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'Can't let things slip': What we learned from Jaguars HC Doug Pederson's end-of-season presser
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- 'Can't let things slip': What we learned from Jaguars HC Doug Pederson's end-of-season presser
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson didn't mince words Monday at his season-ending press conference. The end of the 2023 season was unacceptable and the next step for the team's head coach is to make sure it never happens again.
"We just can't have the collapse like we did this year, because you feel like now the season's sort of wasted," Pederson said frankly. "You had a great opportunity to win the division and we didn't, so we have to live with that. We have to own it and we've got to learn from it. I still feel like we still have the best football ahead of us moving forward."
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He didn't, however, spell out his plan, opting to keep that in-house after speaking with players, holding candid conversations with everyone to get a gauge of what went wrong, why the team failed at its peak and what has to change moving forward.
"I think I know the 'whys,' which are my whys, they're not going to be your whys. It's all correctable and fixable moving forward," said Pederson.
"It's good information for me as I lead the team in the future into the offseason and into the offseason program, and how I can begin to construct messaging and leadership and all of that kind of stuff to help us not be in the situation again."
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, seen here walking off the field in December after a 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, hopes to use the memory of the team's 2023 collapse as motivation for 2024.
Pederson also made it clear that coaching was one of the primary issues down the stretch as the team watched its playoff hopes melt away right in front of their eyes.
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"It's got to be that sense of urgency where everything matters. This is all part of teaching the team to win and preparing to win; focusing in on preparation and doing all those little things that as coaches, we talk a lot to our players about and we can't just push it aside and say, 'Hey, we got 12 more games or 15 more games; we still got a three-game lead in the division, it's okay.' It's really not," Pederson said when talking about the team's collapse.
"You can't let things slide, you can't let things slip and that sense of urgency is important to the success we have. Especially down the stretch here, when everything began to matter."
After beginning the season 8-3, the Jaguars finished 1-5 down the stretch, missing the postseason. Their only victory during that span came against a lifeless Carolina Panthers team that finished the year 2-15, the worst record in the NFL.
Though he didn't want to dive into whether any coaching staff changes were on the horizon, Pederson made it clear during his press conference that he wasn't satisfied and that he would consider everything.
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Hours later, it was announced that the team had moved on from eight defensive coaches, including defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell .
Frenette: Ax falling on Jaguars' Mike Caldwell, assistants no surprise after collapse
On Tuesday, the team relieved running backs coach Bernie Parmalee of his duties. In addition, assistant offensive line coach Todd Washington's contract expired and he will not return.
Throughout the press conference, Pederson dove into various topics, primarily revolving around the team's late-season collapse.
'He did a nice job': Pederson steadfast in support of offensive coordinator Press Taylor
Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor was empowered this year with full control of the team's offense, including playcalling. Last year, Taylor called plays during the second half of games down the stretch, but had the reigns this year, given the power by Pederson who was the team's primary play-caller last year.
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"I thought it went well. 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," Pederson said of Taylor's first year as a full-time play-caller.
"Because it's hard, it's difficult; I've been there. You're trying to find that one play or a spark that gets your offense rolling and with the struggles we had at times, that's a difficult thing to do."
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson talks with offensive coordinator Press Taylor on the field ahead of the start of Wednesday morning's training camp session. The Jacksonville Jaguars held their third day of training camp Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville Knight Campus practice fields on Atlantic Blvd.
Pederson said the team's struggles with turning the ball over in the red zone, pre-snap penalties and other mistakes led to some difficult situations in play calling. The Jaguars had the fourth-most pre-snap penalties, according to nflpenalties.com with 45 this year.
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They committed two turnovers in the red zone with three other turnovers coming just outside the red zone this past season. They turned the ball over on downs on five other instances in various games this year in the red zone, with one turnover on downs coming when the game was already well out of hand and lost against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
That makes 10 total instances when the Jaguars turned the ball over inside or close to the red zone, leaving points on the field.
"At times, you get handcuffed just a little bit by trying to find the right play. Especially when you're struggling as an offense. I thought, overall, Press did a nice job of organizing the offense, the game planning that we did, and even calling," said Pederson.
"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."
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The Jaguars offense did not improve in any notable category, however.
The offense struggled in multiple areas this year, including their rushing offense ranking 29th in rushing Expected Points Added (EPA) per play. Their rushing success rate ranked 31st in the league and their overall Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) ranked 18th, according to Rbsdm.com /Ben Baldwin and ftnfantasy.com.
Compared to last season, Jacksonville ranked worse in every major offensive category, including points per game (10th to 13th), yards per game (10th to 13th), success rate (fifth to 14th), passing success rate (fourth to seventh), sack percentage (fourth to 18th), sack percentage (fourth to ninth) and turnovers (16th to 28th).
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The Jaguars averaged 22.2 PPG in 2023, compared to 23.9 PPG in 2022. In YPG, the Jaguars finished with 339.5 YPG in 2023, while in 2022 they finished with 358.6 YPG, for example.
'It's number one': Pederson wants Trevor Lawrence 's top priority to be cutting down turnovers
Trevor Lawrence's third year in the NFL featured an up-and-down performance due to a variety of reasons. The young QB suffered multiple injuries throughout the year including knee, ankle and shoulder injuries to go along with a concussion.
He ultimately missed one game, but there's no question his play was hampered a bit throughout the injuries and rehab process.
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Lawrence ended the season with a 65.6 percent completion percentage, 4,016 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and five lost fumbles.
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson talks with quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the second quarter an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Tennessee Titans 34-14. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Pederson said Monday that Lawrence's top priority will be to cut down turnovers. Lawrence leads the league since entering the NFL in 2021 with 60 turnovers, below him through that span is Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen with 59 turnovers. Lawrence has totaled 69 touchdowns (passing and rushing) during that span, while Allen has totaled 128 combined touchdowns.
"I think it's number one. I think it's the biggest thing that he has to focus on moving forward. We just can't have this amount of turnovers, how we turn the ball over, where we turn the ball over, it doesn't matter," Pederson said.
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"We got to protect the football, that's the number one thing. I think we're going to probably end up No. 29, 30, 31 somewhere down there in giveaways. That also doesn't take into consideration the turnover on downs, too. Those are giveaways as well. For the quarterback, the person that touches the ball every snap, we got to make sure the emphasis is taking care of the ball."
'Our window's now': Jaguars feel sense of urgency to improve, win
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson salutes Jaguars Vice President of Player Health and Performance Jeff Ferguson through the widow to a training room as he, Jaguars owner Shad Khan, first round draft pick Anton Harrison, and general manager Trent Balk walk to the press conference introducing the newest member of the team. Anton Harrison arrived with his family as he made his first visit at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, FL after being flown down from the Washington, DC area Friday, April 28, 2023. Harrison, an offensive tackle from the University of Oklahoma, became the Jacksonville Jaguars' first round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, being the 27 overall pick late Thursday night.
The Jaguars' Super Bowl window was a hot topic throughout this past offseason with many feeling like they were ready to take the next step after a red-hot end-of-season last year to squeak into the playoffs as AFC South Champions, making it to the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs.
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After a disappointing end this season, the feeling shifted a bit, with many unsure of the stability of the team and its long-term trajectory.
For Pederson, he feels like the team's window is wide open and they must take advantage of it, and they feel like they have to as soon as possible.
"We all feel that (sense of urgency)," Pederson said when asked about the window to win now. "We do. Conversations I've had with Shad [Jaguars Owner Shad Khan], over the last several weeks reallysince Week 1. I mean, you only get so many windows in this league, and we feel like with the personnelthat we have, and we'll continue to add, our window's now."
The Jaguars will enter next season with a second-place schedule and will have to make serious additions to their team to reach their goals. The first move will be to hire a defensive coaching staff and move forward from there.
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Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Doug Pederson talks Press Taylor, season collapse and more
