JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Will Urban Meyer have some company in the unemployment line?
Is Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke the next high profile leader to be shown the door, or will owner Shad Khan keep Baalke to help rebuild the team in this transition?
It’s a question on the minds of Jaguars fans and sports analysts following the firing of Meyer early Thursday morning.
Baalke’s record with the Jaguars is a bad one.
Since Baalke joined the team as director of player personnel in 2020, the Jaguars are 3-26 and lost 20 consecutive games, one of the longest streaks in NFL history. Baalke was promoted to GM in early 2021 to replace his former boss, Dave Caldwell.
The Jaguars are 2-11 this season and bound to be picking close to the top of the draft again.
“I would expect the Jaguars to have a new coach in place relatively quickly after the regular season ends on Jan. 9, because Shad Khan is going to do some work obviously,” said ESPN NFL Jaguars nation reporter Michael DiRocco.
Baalke doesn’t have a lot of accomplishments to hang his hat on during his time with the Jaguars. And Baalke can’t take credit for bringing Trevor Lawrence to the Jaguars because Lawrence was the obvious pick.
Baalke’s track record as a member of the Jaguars is dismal.
“If you look at their draft class this year, it’s really not that impressive,” DiRocco said. “I guess maybe Luke Farrell, the tight end, has been the second-most productive rookie outside of Trevor Lawrence. And I guess second-round pick Walker Little isn’t getting on the field, Andre Cisco isn’t getting on the field, just playing special teams, no reps at safety, so yeah there are some concerns there.”
DiRocco pointed out that it was Khan who hired Meyer and not Baalke, which is what traditionally happens in the NFL. He said the Jaguars have to find a head coach that pairs well with Lawrence and comes to the River City with no baggage and no drama. DiRocco said Baalke is undoubtedly on the hot seat right now, and only time will tell if he’ll be trusted with rebuilding the franchise
“I don’t know, I don’t think anyone knows right now if Shad Khan is going to tap Trent Baalke to be the guy who hires the new coach. But if that’s the case, that’s an amazing critical hire, and that puts ton of pressure on Trent Baalke. And that’s mostly because of Trevor Lawrence. We’ve seen this year just how terribly this year things have gone offensively.”
The NFL passed a new rule recently which allows early Zoom interviews of head coaching candidates after Week 15 which is just 10 days from now on Dec. 27. DiRocco said this new rule may accelerate the hiring process and give us an idea if Khan is going to enact a full sweep of his upper management staff.