Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are not waiting until the end of the season to start going after their top head coaching candidates.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that Jacksonville is expected to interview Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich for its head coaching opening as early as Friday. The Jaguars reportedly put in a request to interview him during the regular-season window.

The Jaguars are taking advantage of a new NFL rule that allows teams that have fired coaches or informed a coach he will not be retained next year to begin interviewing candidates in the final weeks of the season.

Leftwich, who played quarterback for the Jaguars for four seasons, has served as offensive coordinator of the Buccaneers since 2019 when Bruce Arians was hired as the team's head coach. Arians coached the Arizona Cardinals from 2013 to '17 and gave Leftwich his first coaching role in 2016, which was an intern position. Leftwich became Arizona's quarterbacks coach in 2017, and he remained with the team for one more year—eventually being named interim offensive coordinator in October 2018—after Arians retired following the 2017 season. 

Tampa Bay has finished no lower than third in scoring offense under Leftwich's leadership. This season, the Buccaneers lead the NFL with 405.8 total yards per game and rank second with 29.4 points per game. 

For his part, Leftwich has not fed into the rumors that he's a coveted option for teams with head coaching openings. He's said that his main focus is his job as offensive coordinator and trying to help the Buccaneers win a second straight Super Bowl title.

"Obviously, as a coach anytime your name is thrown around, I guess it is what it is, but it really means nothing at this point," Leftwich said before Sunday's game against the New York Jets. "It really means nothing at this point and I kind of think it's disrespectful to the guys that you really work with every day. That's really how I view that.

"If I'm ever fortunate enough to be in that situation that's when I'll handle it, but as of right now, I'm really focusing on the opponent we're about to play and getting us ready to try and play our best football."

The Buccaneers are 12-4 and will play their season finale against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The Jaguars (2-14) will face the Indianapolis Colts and will likely be in line for the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-14 this season after going 1-15 last season, and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence understands the frustration even if he wouldn't express it by dressing up like a clown.

"There's a lot of diehard Jaguars fans that this is very important to them," he said, per Mia O'Brien of First Coast News in Jacksonville. "Would I do that personally? No, I wouldn't do it, but fans feel how they feel. But it's hard after this year... I get the frustration."

Lawrence's comments come after it was revealed some fans plan on dressing in clown attire for Sunday's game in an effort to convince team owner Shad Khan to fire general manager Trent Baalke.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Jaguars plan to retain Baalke, who was hired as the team's director of player personnel in February 2020 and has been the general manager since taking over on an interim basis in November 2020.

What's more, Rapoport reported Baalke will be involved in searching for the next head coach alongside Khan.

That clearly didn't sit well with some frustrated fans, and Mark Long of the Associated Press reported they have responded by changing social media profile pictures to feature a clown with Khan's mustache and replying to posts from the Jaguars with clown emojis.

They will apparently continue that theme by arriving at TIAA Bank Field for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts while wearing clown costumes.

"Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Green Bay offensive coordinator Nate Hackett and Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich reportedly declined to interview with the Jaguars during the final two weeks of the regular season, leaving many to wonder whether Baalke’s presence was an issue," Long wrote.

While Jacksonville doesn't exactly have a long history of success to fall back on, this season has gone far from as planned.

Lawrence may be the franchise cornerstone for years to come, but he has struggled with consistency on his way to 10 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. Injuries have also sapped him of many of the offensive weapons around him, and head coach Urban Meyer was a failure on his way to a 2-11 record before he was fired.

The franchise is in line to receive the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, but there is no coach in place, a rookie quarterback who has not been particularly impressive and a group of frustrated fans.

Baalke will certainly be under the spotlight as he attempts to improve the team this offseason.               

The Jacksonville Jaguars will reportedly interview Jim Caldwell for their head coaching vacancy Tuesday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Jacksonville is seeking a permanent replacement for Urban Meyer, who was fired after a 2-11 start to the season.

Unlike Meyer, who was hired last offseason with zero NFL experience, Caldwell has spent about two decades in various roles in the league. He has been a head coach for seven years, accumulating a 62-50 record during stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions.

The 66-year-old led the Colts to the Super Bowl in 2009, his first year helming the team, while the Lions had a winning record in three of his four seasons. Detroit has only one winning season since 2001 without Caldwell.

An offensive background could also be beneficial for the Jaguars as they seek to get the most out of 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. The quarterback has struggled during his rookie season with just 10 passing touchdowns and a league-high 17 interceptions in 16 games.

Jacksonville is still seeking candidates from a variety of backgrounds heading into the offseason.

The team interviewed former Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson and has meetings scheduled with Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Rapoport.

Requests have also been put out to several candidates including Dan Quinn and Nathaniel Hackett, per Rapoport.

The team will hope whoever is hired will be able to lead the Jaguars to their first winning season since 2017.

Frustrated members of the Jacksonville Jaguars fanbase are planning to dress in clown attire for Sunday's regular-season finale at home against the Indianapolis Colts as the franchise wraps up its 13th playoff-less campaign in the past 14 years.

Mark Long of the Associated Press reported Monday the group's goal is to convince Jags owner Shad Khan to fire general manager Trent Baalke.

Some fans have already changed their Twitter avatars to a clown with a mustache resembling the one famously donned by Khan:

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported last week Khan planned to retain Baalke, who's held the GM role since taking over on an interim basis in November 2020 following the firing of David Caldwell. He was hired in February 2020 as the team's director of player personnel.

The 57-year-old Wisconsin native previously spent 12 years in the San Francisco 49ers' front office, including six years as general manager, after starting his executive path as a scout with the New York Jets and Washington Football Team.

Jacksonville reached the AFC Championship Game in 2017, but its performance has sharply declined since that high point. It's missed the playoffs each of the past four years and posted an unsightly 3-29 record over the last two seasons.

Hope of improvement this season after selecting quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 draft didn't materialize. A major reason was the disastrous tenure of former head coach Urban Meyer, who was fired in December after 11 months leading the staff, but the lack of roster upgrades around Lawrence was also a factor.

"It's been a wild year," Lawrence told reporters Sunday. "I haven't been around the NFL long, so I really don't know how everything works. But I'm just trusting who is in leadership positions. I have faith that we are going to come out in a way better spot next year than we are right now."

While it's unclear whether Khan would consider changing his stance on Baalke once the offseason gets underway, some Jags fans are planning to let their voices be heard in a unique way Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will begin their interview process for their next head coach with Doug Pederson, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The team will reportedly meet with the former Philadelphia Eagles coach Thursday.

Jacksonville is seeking a replacement for Urban Meyer, who was fired just 13 games into his first season with the team.

Pederson spent five years with the Eagles, winning the Super Bowl after the 2017 season. He was fired after last year's 4-11-1 campaign.

The 53-year-old finished with a 42-37-1 regular-season record in Philadelphia, reaching the playoffs in three of five years. He also spent three years as an offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid and has experience as a quarterbacks coach.

This resume could be valuable as the Jaguars look to get the most out of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick who has struggled in his first season.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports first reported the Jaguars' interest in both Pederson and Jim Caldwell, two coaches who are "heralded for their work with quarterbacks." Their past experience in the NFL and demeanor as players' coaches also differentiates them from Meyer.

The team is still casting a wide net of potential candidates, reportedly putting in interview requests for offensive coordinators Byron Leftwich, Kellen Moore and Nathaniel Hackett and defensive coordinators Todd Bowles, Matt Eberflus and Dan Quinn.

A new NFL rule allows teams with vacancies to begin interviewing candidates in the final two weeks of the regular season rather than wait until the season ends.

This could help the Jaguars get the best possible candidate as they try to turn things around after a fourth straight losing season. The franchise has one playoff appearance since 2007 and will take a lot of work to get back on the right track in 2022.   

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is joining the growing list of candidates for the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coaching vacancy.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the Jaguars have requested to interview Hackett. Jacksonville has begun the process of identifying its targets to replace Urban Meyer:

Hackett already has experience with the franchise. He was the quarterbacks coach in 2015 and 2016 and moved up to the offensive coordinator role midway through the 2016 season. 

The Jaguars fired him in November 2018, and he quickly landed on his feet with the Packers in January 2019.

Green Bay ranked eighth in offensive efficiency in 2019 and improved to first in 2020 at Football Outsiders. The team is second in 2021 while averaging 357.1 yards and 25.5 points per game.

Having Aaron Rodgers under center is bound to make any coach look smarter, but Hackett deserves his fair share of credit for how potent the Packers offense is.

Rodgers is on pace to lead the NFL in QBR for the second straight season, something he has never done in his career, per Pro Football Reference. Aaron Jones also cracked 1,000 rushing yards in Hackett's first season before repeating the feat again in 2020. This year, the Packers have boasted a more balanced rushing attack between Jones (723 yards) and AJ Dillon (677 yards).

Considering how important Trevor Lawrence is to the Jaguars' future, leaning toward an offensive-minded coach would make sense.

Before working with Rodgers, Hackett helped Blake Bortles throw for 4,428 yards and 35 touchdowns—Bortles also led the league in interceptions (18)—in 2015. Imagine what he might be able to achieve with Lawrence at his disposal.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking toward Dallas in their search for a new head coach. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jags have reportedly requested to interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for their vacancy.

The Jaguars are casting a wide net in their search for a new head coach:

Alongside those candidates, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that Jacksonville is scheduled to interview former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson this week, while NFL writer Aaron Wilson added that the team has plans to interview former Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and Jacksonville interim head coach Darrell Bevell. 

The Jaguars have had a rotating cast of head coaches since Jack Del Rio was fired during the 2011 season after a 3-8 start and Mel Tucker was appointed as interim head coach. After stability at the outset of the franchise—Tom Coughlin was the team's head coach for eight seasons (1995-02), while Del Rio was around for parts of nine campaigns (2003-11)—Jacksonville has had anything but stability.

No coach since Del Rio has lasted more than four years:

• Mike Mularkey (2012): 2-14 record
• Gus Bradley (2013-16): 14-48 record
• Doug Marrone (2016-20): 23-43 record, one playoff appearance
• Urban Meyer (2021): 2-11
• Bevell (2021): (0-2) 

No tenure was more dysfunctional than Meyer's run in 2021, however. The regime was marked by off-field controversies, including the odd decision to sign Tim Tebow and the questionable choice to hold a quarterback competition in the preseason between top overall pick Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew (who was later traded to the Philadelphia Eagles).

In October, Meyer did not return home with the team following a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and was seen at a bar with a woman who was not his wife dancing against him.

There where also reports of Meyer lambasting his assistant coaches, feuding with wideout Marvin Jones and kicking former kicker Josh Lambo. 

So the Jaguars' next head coach will not only need to improve the team from an X's and O's standpoint but also provide a cultural shift after Meyer's time in charge. 

Moore, 32, had a cup of coffee in the NFL as a backup quarterback before quickly climbing up the coaching ranks. He's spent the last three seasons as the Cowboys offensive coordinator, with the team's offense currently ranking first in both points and yards. 

He's considered one of the bright young offensive minds in the NFL, and it seems to be a foregone conclusion that he'll get a head coaching opportunity at some point in the future. 

Quinn, 51, already has that experience, spending six years (2015-20) as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where he went 43-42 and led the team to two playoff appearances and one Super Bowl berth. He also spent two seasons as the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator (2013-14) and has the Cowboys tied for seventh in points allowed this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke will be back with the team for the 2022 NFL season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport reported Baalke "will continue to report to [team owner Shad] Khan and work in sync with the new head coach." He'll also offer his input in Jacksonville's coaching search.

Urban Meyer didn't make it a full season as the Jaguars' head coach, getting fired by the franchise on Dec. 16. Many wondered the extent to which Khan would want to wipe the slate clean heading into next year.

Jacksonville hired Baalke as its director of player personnel in February 2020 and replaced Dave Caldwell as GM that November.

Meyer deserves plenty of blame for Jacksonville's 2-13 record. He was ill equipped to coach in the NFL, and the Jags seemed to bounce from one source of drama to the next throughout his brief tenure. 

Baalke has his fingerprints on the state of the organization as well, leaving some to wonder whether he should be charged with remaking the roster and helping to target the next head coach.

The 57-year-old's reputation precedes him as well.

The San Francisco 49ers won the NFC crown in 2012 and reached the conference title game in 2011 and 2013 with Baalke as GM. By 2016, though, they became a two-win team moving on to a fourth head coach in as many years.

Baalke fell out with head coach Jim Harbaugh and provided steadily diminishing returns in terms of personnel moves.

The arrivals of Meyer and Trevor Lawrence were supposed to signal a new era for the Jaguars. Instead, Meyer is gone and Lawrence has thrown for 3,225 yards, nine touchdowns and a league-worst 14 interceptions.

The Jags can write off one bad season, but getting Lawrence's development back on track and strengthening his supporting cast are vital objectives.

By retaining Baalke, Jacksonville is at risk of repeating the same mistakes and having to once again hit the reset button in short order.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Sunday's game against the New York Jets, interim coach Darrell Bevell told reporters.

That confirmed an earlier report by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

He was carted off to the locker room in the first half.

This is a considerable blow to a Jaguars offense that is already struggling mightily with some of its key weapons out for the season.

The 23-year-old previously suffered a foot injury during the Oct. 31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, although ESPN's Adam Schefter reported he "escaped serious injury" and was ruled "day to day" following tests. He didn't miss any time as a result.

The Illinois State product appeared in 14 games as a rookie in 2020 and tallied 1,070 rushing yards, 344 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns. He has followed that up with 757 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground in 2021.

Jacksonville is largely just playing out the string on what has turned into a disappointing season, so Robinson's Achilles injury only adds to the team's frustration. Look for Dare Ogunbowale to be the primary running back in his absence.