If they hadn’t already, the Jacksonville Jaguars officially reached dumpster fire status on Wednesday under the watch of owner Shad Khan.
Sixteen days after announcing his vision to “collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke” on the search for the 10th head coach in franchise history, Khan did a 180, announcing that Baalke and the team will now separate, effective immediately.
The surprising decision came on the same day that the Chicago Bears introduced Ben Johnson, a coach firmly on Jacksonville’s radar, as head coach. Two more top candidates interviewed under Baalke’s watch — Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn — are also now out of the running.
MORE: Did Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC’s decision lead to Jacksonville GM’s firing?
Jacksonville was reportedly blown away by Coen, enough to seek a second interview with him, this time in person. Coen denied that request for a pay raise to stay as Tampa Bay’s OC. The optics of that news breaking, followed by the team’s way-too-late ousting of Baalke, could not be worse for Jacksonville.
If Khan had any feel for the pulse of his fanbase, he’d know that moving on from Baalke was the only decision this offseason.
Baalke’s draft classes have been poor — just nine of his 38 selections have developed into full-time starters — and free agency hasn’t gone much better. For context, Jacksonville signed wide receiver Gabe Davis for more cash than Saquon Barkley got from Philadelphia last March. The notion that the Jaguars took a “talent-rich” roster into 2024 was extremely overblown; in reality, it was a flawed roster that crumbled due to injuries in the first month of the season.
Jaguars fans have wanted Baalke out for years, and the players appear to agree, judging by Brian Thomas Jr.’s reaction to the Baalke announcement on Instagram.
Jacksonville had a major opportunity to hit the reset button this offseason, a chance to clear the decks for the next head coach to bring in his own personnel guy and implement a shared vision going forward. Khan eventually got there, but dragging his feet on Baalke compromised the team’s still ongoing search for its next head coach.
There are still some stellar candidates out there — landing Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady would be a major win — but fans can only hope those candidates aren’t turned off by the complete dysfunction this franchise has displayed, especially from 2024-25.
MORE: Why did the Jaguars move on from GM Trent Baalke?
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