The Jacksonville Jaguars have underperformed all season. Head Coach Doug Pederson was expected to have his team back in the playoffs this year or at least contending with division leader Houston Texans until the bitter end. Jacksonville made a number of free agent moves this past off-season including the additions of veterans like Arik Armstead, Gabe Davis, or Darnell Savage. None of these moves seem to have done anything to improve this lackluster team.
The road doesn’t appear to be getting any easier today, the Jags will face off against one of the best teams in the NFL. When the Detroit Lions host Pederson for what could be his last game on the sideline, pending the result of this contest. The Lions are potentially one of the most complete teams from top to bottom and aren’t an easy out any week. Currently, Detroit is a 14-point favorite over the struggling Jaguars squad.
Jacksonville Jaguars Possible Coaching Change
When a team comes into a season with a playoff caliber roster, and lofty expectations of making the jump it’s not always easy living up to them. Every season we see one or two teams that are favorites to breeze through the regular season and make the playoffs, and every season we’re left scratching our heads wondering what went wrong when they don’t compete.
Jacksonville’s franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence has seemed to regress this year. Maybe it isn’t really a regression though, and just his flaws under more scrutiny because of the massive contract he signed this past off-season. What teams seem to forget is that, typically if a quarterback isn’t living up to expectations before getting paid, that’s not going to suddenly change when you make them one of the highest paid players in the NFL.
Going into the Jaguars game today in Detroit, it’s been rumored that ownership might be looking at making a change depending on the result of the matchup. Not only to their coaching staff but their front office personnel as well. If the Jaguars are able to somehow keep this a close game and show some fight, it’s possible no changes will be made this week. Truthfully though, this game isn’t expected to be close or highly contested. Especially, with the Jags missing starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and former Patriots QB Mac Jones starting in his place.
Pederson On His Way Out
If the Jacksonville Jaguars are in fact blown out or lose this game in embarrassing fashion, it’s expected both Head Coach Doug Pederson and General Manager Trent Baalke will be fired following the loss. The Jags are on a bye next week, so making the transition now would make sense for the team moving forward. The 2-8 team is in desperate need of a change, and it appears inevitable that change will be starting at the top before working its way down.
The Jaguars have gone 20-24 under HC Pederson, he helped the team win a division title and playoff berth in his first year with the team in 2022. But after back-to-back 9-8 seasons it appears ownership thinks this team should be competing at a much higher level than it is currently. Given the talent on the roster, they aren’t wrong.
Quarterbacks Coach Mike McCoy is the favorite candidate to take over as interim head coach if Pederson is to be fired after the Lions game. McCoy is a former head coach himself; he coached the Los Angeles Chargers or then San Diego Chargers for a total of four seasons. The former Chargers coach went 28-38 in his span as head coach, including a 1-1 playoff record. Barring a second half season surge by Jacksonville, it doesn’t appear McCoy would be the long-term candidate for the head coaching job.
For All NFL And College Football Content:
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) at @MikeMatkin97. Also, don’t forget to give us a follow here at Gridiron Heroics. To read more of our articles and stay up to date on all the latest news and analysis in the NFL and College Football world.
