Jacksonville Jaguars Archives - Head Coach Ranking

Jacksonville Jaguars’ Reported Hire of Jay Gruden a Coup For Doug Marrone

By HCR Staff | Jan. 22, 2020

It’s being reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars will be hiring former Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden as offensive coordinator, replacing John DeFilippo. If the reports are accurate, it’ll be a big coup for Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone.

While the Jaguars did get to an AFC Championship game under Marrone, the entirety of his tenure has been middling at best. Some may say he’s even underachieved significantly.

Marrone’s tenure is somewhat difficult to assess, however, and that’s largely due to the convoluted nature of their front office structure. At different points, different people seem to have been in command, ranging from General Manager Dave Caldwell, to Marrone himself, and then former Executive Vice President Tom Coughlin.

After an incredibly poor 2019 season, owner Shad Khan terminated Coughlin. He’s kept Marrone and Caldwell, however, but it appears both are on one year leashes.

And that’s what makes getting a coordinator of Jay Gruden’s stature impressive.

Notwithstanding Gruden’s termination in Washington, we feel he’s an excellent coordinator. He had a very successful run in Cincinnati, and we believe he did reasonably well in Washington as head coach. He had to endure a completely dysfunctional ownership and front office, and an incredible rash of injuries.

Gruden is well aware that Marrone only has 2020 to extend his job, so for him to take on this challenge indicates he believes significant improvement is possible. We’re sure Gruden had other options (including joining his brother in Las Vegas).

Regardless, it’s a coup for Marrone, and for quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Nick Foles (although Foles’ relationship with the Jaguars is tenuous).

Are the Jacksonville Jaguars Setting the Table for Clemson Quarterback Trevor Lawrence?

By HCR Staff | Jan. 15, 2020

When the NFL awarded the city of Jacksonville an NFL franchise, it was fairly shocking. After all, the state of Florida already had two teams, and as a media market, Jacksonville is tiny versus its peers.

Since their founding, the Jaguars have had some good success, but continuous relevancy has been hard to come by, even in their own market. Consequently, the Jaguars have also become London’s de facto NFL team because the organization has signed up for the opportunity to extend their brand to a larger market.

One problem in the struggle for relevancy is the absence of a transcendent player. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey had the physical talent, but for whatever reason, he didn’t want to play there anymore. Running back Leonard Fournette also is a stellar talent, but nationally, still relatively unknown.

In looking at the Jaguars’ recent moves, however, we believe they’re positioning themselves for that transcendent player, and we believe they’re targeting Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence, like Andrew Luck and John Elway before him, has the talent, results, and experience that NFL teams covet. And he already possesses star power, having played in consecutive College Football National Championship games.

Whether he is successful or not in the long term remains to be seen, but all that matters right now is that he is perceived as a bona fide, next generation star.

He’s exactly what the Jaguars need.

How are the Jaguars positioning? Well, Tom Coughlin was terminated…and his position was not filled by anyone else. Next, head coach Doug Marrone and GM David Caldwell have contracts that extend only through 2021. We haven’t seen any reports of any extensions for either; absent that, letting both go after 2020 would be a liability easily absorbed by ownership.

The Jaguars also came to a “mutual agreement” with offensive coordinator John DeFilippo; the agreement would be that he leaves right now, even though he did a pretty good job under tough circumstances. DeFilippo had to run an offense with a depleted offensive line, no real talent at tight end, and a late round rookie QB in Gardner Minshew–who showed good progress.

Finally, the Jaguars most significant free agent acquisition in 2019 was QB Nick Foles. After the 2020 season, however, the Jaguars will be able to get out from under that contract more easily.

Add it all up, it’s pretty clear Jaguars’ ownership can start the 2021 season with a new general manager, head coach, and star quarterback.

The Jaguars play in a tough AFC South, and they clearly are the fourth team in the division. But by being fourth, they may be well positioned in the 2021 Draft, with Lawrence the key prize.

Number One Rule of NFL Head Coaching Strategy — Don’t Harm Your Own Team

By HCR Staff | Sept. 21, 2019

Being an NFL head coach is a tough job — lots of moving parts and people to manage, all under the brightest lights and most intense scrutiny. There is far greater pressure and scrutiny than what an MLB manager or NBA head coach faces. So, we are sympathetic to the complexities of the job.

However, one general and non-complex concept should be easily understood and practiced by all head coaches: Don’t Harm Your Own Team.

Doctors follow the maxim “do no harm” with respect to patients. Well, the same underlying concept applies to NFL head coaches too.

On Thursday night unfortunately, we saw Doug Marrone and Mike Vrabel harm their own teams – at least in our view.

Let’s start with Vrabel.

The Titans were shut out in the first half and the offensive line couldn’t keep the Jaguars’ pass rushers away from QB Marcus Mariota, who was also struggling on his own. But they opened the second half with the ball and executed a nice drive. The drive ultimately stalled at the Jacksonville 11-yard line, leaving the Titans with a 4th and 6. It still was early in the third quarter and almost an entire half of football was left to play.

Instead of taking a 29-yard field goal, Vrabel decided to go for the 4th and 6, despite the offensive line struggles. The Titans had the opportunity to keep the deficit at two possessions early in the second half, and in a divisional road game off a short week. They were also facing a rookie quarterback and gaining some confidence after this drive. Still, a 14-3 deficit wasn’t a good enough position in Vrabel’s mind. Vrabel preferred to risk failure on 4th and 6 and giving the Jaguars an opportunity to go up three possessions — which is a huge second half hole that rarely is overcome.

The decision failed after Mariota was sacked, and of course, the Jaguars immediately went up three possessions, and the Titans were unable to recover.

Now, let’s get to Marrone.

Up 20-7, with less than four minutes left in the game, Marrone had a 4th and goal from the Tennessee 4-yard line. Instead of taking a 23-7 lead with a 22-yard field goal, Marrone decided to go for the touchdown.

4th and 4 is not a given, even in a preseason game. Marrone created the opportunity for Tennessee to beat Jacksonville with two touchdowns. It’s a remote possibility, sure, but the possibility didn’t even exist until Marrone created it. What reward outweighed risking breathing your buried opponent back to life?

Winning is a conclusion and learning how to win is a process. In our view, Vrabel and Marrone need some remedial classes on the subject.

Fearless Prediction: Nick Foles Will Be Top 5 in MVP Voting

By HCR Staff | August 24, 2019

We aren’t big on hot takes here at HCR, but we also like making our predictions from time to time. Nothing wrong with having a little fun before the upcoming season.

Fearless prediction number one for us is that new Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles will finish top five in MVP voting at the end of the season. Yep, we strongly believe he will be in there with Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

Here are the reasons why.

1. He is “The Man” for the first time in a long time, and that brings renewed confidence. For a long time, Foles has been in situations where he has had to defer to the number one quarterback, whether that be Alex Smith, Carson Wentz or someone else. He now walks into work every day as the undisputed leader of the offense and the franchise. That puts a different type of pep in your step, and we think that is going to result in excellent play from Foles.

2. He is reunited with close personal friend in John DeFilippo as his OC. Foles is very happy to be brought together again with an offensive coach with whom he has a high degree of familiarity. Chemistry is crucial over the course of a season, and this positive relationship is a good reason why we think good results are going to follow.

3. The Jaguars aren’t expected to do much. After making the conference title game in the 2017 season, the Jags fell down to Earth with a big thud last year. Many have already written the team off as one hit wonders. That lack of expectation is going to benefit Foles, who can play free and easy.

Catching Up With Some Curious Coaching Moves Around the NFL

By HCR Staff | Jan. 29, 2019

While the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams prepare for Super Bowl LIII, there’s been plenty of activity around the NFL as the other 30 teams evaluate and make adjustments to their coaching staffs. Amid all the Super Bowl hoopla, here’s a rundown of some recent activity you may have missed:

ATLANTA FALCONS:
While head coach Dan Quinn survived a disappointing season, the Falcons did fire all three of their coordinators – offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong. It would appear that this coming season will be critical for Quinn. Dirk Koetter is the new OC. Quinn takes over as DC. The new special teams coordinator is Ben Kotwica, formerly with the Washington Redskins.

BUFFALO BILLS:
The Bills fired offensive line coach Juan Castillo, which was surprising because he and head coach Sean McDermott have a long history together; they worked on Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia from 2001-10. Castillo took over at defensive coordinator for McDermott when McDermott was fired by Reid after the 2010 season. The Bills o-line wasn’t expected to be good and they weren’t. They had to overcome losing a pair of veterans in center Eric Wood and Pro Bowl guard Richie Incognito.

DENVER BRONCOS:
When the Broncos hired Vic Fangio as head coach, it was widely reported that Gary Kubiak — former Broncos head coach and long-time friend of team president John Elway – would become Fangio’s offensive coordinator. Then a few days after Fangio was hired, there was a change of plan. Kubiak surprisingly left Denver to take the OC job with the Minnesota Vikings. Bizarre.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS:
Speaking of bizarre, this was one of the more unexpected moves of the offseason. The Colts offensive line was arguably the most improved offensive line in football and a big reason why the team made the postseason. Yet soon after they lost to the Chiefs in the divisional playoffs, o-line coach Dave DeGuglielmo was fired. This was a surprise.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS:
Running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley, who was fired earlier this month, had been hired by Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone in 2017. Wheatley previously worked on Marrone’s staffs at Syracuse and with the Buffalo Bills. He might have been the fall guy for running back malcontent Leonard Fournette.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS:
The Vikings chose not to renew the contract of special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, who had been with the team since 2011. He is now the special teams coordinator with the Cleveland Browns.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS:
No coach spends more time with the players than the strength staff, and head strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle had been a staple of the team since 2010. He was hired by Pete Carroll at USC in 2009 and followed him to Seattle a year later. This is the second offseason in a row where the Seahawks have made significant changes to core members of the staff that came over from USC. Last year, they fired Kris Richard, who had been the defensive coordinator. This year, Carlisle was let go.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS:
New Bucs head coach Bruce Arians hired Todd McNair to be his running backs coach. McNair, a former NFL player who last coached in 2009 for USC, had been out of coaching since then – perhaps due to his alleged involvement in the Reggie Bush-related scandal at USC. This was a good opportunity for McNair to get back into the game – Arians was McNair’s coach back when he played at Temple.

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