The Jacksonville Jaguars are back to square one at the head-coaching position as the club has fired Doug Pederson after three seasons with the organization, the team announced Monday. In the statement announcing the coaching change, Jaguars owner Shad Khan also relayed the team is retaining general manager Trent Baalke.
"I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars," Khan said in a statement released Monday morning. "Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife Jeannie when that occasion arrives.
"As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now."
Meanwhile, Baalke retains his position after being promoted to GM in 2021. The 60-year-old has been with the organization since 2020 when he was initially hired as the director of player personnel. As Khan noted in his statement, Baalke will collaborate with ownership in their latest head coaching search.
"I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago," Khan continued. "I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville."
Pederson was hired by Jacksonville in February of 2022 and tasked with getting the franchise back on track following the brief/failed tenure of Urban Meyer. It looked like Pederson would do just that out of the gate, leading the Jaguars to a 9-8 record and an AFC South title in Year 1. During that playoff run, Jacksonville erased a 27-point deficit to the Los Angeles Chargers to advance to the divisional round, where they'd fall to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
That success led to a high level of optimism heading into 2023, especially after the team jumped out to an 8-3 record after Week 12 of that season. It was at this juncture, however, that we can point to the start of Pederson's demise. The Jaguars would go on to lose five of their remaining six games that season to fall out of the playoffs entirely.
Despite the collapse, Pederson retained his job heading into 2024 after an offseason of unprecedented investment by ownership. The Jaguars signed quarterback Trevor Lawrence to a five-year, $275 million contract, which had him tied with Joe Burrow as the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time of signing. Meanwhile, the club also signed Josh Hines-Allen to a five-year, $141.25 million extension as part of the organization's spending spree.
Those extensions, along with an array of other signings, led Khan to dub this 2024 squad "the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever." Khan followed that claim up with the mandate of "winning now," which did not come to fruition.
The Jaguars started the 2024 campaign 0-4 and won just two of their first 11 games before entering the Week 12 bye. In Week 13, Lawrence then suffered a concussion, which (along with a left shoulder injury) ultimately led to him being placed on injured reserve. The Jaguars finished the season 4-13.
Pederson, who won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, ends his tenure with the Jaguars with a 22-29 regular season record and a 1-1 playoff record.
