Another NFL head coaching job has opened up.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired Doug Pederson after just three seasons with the team. Pederson’s Jags went 4-13 in 2024 after posting 9-win campaigns in each of the previous two seasons. The Jaguars were successful in Pederson’s first season with the team as they won nine games, the AFC South, and had an epic comeback postseason win against the Los Angeles Chargers. But a disappointing 2023 followed by a 2024 season that went into spiral mode quickly ultimately led Jacksonville’s ownership to move on from the Super Bowl LII winning head coach.
While Doug Pederson’s firing does not come as a surprise, let the record show that is the only departure from the Jaguars’ power structure that is going down this offseason. Team owner Shad Khan said he is retaining General Manager Trent Baalke. Here is Khan’s statement:
Statement from #Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who says GM Trent Baalke is staying. t.co/wpdlKuiqa0 pic.twitter.com/snjZterahk
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 6, 2025Jaguars firing Doug Pederson has potential Bears ramifications
Following the head coach openings around the NFL is a little more interesting when the Chicago Bears are in the hunt for a new coach for their own team. Given what the Jaguars have to offer in terms of a team with oodles of cap space, talent on the roster, and a young quarterback who has talent and untapped potential, I would consider Jacksonville’s franchise to be a threat to a team like the Bears that can offer similar things. So this opening is something we should be cognizant of as we move through this offseason. I predict there will be plenty of crossover between these two teams when it comes to candidates.
With that being said, this development feels like a significant piece of information as the Bears (and Jaguars) presumably go about wooing Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson in hopes of landing him as their next head coach. There seemed to be a belief in some circles that Jacksonville would clean house, fire both Pederson and Baalke, then open the door for a new coach (like Ben Johnson) to hop on board and bring their hand-picked general manager. After all, there has been ample chatter about how Johnson wants alignment with a GM if he is to become a head coach.
The Jaguars removing Pederson *AND* Baalke would have made that happen. And with the Bears expected to retain GM Ryan Poles, scenarios were developing in which the Jaguars’ job could have presented itself as more appealing to someone like Johnson. Instead, Jacksonville keeping Baalke as its GM throws that idea for a loop. This isn’t to say that a Johnson-Jaguars partnership can’t happen. But if it does, it won’t happen because Jacksonville gave him a path to bring his own GM to town.
We’re in the infancy stages of the Bears’ offseason. And things are already heating up.
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson walks to the locker room after the game of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Jaguars held off the Las Vegas Raiders 27-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Read More Details
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