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Jaguars continue bold, fresh organization reset by hiring GM James Gladstone | Frenette
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- Jaguars continue bold, fresh organization reset by hiring GM James Gladstone | Frenette
In 30 chaotic, wildly entertaining days, the Jacksonville Jaguars did something remarkably refreshing.
The franchise pivoted from its reputation as a stale organization that rarely ventured into bold, creative thinking and charted a new course.
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With Friday's announcement of Los Angeles Rams director of scouting strategy James Gladstone, 34, as their sixth general manager , the Jaguars have completed an organizational makeover that should energize their entire workplace.
In hiring Gladstone, you couldn't have asked for a starker contrast to previous old-school, retread GM Trent Baalke. It was Baalke's stunning dismissal by Khan in the middle of the Jaguars' coaching search on Jan. 22 that set in motion the whole process of turning this operation upside down.
Gladstone, a rising executive during his nine seasons with the Rams, is symbolic of a young generation of NFL personnel who bring fresh ideas and a new wave of thinking into the game.
He's part of a youth movement whose philosophy leans heavily toward bringing science and all sorts of detailed metrics into the evaluation process, both of incoming talent and players on the roster.
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"In the end, we found James to be a class ahead and exceptional in every regard – vision, new ideas, communication, chemistry and a keen understanding of the league and our team, to name a few of many virtues he will bring immediately to the Jaguars," Khan said in a statement about his GM hire.
Starting with the Jaguars' head coach hire of Liam Coen, who worked parts of four seasons (2018-20, '22) with Gladstone, preceded by Khan's decision to bring in Hall of Fame tackle Tony Boselli as team EVP, it truly feels like this franchise is reinventing itself.
Trying something new is good thing
Jacksonville has had only had two instances of undergoing a complete organizational reset. It started in 2003 with the hires of 39-year-old Jack Del Rio as head coach and 56-year-old James "Shack" Harris as GM to replace Tom Coughlin, who had served in both roles.
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That overhaul by original owner Wayne Weaver produced modest success, with two playoff appearances (2005, '07) and a lot of average to mediocre seasons during the six-year period of the Del Rio-Harris tag team. Del Rio lasted nearly three years longer before he was terminated toward the end of the 2011 season.
Until now, Khan has been averse to initiating a Jaguars housecleaning, maybe because his only attempt turned into a dumpster fire. During his second year of ownership, he brought in head coach Gus Bradley and GM Dave Caldwell in 2013, with disastrous results.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan was well served to cast a wide net in his search for a general manager, which resulted in Friday's appointment of 34-year-old James Gladstone as the sixth GM in franchise history.
Bradley lasted just four seasons (14-48 record), while Caldwell - deserving of credit for the 2017 playoff run to the AFC Championship game - failed to sustain a winning roster and got the ax in Nov. 2020.
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Will this 180-degree turn produce any better results? It may take two or three years to know for sure.
The best thing for the Jaguars would be to see reasonable progress early under this new leadership, if for no other reason than ensuring quarterback Trevor Lawrence has stability around him that has been missing since coming aboard in 2021.
Given Coen's previous experience with Gladstone and obviously having significant input in his hire – plus Khan casting a wide net by interviewing 11 GM candidates for the job – this had the feel of a detailed, organized process.
The Jaguars acquired a ton of information by turning over a lot of rocks, both in finding the right head coach and GM.
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Gladstone's meteoric rise up the NFL personnel food chain is hardly a surprise. As one Rams insider told me two weeks ago about him, before the Jaguars even started any GM interviews: "I'm betting he's going to crush the Zoom interviews. I've seen the [Jaguars GM] list. He's going to be a very competitive candidate. I'd definitely invest in him."
And that's exactly what the Jaguars ended up doing. Remember Khan stating in January, after firing coach Doug Pederson and before hiring new leaders, that he was open to new ideas and bringing in people who were innovative in their thinking?
Well, over the past month, it certainly feels like Khan did a better job of setting his perennial losing franchise on a much better path by doing just that.
LA Rams influence a winning formula?
It's hard to argue against the Jaguars deciding to take a page out of the Rams' playbook.
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First, they hire Coen, who has spent four of his five NFL seasons being mentored by the league's brightest young coaching star in Sean McVay.
Four weeks later, the Jaguars' brass decides after carefully evaluating several other young personnel guns like Josh Williams and Ian Cunningham that Gladstone was the right man to lead its front office.
So what if Gladstone is the NFL's youngest GM by nearly four years over the Cleveland Browns ' Andrew Berry? The former Westminster College receiver was handpicked in 2016 by one of the league's top GMs in Les Snead, then elevated to the No. 2 position after Brad Holmes left to be the Detroit Lions ' GM.
All the Rams have done since Gladstone's arrival, besides win a Super Bowl, two NFC titles and make six playoff appearances, is win more consistently the past eight seasons (88-57, .607) than any NFC franchise other than the Philadelphia Eagles .
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Will turning the Jacksonville franchise into LA Rams Southeast produce the sustained success that has eluded the Jaguars for 25 years?
That's hard to say, but it should be a lot of fun to find out. Nobody can argue the Jaguars desperately needed a fresh set of eyes and voices in the building.
Maybe this time, a Khan housecleaning will deliver an entertaining, winning product so long overdue.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars complete organization reset with hiring of GM James Gladstone
