Jacksonville Jaguars coaching search: Here's who should be top candidate (and two backups)

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Jacksonville Jaguars coaching search: Here's who should be top candidate (and two backups)

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

Wed, Jan 15, 2025 ·

11 min read

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With the Jacksonville Jaguars conducting initial interviews with six of their 10 requested head coaching candidates as of Wednesday , all kinds of information floats out there about perceived leaders in the clubhouse.

It's not always accurate, mainly because too much guessing, educated and otherwise, goes on.

Remember three years ago when multiple so-called insiders — none of them with a national platform — insisted Byron Leftwich was going to succeed the dismissed Urban Meyer before the Jaguars finally hired Doug Pederson ?

While it's only natural Jaguars fans clamor for morsels of info during a coaching search, be careful what the rumor mill suggests when the interview process is barely out of the starting gate.

This Jaguars' search isn't anything like what happened with the New England Patriots, where the fix was pretty much in for Mike Vrabel — a proven available head coach with ties to the franchise — from the moment Jerod Mayo was fired.

Owner Shad Khan has no reason to rush this search . He has cast the widest net with the most impressive set of candidates than in his previous five coaching searches. If it takes another week or three weeks, just identify the coach who can bring sustained winning to a franchise that hasn't had it since Tom Coughlin's glorious run in the late 1990s.

Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, who brought that element to both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2001) and the Indianapolis Colts (2002-08) by leading them to a combined 11 playoff appearances in 13 seasons, says teams searching for a coach should be fixated on leadership over numbers.

"Don't worry about the noise or the fans," Dungy told me recently. "Just find a coach who you believe is the right leader for your team.

I KNEW IT: Trevor Lawrence agrees that Jaguars offense was predictable. QB explains why

"A lot of teams make the mistake of going for the offensive coordinator or quarterback coach putting up great stats, but is he the right leader? That's what you have to figure out during the search."

Khan's hiring history suspect

Looking at Khan's history of Jaguars' coaching hires, it hasn't been a good trend.

Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone, Meyer and Pederson were all terminated with losing records, making Khan only the second owner in NFL history — besides the 1967 expansion New Orleans Saints with John Mecom Jr. — to have that distinction with his first five coaches.

The Jaguars' fan base has put up with way too much losing in the Khan era . It wouldn't be asking a lot of the next coach to have a winning percentage significantly above the .309 mark (67-250) of the Jaguars since 2012.

But who among those candidates with scheduled interviews would be the best choice for the Jaguars?

The wildly popular pick in this coaching cycle is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson , especially among Jaguars fans who seem to have developed a Ben-or-bust attitude about this search.

I'm not going to try and predict who will be Doug Pederson's successor because there's no telling what Khan might do.

However, I believe several candidates could be a good fit for what the organization needs to sustain winning. Below is my pecking order of top-3 preferences, all of whom could elevate the Jaguars to relevance:

1. Robert Saleh

Since the Patriots hired the coach who would have been an ideal leader for the Jaguars in Vrabel, the next best option in my view is Robert Saleh, the ex-New York Jets head coach who was terminated after five games this season.

Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, seen here celebrating a touchdown with quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) in a September game against the New England Patriots, is a former Jacksonville Jaguars' linebackers coach who would vastly improve the Jaguars' disjointed defense if he was hired as their head coach.

Despite Saleh's 20-36 (.357) overall record, the Jaguars could use a heavy dose of his forceful presence and leadership qualities. That's more critical than anything else right now because this is a franchise that needs a strong hand and a legitimate identity, which has been lacking since Coughlin left in 2002.

Jack Del Rio brought a strong, defense-first mentality to the Jaguars the following year with Mike Smith as his coordinator, but things were never the same after Smith left in 2008 for a successful head coaching run with the Atlanta Falcons .

The Jaguars need stability, accountability and a forceful leader right now, as well as somebody to kickstart a broken defense. My feeling is Saleh would bring those elements above any other candidate, though my No. 2 and 3 choices aren't far behind.

Part of the reason Pederson's tenure faded (18 losses in last 23 games) is he didn't have enough of an iron fist to instill fear and passion in his players. So when things went awry, especially on defense, the Jaguars didn't handle adversity well.

Saleh is the best candidate to fix that because he will learn from his Jets ' experience, where owner Woody Johnson panicked in firing Saleh, who never got more than five games to work with Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers .

As much as the Jaguars need a coach to develop QB Trevor Lawrence , let's not forget they were the worst defense in the NFL in 2024. Saleh knows a little something about repairing a woeful unit.

During his four-year run as the San Francisco 49ers ' coordinator (2017-20), he took them from last in total defense before his arrival to No. 2 within three years and a berth in the Super Bowl.

Defenses ascend under Saleh

After a dreadful first season as head coach in New York, when the Jets allowed a league-worst 29.6 points per game, he elevated them to a top-5 defense in 2022 and '23. Who knows how the Jets' last season might have gone after a 2-3 start if Saleh was allowed to finish it out.

What I do know is when Saleh coached the Jaguars' linebackers (2014-16), he commanded the players' respect. Despite not being retained by new coach Doug Marrone, he temporarily went to the Los Angeles Chargers in the same position before 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hired him two weeks later as his defensive coordinator.

Think about that: how many NFL coaches on a 3-13 team get promoted to defensive coordinator? Shanahan knew Saleh from their days with the Houston Texans and felt his leadership skills were what the 49ers defense needed.

Saleh validated that faith two years later by taking San Francisco and its defense to the Super Bowl, coming within 10 minutes of knocking off the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs .

"The most important words are commanding presence and [Saleh] has that," said former Jaguars Pro Bowl linebacker Paul Posluszny , who played for Saleh three seasons. "He had a different level of understanding the game and communicating it to his players. He brings an energy and enthusiasm that's infectious.

"He has all the capabilities you want as a head coach. He loves football and he loves his players. You can feel that as players and there's so much power with that."

It'd be interesting to know whether Khan felt that same vibe Tuesday after his in-person interview in Jacksonville with Saleh concluded?

Some will wonder about hiring Saleh because he's a defensive guy, not knowing who he'd bring in as the offensive coordinator to develop Lawrence. That's a fair point.

But if you believe this hire is about finding the right leader, Saleh fits what the Jaguars need.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (R) talks with quarterback Jared Goff (16) during a 2023 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Johnson has been instrumental in raising Goff's level of play the past three years and could do the same for Jaguars' quarterback Trevor Lawrence if given a head coaching opportunity in Jacksonville.

2. Ben Johnson

It's impossible to not be enamored with the Detroit Lions ' 38-year-old offensive coordinator, whose unit has improved rather dramatically each year since he took over midway through the 2021 season. It's now putting up Star Wars-type numbers.

What the Lions and quarterback Jared Goff have done on offense under Johnson is insane. The numbers almost defy belief.

It's no wonder the former walk-on quarterback at North Carolina is the hot candidate when looking at the incremental jumps in every significant category.

From 2021-24, the Lions' total offense goes 322.6 yards (No. 22 ranking), 380.0 yards (No. 4), 394.8 yards (No. 3) and 410.5 yards (No. 2). Detroit's rushing rankings go 19, 11, 5 and 6. The passing ranks start at 18, then 8, 2 and 2.

In the all-important points-per-game metric, the Lions were at 19.1 in 2021, followed by 26.6, 27.1 and now an NFL-leading 33.3 points.

Under Johnson, Goff's career trajectory follows the same uptick. His completion percentage (71.7), yards per attempt (8.7), touchdown passes (36) and QB rating (113.6) all hit career highs in 2024 by a significant margin.

The Lions are the very definition of a pyrotechnic offense, scoring a franchise-record 30 points in nine games and their 40-plus in six games ties an NFL record.

Taking in all those numbers, even without Johnson having any head coaching experience or knowing much about his leadership skills or who he brings in as defensive coordinator, how can Khan not at least imagine what he might do with Lawrence?

Goff was a good quarterback during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams (91.5 rating, touchdown-interception ratio of 107-55). In Johnson's offense, those numbers in four years are 100.5 and 114-37.

Here's what Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, who worked with Johnson on the Miami Dolphins staff (2012-15), said about his colleague to ESPN after the 2022 season: "I've tried to hire Ben many, many times. He always gets promoted to where I can't get to him. He's one of those guys you want on your staff because he's brilliant."

High praise, indeed.

But it's hard to know how much that brilliance would translate into being an NFL head coach. Or in Lawrence's words, to be "the right guy that's going to be the right leader and voice for your team and set that culture."

This part is indisputable: no hiring of any candidate would likely uplift a discouraged Jaguars fan base more than Johnson.

Plus, with Johnson, you have the possible bonus of bringing with him Mark Brunell, the legendary Jaguars quarterback who currently serves as the Lions' QB coach, to help run his offense and mentor Lawrence.

With interest from the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders , his candidacy could get tricky because Johnson might have more leverage than any other candidate.

But if you're a Jaguars fan, who wouldn't want to see him on a headset calling plays for Trevor?

3. Aaron Glenn

My third choice was a coin flip between the Lions' defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and three offensive coordinators: Joe Brady (Buffalo Bills) , Liam Coen (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Todd Monken (Baltimore Ravens) .

That's not to say the other Jaguars' candidates wouldn't make good head coaches, but this is as much about gut instinct as it is the resume.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (center), looking on during a 2023 game against the Minnesota Vikings, would be an intriguing head coaching hire for the Jacksonville Jaguars because they need massive improvement on that side of the ball.

Glenn, 52, might be the most intriguing of the 10 because nobody would bring more NFL experience to the job. He's got 15 seasons as a cornerback (205 games, 176 starts) and 11 seasons as a coach.

It's no secret players have immense respect for coaches who play in the league as long as Glenn. So if this native Texan gets the opportunity to be a head coach, I could see him commanding a room with an authoritative demeanor.

His candidacy gained a lot of momentum this year because the Lions' defense overcame a slew of season-ending injuries, including to elite pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson .

Not that the numbers put up by Glenn's defense are anywhere near as impressive as Johnson's offense, but his value as a leader of men would likely be up there with anybody who hasn't been a head coach.

Whether Detroit wins or reaches the Super Bowl for the first time could impact the timing of naming a Jaguars head coach, but it should have no relevance to who gets the job.

Glenn could also be in play for the New York Jets, where he spent his first eight seasons playing, and his last team, the New Orleans Saints. He also played five games for the Jaguars in 2007, intercepting his final career pass and returning it for a 28-yard touchdown.

Shad Khan has quite a top-10 list to sift through to identify the right Jaguars leader. Saleh, Johnson and Glenn all have appealing credentials.

If he picks from that trifecta, it's hard for me to question any of those choices.

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

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars coaching search: Here's who Shad Khan should hire

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