The Jacksonville Jaguars have gone through a poor 4-13 season riddled with injuries. They fired their head coach, Doug Pederson. But, the Jaguars owner, Shad Khan, said that there would be no complete overhaul of the team and organization. Khan chose not to fire their general manager Trent Baalke and has said that he wants to have Baalke and the next Jacksonville head coach report to him. This has resulted in mixed opinions from the fanbase, as many believe that after their disappointing season, the Jacksonville Jaguars should blow everything up. But Khan has said no to an overhaul as they search for a new head coach.
No “Complete Overhaul”
Khan has denied an overhaul of the Jacksonville Jaguars and believes it would not improve the team or organization. Firing Doug Pederson and keeping Trent Baalke has led to outcry from fans, as many expected the organization to clean house after a bad season. Many think that a complete overhaul is needed, because outside of Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr, and a few others, there is not much to be excited about for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fans believe that this refusal to blow up the organization and start fresh would be a good thing, instead of staying the course with a heavily criticized general manager.
The Jacksonville Jaguars Organizational Dysfunction
In his time as the Jacksonville Jaguars general manager, Trent Baalke has a 25-43 record. Baalke was hired in 2020, and in his time as general manager, has been tasked with building a team around Trevor Lawrence. For the most part, Baalke has been unsuccessful. He drafted Travon Walker with the #1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, selecting him over Aidan Hutchinson. While there have been good selections under Baalke, like Brian Thomas Jr, but the team has had relatively poor draft classes and free agent signings in Trent Baalke’s tenure.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had one successful season, where they made the playoffs and completed a 27-point comeback to beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round. But, other than that, the team has suffered from mid-season collapses or last place seasons. This season was especially bad for the organization. With a bad start, it was obvious that Pederson was not going to stick around as the head coach, but Khan and Baalke never fired him until the end of the season. It looked like even Pederson knew he was gone, and the Jacksonville Jaguars could have had a head start in the head coach search but waited.
Where the Jacksonville Jaguars Go from Here
The complacency of Shad Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars organization has many fans unhappy. Baalke does not have a track record of success as general manager, with bad draft picks and expensive contracts. Depending on who they bring in as head coach, the Jacksonville Jaguars could turn things around, but the practice of firing a general manager or coach and keeping the other has not always worked out. But the words from Shad Khan on refusing to overhaul have made the Jacksonville Jaguars fanbase uneasy about their team’s future direction.
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