said. “I think there’s frustration because we’re not performing to the level we expect of ourselves and the standard that we hold ourselves at as a unit. I think it’s all that, I don’t think there’s a loss of confidence, a lack of trust, anything like that.”

The Jaguars’ tailspin can’t continue any further if the team still has postseason aspirations. According to NFL.com, a win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers would give Jacksonville an 81 percent chance at making the playoffs. A loss would drop that number all the way to 39 percent.

If the Jaguars are still locked in, focused, and tuned in on their goals, Week 17 is time to show it.

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Doug Pederson not taking play-calling duties: ‘It’s not about the plays’

Doug Pederson says the Jaguars have other things to fix rather than making play-caller changes.

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson isn’t thinking about taking play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Press Taylor. As far as he’s concerned, the team has other things to worry about.

“I know, being around this league, everybody wants to point the finger somewhere,” Pederson said Tuesday. “We’ve got to do a better job taking care of the football. It’s not about the plays. We’ve got to tackle better and we’ve got to take care of the football. Bottom line. If we do those things, those give us a chance to win football games.”

In the last three weeks, the Jaguars have turned the ball over 10 times. During the team’s four-game losing streak, Pro Football Focus has credited the defense with missing at least a dozen tackles per game. Jacksonville missed 12 or more tackles in just two of the 11 games prior to the recent skid.

Early in the season, Pederson pointed to execution as a more significant issue than play-calling when asked about Taylor. While his answer Tuesday echoed that sentiment, Pederson doesn’t think coaching is blameless for the team’s offensive issues.

Pederson said both of Trevor Lawrence’s interceptions Sunday were due to miscommunications between the quarterback and his receivers.

“We always give Trevor some outs when it comes to the passing game, particularly on third down, and we just missed the signal,” Pederson said. “Those are the things that can’t happen. Again, it makes the play worse. To me that falls back on coaches to make sure our players are prepared that way, that we’ve covered them in meetings, that we’ve covered them in practice, so that when they get in the game, they have all eyes on the quarterback.

“We have to do that. We have to get ourselves into better plays and out of bad ones. A lot of the non-verbal, hand signal communication has to take place. It’s something we’re going to continue to review, continue to have in our game plan, and we’ve got to get better.”

There’s no doubt the Jaguars need something to change in a major way with their season slipping away fast. That won’t include Taylor passing the sticks to Pederson, though.

Doug Pederson: ‘The players, at some point, have to have enough pride’

Doug Pederson is at a loss for what more Jaguars coaches can do to get the team to stop shooting itself in the foot.

Last week, after a third straight loss, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said coaches had “to find the good” and preach positivity to help the team pull out of its slide.

Well, clearly that didn’t work.

After a 30-12 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the coach wasn’t much in the mood for finding silver linings. With 10 turnovers for the Jaguars offense in three games, Pederson instead challenged his team to show a little pride.

“I can’t go out there and do it,” Pederson said. “You know, [offensive coordinator] Press [Taylor] can’t do it. [Defensive coordinator] Mike Caldwell can’t do it. I mean the players at some point have to have enough pride to not turn … listen, they’re not trying to turn the ball over, but there has to be a sense of urgency to have the ball security to protect the football, and it’s not there right now.”

Trevor Lawrence threw two interceptions in the first half Sunday, both of which appeared to be a consequence of miscommunication between the quarterback and his intended targets. That’s been a prevailing theme throughout December for the Jaguars.

Another two turnovers came via fumbles by Lawrence and tight end Evan Engram. There was also a fumbled exchange between Lawrence and running back D’Ernest Johnson that was recovered by Johnson for a five-yard loss.

“You can’t pin this all on the quarterback, right?” Pederson said. “I mean, everybody else practiced. As a team, it wasn’t good. The sense of urgency wasn’t there, we didn’t execute very well on offense, the turnovers keep piling up, the run game, all that kind of stuff. It just affects the whole process. So, it’s not one guy, it’s the coaches, myself, the players, we’re all in this together.”

Thanks to a terrible day for the entire AFC South, the Jaguars are still first in the division with two weeks left. It may even take just one more win for Jacksonville to get into the playoffs. But unless things change significantly soon, it doesn’t look like it’ll matter much either way.

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Trevor Lawrence’s goal line stretch is ‘terrifying’ to Jaguars coaches

Trevor Lawrence is four-for-four on his favorite stretch over the goal line, but Press Taylor would love it if he found a different way.

If it was up to Press Taylor, quarterback Trevor Lawrence would find a different way to get into the end zone. But as long as the 6’6 quarterback keeps scoring touchdowns and not fumbling on his leaping stretches across the goal line, the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator can live with the play that is quickly becoming a Lawrence trademark.

“I like when he scores, otherwise I really don’t like it,” Taylor said with a smile Thursday. “We’ve talked about it a lot, we’ve showed Baltimore last year had the one and then … it was the playoff game, you see a lot of bad things happen. He knows that, we’ve talked about it a million times, I don’t necessarily love it, but I love scoring touchdowns.

“I’ve seen so many bad examples of that. Now, it’s worked and it’s great, but it’s terrifying.”

Lawrence, 24, is a perfect four-for-four on the play in his career, including two 1-yard rushing touchdowns in the last three weeks. His most recent came against the Cincinnati Bengals, although it also showed exactly why the play makes Taylor so nervous. While the ball was knocked out of Lawrence’s hand, officials determined he crossed the goal line first.

Lawrence isn’t exactly freelancing on the call. Taylor said that the play call is a quarterback sneak and it’s up to the third-year quarterback to figure out the clearest path to the end zone.

“If he has determined going over the top is the best course of action for him, as long as he scores and he knows that, we’ve clearly stated that we are hesitant about the over the top,” Taylor said. “But I think he’s four-for-four. It’s hard to argue with results.”

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Press Taylor: ‘Nobody ran a wrong route’ on 3 interceptions vs. Browns

Jaguars coaches refuted the notion that Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones ran the wrong routes Sunday.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence wasn’t on the same page with his receivers on three plays that resulted in interceptions against the Cleveland Browns. That doesn’t mean Calvin Ridley and/or Zay Jones were running the wrong routes, according to offensive coordinator Press Taylor.

“There’s a big difference in running the wrong route and not being on the exact same page with how you’re running a route. We have not had wrong routes.” Taylor said Thursday. “There has not been ‘this person doesn’t know what they’re doing, they’re running the wrong route,’ things like that.”

Jaguars wide receivers coach Chad Hall echoed the sentiment in an interview with Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union:

So what was amiss on the three turnovers? Taylor explained each of the interceptions in a lengthy answer.

“One of them, we didn’t expect the ball at the time the ball came out, head wasn’t around,” Taylor said. “It’s a missed opportunity and unfortunately turned into an interception.”

“Just [need to] get my head around a little faster,” Ridley said Wednesday. “I thought I had a certain look and I was trying to get up on the DB and take him a certain way so we could get another person to pop open. It was a different look and I didn’t get my head around fast enough and the ball came out a little faster than I thought.”

A second interception thrown Ridley’s direction didn’t look to have much of a chance

“We had a zero blitz, ball’s gotta come out,” Taylor explained. “They’re bringing more pressures than we have protectors. Quarterback threw a go ball, I think the receiver thought the ball would get thrown earlier because of where the coverage was, but again, it’s understanding the entire situation and what the quarterback is dealing with. The ball comes out early, turned into an interception as well.”

Lawrence took the blame for that one after the game.

“That one is on me,” Lawrence said Sunday. “They brought a pressure that we weren’t able to pick up. They brought too many and I was trying to take a shot outside and the corner did a good job playing it. I put it out there a little too far and he made a good play.”

The third was thrown deep to Jones.

“We took a post route a little flatter across the field where we were expecting maybe a little deeper angle than that,” Taylor said.

According to Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, it “was just an overthrow.”

“Nobody ran a wrong route in those instances,” Taylor reiterated Thursday. “Just in terms of the details of it, where we thought the ball was gonna go, or where we thought the ball was gonna be thrown, or at a certain time, just barely off. Unfortunately, on all of those plays it turned into interceptions.”

There’s no doubt there are issues that need ironing out for the Jaguars, especially with Christian Kirk not coming back any time soon. Those problems may not fall on the shoulders of the team’s wide receivers as much as it seems, though.

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