Gene Frenette: Questions about Jaguars' new defensive coordinator, offseason, NFL, Gators

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Gene Frenette: Questions about Jaguars' new defensive coordinator, offseason, NFL, Gators

Gene Frenette, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union · The Florida Times-Union

Tue, Jan 23, 2024 ·

6 min read

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Questions worth asking as the Jaguars , victimized at home this season by three of the NFL's Final Four teams, hire a defensive coordinator... the entertainment value of an AFC Championship matchup between the league's two best quarterbacks... and Florida football adding an NCAA investigation to its ongoing drama:

Should the Jaguars' hiring of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who helped that unit improve from 27th in 2022 to 11th in his only season, have the fan base doing cartwheels?

Did the Falcons having only 16 takeaways last season, the fourth-fewest in the NFL, give Jaguars coach Doug Pederson any pause before making the hire?

Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, hired by the Jaguars for the same position, prefers to run a lot of man-to-man coverage and that could signal a switch from what Jacksonville had in Mike Caldwell's predominantly zone scheme.

More Gene Frenette: Jaguars' owner Shad Khan should view the 2024 season as a crossroad for franchise

Or was Pederson more focused on Nielsen being a man-to-man defense proponent so the Jaguars could move away from playing a ton of zone coverage?

Should Nielsen's last three seasons with the New Orleans Saints (2019-21), where he served one year as co-defensive coordinator and two as defensive line coach, be hugely encouraging since the team finished seventh, fifth and fourth, respectively, in total defense?

Can we at least agree that Nielsen's impact on the defense will be more influenced by whatever new talent GM Trent Baalke can bring in through free agency and the draft than the scheme he runs?

How can the Jaguars' defense expect to improve without a stronger interior line, another dependable cornerback, pass-rush depth and keeping linebacker Foye Oluokun ?

Don't you think the Jaguars' path to getting back to the playoffs must start by signing Josh Allen to a $100 million-plus contract extension, even if they must buy negotiating time by using the franchise tag on their record-setting pass-rusher?

Will Baalke get in the hunt for high-dollar free agents like receiver Tee Higgins and defensive tackle Chris Jones or will the price tag be too prohibitive?

How can the Jaguars expect to have a bounce-back season without Baalke hitting two home runs in the 2024 draft, preferably with linemen on both sides of the ball?

Different look for Jaguars' WR room?

Exactly what will the Jaguars' receiver room look like if they say goodbye to both Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones ?

How would quarterback Trevor Lawrence feel about that circumstance unless it means Higgins becoming a Jaguar?

Will Baalke forever continue to double down on taking solid acquisition Travon Walker as the No. 1 pick in the '22 draft, even if the Detroit Lions ' Aidan Hutchinson , the No. 2 selection, keeps collecting sacks and record pressures in the postseason?

Seeing the way the Kansas City Chiefs pulled out a 27-24 AFC Divisional playoff win on the road against the Buffalo Bills , can any franchise in the NFL rightfully feel more tortured than Buffalo?

Who else but the Bills, trailing by three points with 13 minutes remaining, would try to fake a punt from their own 30 on fourth-and-5 and fail despite KC having only 10 men on the field?

With five yards to go on fourth down from that part of the field, wouldn't the Bills have been better off just going for it straight up with quarterback Josh Allen and the offense out there?

Didn't it seem that Buffalo was destined to win, both after KC's Mecole Hardman fumbled out of the end zone to miss a chance to go up by 10 points, then the Chiefs later failing to fall on an Allen fumble at midfield with five minutes remaining?

Nightmare scenario for Bills

How could Buffalo Bills fans see that Tyler Bass game-tying field attempt sailing wide right and not think, "Great bleepin' Scott! It's Norwood all over again?"

Did it seem that Allen's passing day was so pedestrian that he averaged a paltry 4.7 yards per attempt, half of Mahomes' number?

Which was more stunning: the Chiefs and Bills combining for zero sacks or Buffalo running 31 more plays (78-47) and losing the game?

Can you ask for better theater in the AFC Championship game than seeing Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson , each with two likely MVPs in the last six seasons (if the Baltimore Ravens ' QB wins this year as expected), in an epic duel?

Which was the more memorable quarterback MVP matchup with a Super Bowl berth on the line — the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning duels (2003, '06) or the Brady-Aaron Rodgers battle (2020), the only such MVP duels in championship games besides Steve Young-Brett Favre (1995) and Johnny Unitas-Daryle Lamonica (1970) in pro football history, per Elias?

Considering Mahomes has a phenomenal win-loss record of 219-63 (.776) in the regular season and an even better winning percentage of .812 (13-3) in the postseason, isn't it hard to bet against him?

Did you notice that ex-Jaguars receiver Chris Conley , who barely played the last two seasons for three different teams, caught a 17-yard pass on the San Francisco 49ers' game-winning drive against the Green Bay Packers after Deebo Samuel was sidelined earlier in the contest?

How cool is it that former Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell, now the QB coach for the Lions, has another shot at potentially earning a Super Bowl ring after getting one as the New Orleans Saints' backup quarterback to Drew Brees in 2009?

Value of late-round NFL Draft gems

Does anybody still dismiss seventh-round picks as meaningless draft leftovers when you see what 2022 selections in Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy (No. 262 pick), has meant to the San Francisco 49ers as their quarterback and Isiah Pacheco (No. 251 pick) to the Chiefs as their running back?

Can you imagine how the Jaguars' offense might have improved this season had they used one of their last two draft picks in 2022 on Pacheco instead of cornerbacks Montaric Brown or Greg Junior?

Do you realize taking Pacheco two years ago would have meant a different selection in 2023 than third-round running back Tank Bigsby , who went the pick before the Los Angeles Rams chose 9-sack defensive tackle Kobie Turner ?

Will the Houston Texans , after pulling off the same surprise first-place AFC South showing as the 2022 Jaguars, keep ascending with C.J. Stroud or find being the hunted in 2024 as stifling as it was for Jacksonville ?

How surprising is it that both the Dallas Cowboys ' Mike McCarthy and the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Sirianni, even one year after reaching the Super Bowl, will return for another season?

Is it really possible we could see Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl championship coach, interviewing twice for the Atlanta Falcons job and end up not landing any NFL vacancies?

How concerning is it for Florida's football program that it is under NCAA investigation for an unspecified violation, according to the Tampa Bay Times, a year after a failed NIL deal for quarterback Jaden Rashada prompted him to sign with Arizona State?

What else could go wrong for Gators head coach Billy Napier after UF just registered its third straight losing season, a first since 1945-47?

Don't you think Florida, because of its on-field struggles, is likely to get more attention for a potential NIL rules violation than Florida State did recently for running afoul of the NCAA on a similar infraction?

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Big questions: New Jaguars coordinator, NFL playoffs, UF investigation

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