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Gene Frenette: Jaguars GM Trent Baalke must own season-ending collapse, do his part to fix it
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- Gene Frenette: Jaguars GM Trent Baalke must own season-ending collapse, do his part to fix it
Putting Trent Baalke at a podium to try and explain away the Jacksonville Jaguars ' 2023 season-ending collapse is probably not going to be a win-win situation.
The Jaguars' GM is not exactly dripping with charisma, so expecting Baalke to convince skeptics that he and head coach Doug Pederson will be an effective tag team moving forward and orchestrate a 2024 turnaround is a tough sell right now.
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The wounds from that Week 18 loss to the Tennessee Titans are too fresh, too deep-cutting.
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke talks with reporters on Thursday from the Miller Electric Center.
More Gene Frenette: Gene Frenette: Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl should be an inspiration for Jaguars
Plus, more than just about anybody in the Jaguars' building, Baalke lives with the perception of having baggage.
Whether it's from his distant past in how his tenure as the San Francisco 49ers ' GM (2011-16) ended, being targeted for excessive blame in the Urban Meyer fiasco or his mixed-review drafts in Jacksonville, it's hard for people to give Baalke much benefit of doubt.
For 30 minutes on Thursday, the matter-of-fact GM with limited sales appeal faced an uphill battle at his season-ending news conference, albeit coming 18 days after the Nashville debacle in a 28-20 Titans loss that sabotaged every meaningful team goal.
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If he intended to leave Jaguars fans encouraged and optimistic about the 2024 season, Baalke fell short when trying to answer some tough questions about culpability.
Yes, he was strong, forceful and convincing in his desire to fix the team's shortcomings in both lines. That part was quite impressive.
"We've got to get bigger, we've got to get stronger, we've got to get more physical in the trenches," said Baalke. "If you want to compete for championships, you have to do that."
He just didn't provide enough of those take-charge, confidence-building moments.
Jaguars' general manager Trent Baalke is facing a jam-packed offseason, starting with ensuring that pass-rusher Josh Allen ultimately gets signed to a long-term extension.
Mistakes must be owned
The problem is Baalke didn't come across with a hey-my-bad vibe in terms of taking ownership of how the season cratered.
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At least not to the same extent as quarterback Trevor Lawrence , or even Pederson, does in their inquisitions to explain why things didn't go the team's way.
How many times did we hear Trevor say after a bad game, "I've got to do a better job at" fill-in-the-blank? He is the king of accountability, quickly pointing at himself before any coaches or teammates.
Remember Pederson at his news conference the day after the Titans loss, saying this about how the Jaguars needed to play with a greater sense of urgency and not take practice reps for granted:
"That's me, that's all the coaches, all the players," said Pederson. "It's everybody, all together, making sure that doesn't happen."
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The critical part is the head coach began with the words, "that's me." He put it on himself first.
Baalke did that, sort of, at one point, saying: "We didn't win the number of games we wanted and that's on all of us, me included. Look no further than here."
It was the closest Baalke got to a mea culpa for his part in the Jaguars' downfall. The rest just lacked the acceptance of responsibility for how an 8-3 record turned into 9-8.
Which, in the long run, may have no impact on whatever happens with the Jaguars' 2024 season. The decisions Baalke will make in free agency and the April draft will carry far more weight.
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But when you're trying to establish a culture of accountability, it strikes the right chord when the leaders look within first for blame and not elsewhere.
Like when a question about center Luke Fortner centered on his ability to get stronger and play better, Baalke replied it wasn't "necessarily one player's issues. This was a systematic issue."
The translation seemingly being that Baalke drafting Fortner in the third round of the 2022 draft was the right call, but he needed to be coached up better. He did add some more competition in the O-line room might push him, but that's on the GM to provide it.
Whatever the problem might have been with the interior of that line, be it position coach Phil Rauscher or somebody else, Baalke didn't seem too eager to own any part of it.
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What's wrong with feeling regret?
Baalke admits he has a problem feeling regret for what transpired throughout the 2023 season.
He doesn't second-guess himself for bringing back 20 of 22 starters from a team that made the AFC Divisional playoff round the year before.
Or for relying on mostly developmental picks among 13 selections in the 2023 draft beyond right tackle Anton Harrison .
Or for not fortifying the pass-rush beyond Josh Allen and Travon Walker , either with Jadeveon Clowney or anybody else.
"I don't live with regrets, that's not how I operate," said Baalke. "Should've, would've and could've all got beat. You do the best you can. We felt we had a pretty competitive football team coming back. We still feel we have a competitive football team coming back. The season didn't go our way."
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Sure, there's nothing the Jaguars can do now to change the season, but what's so terrible about admitting regret? Owners, front office people, coaches and players all make errors in judgment at different times. That's football.
Nobody expects the Jaguars to be perfect, but it's not a good look when you don't own the imperfection or leave an air of mystery about sensitive topics.
The Jaguars' GM was quick to dismiss what he called "false" media narratives about a disconnect between him and Pederson, saying their communication was stronger than ever.
Baalke shot down any notion of taking issue with offensive coordinator Press Taylor as the play-caller or that he unduly influenced Pederson into hiring Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen to the same position.
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"I sat in on all the [coordinator] interviews, we shared our thoughts," said Baalke. "But at the end of the day, [Pederson] owns it. I respect those decisions."
While Baalke says he supported every Pederson decision made in 2023 ("We make it and we move on."), he never specifically denied having reservations about Taylor. He tap-danced around it, adding any discussions with Pederson about anything "will remain private." Baalke made no attempt to defend Taylor with anywhere near the fervor Pederson did after the season.
Coming off a season in which the Jaguars failed miserably down the stretch in multiple areas, it made you wonder if Baalke was forthcoming enough about what else might have unraveled.
Proving himself all over again
Let's be honest: Baalke comes across as too cocksure, which is not necessarily a bad trait for an NFL GM, but that can be a turnoff for fans when losing sets in.
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Truthfully, there's a charming, engaging side to him and a defiant, obstinate one as well. Right now, all fans see is a GM who couldn't stop a team from backsliding at the wrong time. And if your stated intent is to keep Josh Allen, why not try to get a long-term deal done as soon as possible and maybe save that franchise tag for Calvin Ridley in case that option is needed?
Nobody on the Jaguars is a bigger target of derision right now than Baalke, with Taylor a close second. The 59-year-old GM probably isn't going to win any press conference without either a more popular Pederson by his side or Baalke actually announcing his retirement.
So when Baalke rails about the Jaguars lacking an identity — a direct indictment on coaching -- says this is "not a team that needs to be a total overhaul," or that he's not sure if the team will do a long-term extension with Lawrence in either 2024 or 2025, all of that is truthful and prudent. But it's still all window dressing.
Since Baalke is going to be the GM moving forward, nobody cares if he wins or loses a press conference. What matters is him making the right decisions in free agency and the draft because, frankly, this could be last call.
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The Jaguars must substantially upgrade in a loaded AFC to get to the 2024 playoffs or every facet of the leadership could get blown up. There are too many good teams with elite or very good quarterbacks for Jacksonville to count on another 9-8 record getting them to the postseason.
It sure looks like the Houston Texans have usurped the Jaguars as the AFC South favorite, though offseason roster moves could alter that projection. Who knows how much better the Indianapolis Colts will be with a healthy Anthony Richardson or the Tennessee Titans under new head coach Brian Callahan.
Across the AFC, the Cincinnati Bengals will have a mended Joe Burrow , the New York Jets a viable quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and the Los Angeles Chargers a formidable head coach in Jim Harbaugh for QB Justin Herbert .
Plus, the Big Three of the Kansas City Chiefs , Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills , with the best quarterbacking trio in the league, aren't going away.
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The Jaguars better find a way to be more physically intimidating in both lines, keep Lawrence healthy and be as connected as a team as they were during that 2022 stretch run.
That's the path to sustained success, which starts with leadership making smart decisions on player acquisition.
If Trent Baalke can make this roster good enough to reclaim the AFC South on a consistent basis, nobody will care what his press conference looks like.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Blame game: Jaguars' GM Baalke must share in responsibility for team collapse
