With several underperforming teams making changes to their staffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced that they would be sticking with both general manager Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone. Owner Shad Khan met with both Tuesday and several others in the organization before coming up with a decision and felt it was best to give everyone another chance.
Khan released a statement on his decisions Tuesday afternoon, and of course, fans weren’t too high on his remarks or decision. Upon reading over it, here are some of our takeaways on the matter:
Khan met with the players, likely to discuss issues with NFLPA amongst other topics
It’s not exactly rare for ownership to meet with players after the season, but with the Jalen Ramsey saga and the NFLPA situation occurring due to Tom Coughlin, Khan needed to have some one-on-one meetings with his team more than any owner in the league. According to him, the meetings were honest and thoughtful, which could mark the beginning of Khan mending his relationship with his players and the start of moving away from Coughlin’s culture where it felt like players were punished more than they were rewarded.
In the process of his meetings, it’s hard to imagine that he didn’t meet with Yannick Ngakoue, who is the Jags’ biggest pending free agent at the moment. With the young pass-rusher being very vocal about handling the business side of his career and receiving a new contract, Khan came out to say he felt the deal the team offered in the summer was fair. Obviously, Ngakoue didn’t agree though Khan did go on to add he wants Ngakoue to have a future with the Jags.
Khan is fine with keeping the full coaching staff intact, however, Marrone could be making changes soon
Based on Khan’s statement, his meetings with the staff and players were so positive that he decided not to make any staff changes. This means that the Jags’ most scrutinized assistant, Todd Wash, will be sticking around as defensive coordinator and fans aren’t happy about it.
With the Jags not having the blue-chip talent they did in 2017, Wash has struggled with his duties at defensive coordinator. His unit finished the season 28th against the rush, 24th in yards allowed, and 21st in points allowed. And while he lost several key players in 2019 like Telvin Smith to retirement and Marcell Dareus and Myles Jack to injury, the Jags’ defense were out schemed even when healthy.
During Tuesday’s presser with Caldwell and Marrone, Marrone said that he will be making evaluations on his staff in the coming weeks. That could mean he may finally decide to part ways from Wash, who clearly isn’t the answer on the defensive side.
Khan was disappointed with the second half of the season but feels there were positive developments
After the Jags’ bye week, the second half of the season was pretty much a catastrophe as the team lost five of their seven remaining games. They also endured a stretch where they lost four games by double-digits after the bye and the team also sustained a double-digit loss the week before their bye week courtesy of the Houston Texans.
Through all of that, somehow, Khan says he found some positives. He didn’t go into specifics, but one would have to think he was referring to the fire that players like Ngakoue, Josh Allen, DJ Chark Jr., Leonard Fournette, and Gardner Minshew II brought throughout different points of the second half of the season. Still, most would agree that it shouldn’t have been enough to outweigh how the team looked as a whole as they were the first team since the 1986 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lose five straight by 17 points or more.
Khan likely didn’t use the last two games to influence his decision
Once Tom Coughlin was fired, Khan released a statement saying that his expectations were “high” for the Jags’ remaining two games. NFL insider Ian Rapoport added that Khan would be watching to see if “things went well” in the Jags’ remaining games. However, they lost by double-digits in one of those games (against the Atlanta Falcons) and Khan himself said he didn’t let the season finale influence his decision. So, in other words, the Jags’ last two games really didn’t mean all that much for Tuesday’s decision.
Khan doesn’t feel the time is right to overhaul the front office
One of the most puzzling statements for fans that Khan made Tuesday was the fact that he said that the time wasn’t right for an overhaul. After accumulating a 38-90 record with him as owner, those statements have led fans to ask themselves exactly what will it take for Khan to realize that a change of direction may be the answer.
Khan also mentioned the Jags 2017 playoff season, which has been a common theme for him over the last few years. However, with many of the players from that roster gone and more set to depart this year, it may be time for him to let go of the past and move on. Simply put, the Jags have way too many holes to compare itself to 2017’s roster and the talent level isn’t nearly as close, though it’s also not the worst roster in the league.
Missing the playoff may not result in Marrone and Caldwell getting fired in 2020
One of the first things Khan said in his statement is that he spoke with the staff about what would be needed to “reverse” course and “compete for a postseason berth in 2020.” To me, that sounds as though Caldwell and Marrone don’t necessarily have to make the playoffs to keep their jobs. In fact, it wouldn’t be a shocker if the Jags upped their win total from this year by one (7-9) and kept both around.
With the team already predicted to see a decline in season ticket holders due to Khan’s struggles to put a good product on the field, I don’t know that the fanbase can take another year of Caldwell or Marrone if they fall short in 2020. However, Khan has proven to be reluctant to reset his front office and has particularly held on to Caldwell longer than most owners would for a general manager who has only had one winning season out of seven.
Fans feel like Khan’s 2019 season-ending statement contradicts his 2018 season-ending statement
Monday marked the one-year mark of Khan’s last season-ending statements. From that day, a phrase he used “far too many long Sundays” took off, and here fans are again in 2019 enduring much of the same.
Another key part of 2018’s statement that fans have criticized is where Khan stated that he wouldn’t confuse stability with satisfaction and wouldn’t overlook the Jags’ poor play after a 3-1 start.
“Stability should not be confused with satisfaction, however,” Khan said. “I am far from content with the status quo and while it’s best to put 2018 behind us, I will not overlook how poorly we accounted for ourselves following a 3-1 start.”
Well, the Jags once again clawed themselves into playoff contention (4-4) in late October, then crumbled by losing six of the eight following games, yet, Caldwell and Marrone are back.
Additionally, most fans feel as though Khan has proven himself in terms of the stability department when looking at the tenures of Marrone and Caldwell. However, by keeping both he’s causing another issue — and that’s the lack of accountability.
