JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jaguars fans are beyond frustrated with the team’s play following Sunday’s historically bad loss to the Detroit Lions.
In case you haven’t heard, the Jacksonville Jaguars suffered the worst loss in franchise history, losing 52-6 to the Detroit Lions. The Jags are now 2-9 on the season.
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Now, there are questions about whether head coach Doug Pederson should be fired, a series of questions that has seemingly been mounting for weeks.
News4JAX visited the home of Jaguars superfan Jon Fichter, who is as passionate as anyone about supporting the team, hoping to get some perspective on what direction the community believes the team should steer toward.
“I think they should [fire Pederson],” Fichter said. “But at the end of the day, back-to-back winning seasons [for the first time] since 2011. So part of me wants him to stay, but part of me wants him to go because after yesterday.”
Fichter added that he’s not as frustrated as some with Pederson because he remembers Doug taking the Jags to the second round of the playoffs just two seasons ago.
But others, like Jags fan Jonathan Austin, said that blame should be placed elsewhere for the team’s struggles this season.
“I don’t feel like it’s the coach. It’s the players,” Austin said. “I feel like if you really want to win the game you can win. The coach can only do so much.”
Since Sunday’s loss, Jaguars fans have echoed Austin’s sentiment that the coach can only be held responsible for a portion of the team’s struggles.
On Monday, News4JAX asked the community if they believed it was officially time for Pederson to be shown the exit door, but many said Pederson’s only a symptom of a larger problem, and that if he is asked to leave, the team should get rid of general manager Trent Baalke as well.
“Unless they also get rid of Baalke, it won’t matter who the head coach is,” said a News4JAX reader.
“[There’s] no one on the staff to replace [Pederson], [but] Baalke can go right now!” said another.
Robbie Sabiston said, “NO, the Jacksonville Jaguars should not fire Doug Pederson at all, Trent Baalke needs to go though. Shad Khan, fire Trent Baalke!”
“[The team] needs to get rid of Trent Baalke first, and then Doug if he doesn’t win a game in two weeks,” a Twitter user added.
Some said that Pederson should stick around, but a new coaching staff should be placed around him.
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“I like Doug Pederson. He needs to fire the defensive coaches and find a new offensive coordinator,” another fan said.
John Coffey said, “Pederson should fire Press Taylor, Khan should fire Baalke. Give the playcalling to [QB Coach Mike] Mccoy. Finish the season,” a fan said.
Others believe the organization should be entirely cleaned out.
“The ENTIRE front office needs to GO!!!” said News4JAX reader Cherie.
“Doug, the GM, and some of the other coaches need to go,” another anonymous post read. “This season is done, time to look to the future.”
Pederson said he met with Jags owner Shad Khan after Sunday’s loss. Pederson said he did not have any meetings scheduled with Khan for Monday and hadn’t decided on any changes to his coaching staff.
“Still evaluating,” Pederson said. He also added that the organization was “not there” when asked about potentially firing Ryan Nielsen, the team’s defensive coordinator.
“I think you gotta be really careful when you start pointing fingers at certain people... if you’re gonna point a finger, point it at me,” he said. But the head coach did say that “everything was on the table” regarding the team’s stance on potential playcalling changes.
The Jaguars enter their Week 12 bye having lost 14 of their last 17 games, and currently hold the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The team’s next game will be played at EverBank Stadium on Dec. 1 against the division-leading Houston Texans.