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Jacksonville Jaguars decide to split the baby, firing Doug Pederson, keeping Trent Baalke
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- Jacksonville Jaguars decide to split the baby, firing Doug Pederson, keeping Trent Baalke
The change that the Jacksonville Jaguars desperately needed finally occurred early Monday morning, but not quite the way a lot of people envisioned.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who has had a horrible track record on finding the right people to lead his organization, decided to fire head coach Doug Pederson and retain general manager Trent Baalke .
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Khan, often reluctant to do a total housecleaning, pulled a big surprise by parting ways with a Super Bowl-winning coach and not issuing an accompanying pink slip to the GM that has been with the Jaguars two years longer and one more year in total charge of personnel.
If Khan thought Sunday's season-ending, 26-23 overtime loss to the Colts and having his team stuck on an Indianapolis airport tarmac for over seven hours was a nightmare, he could be in for a lot more aggravation from the Jaguars' fan base by keeping Baalke on board.
No doubt, Khan places significant trust in Baalke , who has a reputation dating back to his days with the San Francisco 49ers as Teflon Trent, a survivor when storms hit. But this is a truly surprising, though not entirely shocking, outcome for the Jaguars in how they've hit the reset button.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 05: Doug Pederson looks on during a press conference introducing him as the new Head Coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars alongside Shad Khan, Owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Trent Baalke, General Manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars, at TIAA Bank Stadium on February 05, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Khan acknowledged in a statement that firing Pederson was a "difficult task" and expects him to have another coaching gig at some point.
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Then the 74-year-old owner added: "I believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago. I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville."
During a 30-minute Zoom call with the media Monday afternoon, Khan (with Baalke joining in), stated that he fired Pederson and kept the GM because "where we need the most change is on the coaching side."
He added that changing all the elements of scouting and contract administration that had been made over the last 4-5 years would be "almost like suicidal."
While Khan no doubt thought long and hard about this decision, he must know it won't be a popular one with the Jaguars' fan base , though what the fans want should never be the chief reason why any owner makes such a potentially franchise-altering move.
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Still, the fact Pederson suffered the harshest possible consequence for the Jaguars losing 18 of their last 23 games and Baalke kept his job is a bit of a stunner.
Pederson didn't help himself from PR standpoint
Khan knew he needed a makeover in some form after the Jaguars began this massive collapse in a Dec. 4, 2023, Monday Night Football home defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals , and never stopped losing.
It would have been owner malpractice to opt to do nothing, to run it back next season with the same leadership structure and coaching staff.
That would make for a hard sell to entice Jaguars' suite buyers to return in 2025, or to retain season-ticket holders and attract new ones.
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As much as some Jaguars fans will fume at Khan splitting the baby in this fashion — given that the team's record with Baalke totally in charge of personnel is 26-44 — the truth is Pederson likely didn't help himself with how he handled the team's continuing slump this season.
The Jaguars' head coach made statements in press conferences where he didn't seem as supportive as he needed to be of franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence , though Pederson may not have intended to come across that way.
Also, the way Pederson was incredibly evasive about the play-calling issue, not wanting to admit whether he or Press Taylor was making them, added to a PR mess as the losses kept piling up. Not that it mattered as much as fans presumed over who called the plays, but Khan made it known publicly before the season that he wanted his head coach behind that wheel.
That obviously chafed the owner to some degree because Khan emphasized a quick turnaround for the Jaguars is possible if the NFL's 32nd-ranked defense can improve to middle of the pack, then adding: "the schemes on offense, just being less predictable. I think we can be more productive on offense."
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It's no secret Pederson's attachment to Taylor was a huge factor in him getting fired by the Philadelphia Eagles after the 2020 season. Now, a lot of head coaches feel a special bond with certain assistants or coordinators, but the optics of the Pederson-Taylor dynamic ultimately didn't work out in the coach's favor.
Then it became obvious to people in the Jaguars' building as the season was heading south that Pederson and Baalke were not as aligned as they were back in training camp. Losing can sometimes do that as power struggles tend to ensue.
So when Khan felt compelled to make a change, he decided that Baalke was more worth keeping than the head coach who led the Jaguars to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2004-05.
Will Khan regret lack of housecleaning
At least the exceedingly patient Khan didn't maintain status quo, as he did after Gus Bradley delivered 4-12, 3-13 and 5-11 in his first three seasons (2013-15). Or bringing back Doug Marrone in 2020 after 5-11 and 6-10.
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Khan's decision will have ripple effects on Jacksonville's franchise for the next 3-5 years, maybe longer.
Some kind of substantial change was painfully needed, but the question will linger whether Khan went far enough. Nobody could have ruled out Khan pink-slipping one leader and keeping the other, but it's still a risk to do it this way.
While the furor over keeping Baalke will remain to some degree, the truth is the fan base could feel a lot of optimism for 2025 if Khan hires the right head coach.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan speaks as Head Coach Doug Pederson listens in as the business bearing the name on the new practice facility, Miller Electric Center, is announced during a media conference after a minicamp football practice Monday, June 13, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
One thing is indisputable: the Jaguars needed to change things up and it's Khan's job to find the right path toward a formula of sustained winning. That next step is hiring a head coach that players and fans can rally around.
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Lions' Johnson will be hot candidate
From a PR perspective, one way Khan can make this decision to fire Pederson and retain Baalke palatable is to hire Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the presumptive darling of this coaching cycle.
Then again, hiring Urban Meyer was initially a win from a marketing standpoint, but a full-fledged disaster in every other respect. Hiring the so-called hot candidate, especially an offensive guru, is no guarantee of future success.
But looking purely at the numbers, it's going to be impossible for any owner looking at prospective candidates to not be infatuated with Johnson, a former walk-on quarterback at North Carolina when ex-NFL QB T.J. Yates was in Chapel Hill.
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The Lions are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and have a pyrotechnic offense. Teams are allowed to interview Johnson virtually from Wednesday through Sunday, something the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears have already arranged. Will Khan follow suit?
The Lions have had an amazing offensive transformation under Johnson the past three seasons, ascending in all the major offensive categories — total yards, rushing yards, passing yards and points per game. Detroit has averaged an NFL-leading 33.2 points this season and 409.5 yards total offense, second only to the Baltimore Ravens (424.9).
Johnson, with a big assist from former Jaguars legend Mark Brunell as the Lions' quarterback coach, has elevated QB Jared Goff . He's gone from a good QB during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams , to a guy now considered in the second tier of NFL players at that position behind Patrick Mahomes , Josh Allen , Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow .
Goff's touchdown-interception ratio of 107-55 in LA has taken a significant jump in Detroit at 115-39. His QB rating of 91.5 with the Rams has improved to 100.2 in a Lions' uniform.
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Johnson will no doubt have his share of suitors. Many who have handicapped the NFL coaching derby point to the Jaguars and Chicago Bears, who also have a promising young quarterback in Caleb Williams , as his leading targets.
Some Baalke critics will no doubt see his continuing front-office presence as a possible impediment for Johnson, which may or may not be an accurate narrative, depending on who is making the assessment.
The undeniable truth is there's a lot to like for Johnson in Jacksonville. The Jaguars have some quality talent at key positions, notably quarterback Trevor Lawrence, receiver Brian Thomas Jr. , and pass-rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker .
Seriously, there are a lot worse places to coach in the NFL than Jacksonville, which has the benefit of no state income tax, an owner willing to spend money to win, a posh Miller Electric Center facility and a $1.4 billion stadium coming in 2028.
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The Jaguars should check a lot of boxes for Johnson. How Baalke's presence plays out with him remains to be seen.
Khan's problem is picking right leaders
What three years under Pederson and five years under Baalke (one as assistant GM in 2020) has revealed is the Jaguars remain an organization not quite buttoned up.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke oversaw four drafts with the Jaguars. Until Brian Thomas Jr., this season, no players Baalke drafted earned All-Pro recognition.
There's an inescapable feeling in the building and on the field that something is always amiss.
The Jaguars have played the worst kind of complementary football all season, rarely having the offense and defense simultaneously executing together. The defense under first-year coordinator Ryan Nielsen has been an abject failure, one of the worst in team history.
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Since Khan took ownership in January 2012, the Jaguars haven't been able to shed a losing DNA. His 67-150 record (.309) is the second-worst among 69 owners in that position for a decade or longer.
The only owner with an inferior win percentage is the late Hugh Culverhouse (82-197-1, .294), who had the disadvantage of starting his woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers ' tenure with a 1976 expansion team that lost its first 26 games.
The common denominator with the Jaguars under Khan is they, too, were pitiful from the get-go. And here it is, 13 seasons in, this team still can't get off the losing train.
Only time will tell if firing Pederson and keeping Baalke was the right move or another Khan disaster. Baalke gets the rare opportunity to hire a third head coach, albeit Khan was so enamored with Meyer that the Jaguars' GM had to accept him.
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Looking at the coaches employed by Khan — only the second owner in NFL history, along with the New Orleans Saints ' John Mecon Jr., to have his first five coaches sport losing records — it makes you wonder when the 74-year-old billionaire is going to get it right.
Back on Friday, when Pederson was asked about the uncertainty of his job status and trying not to let it affect his loved ones, part of what he said was this: "If this is the last run, then I can look back and say, 'It's a great run.' "
Well, that's true to a certain extent. Pederson has had an impressive NFL career when you consider the 30-plus years total as a journeyman backup quarterback, assistant coach and head coach of a Super Bowl-winning team in 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles.
But by no means should the word "great" be attached to his time with the Jaguars. It's fair to say it was pretty darn good for a season and a half, then the bottom fell out and he leaves with a 23-30 record.
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The problem is this: Khan's success off the field as a businessman hasn't translated over to his football decision-making. He can't seem to pick the right leaders.
But he better hope firing Pederson and keeping Baalke works out. Otherwise, he will have to live with the wrath of Jaguars fans that are tired of the status quo of losing.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars fire Doug Pederson, surprisingly keep Trent Baalke
