‘No, I have not lost the locker room’: Pederson, team denies reports it doesn’t believe in coach

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Matters surrounding the Jaguars have gone from bad to worse.

Rumor has it that head coach Doug Pederson has lost the locker room. NFL Insider Jordan Schultz made the statement while on the Sharp Football Show.

“I’ve talked to a few guys in that locker room over the last two weeks. They’ve told me that the locker room is GONE regarding [Doug Pederson] Absolutely rudderless,” he said.

After Sunday’s loss at the Texans, NFL Insider Jordan Schultz also tweeted, “The last thing a coach should ever do is start blaming the players. Doug Pederson’s comment, “As coaches, we can’t go out there and make the plays, right? It’s a two-way street,” won’t sit well in the locker room, nor should it. It’s one of the worst things he could’ve said. These next few days will be interesting…”

In response, Pederson shot down the rumor that he’s lost the locker room during his Wednesday press conference.

“I would know,” Pederson said. “I talk to these guys every day; I see them every day and, no, I have not lost the locker room. I think these guys have done everything I’ve asked. They continue to play and practice hard and battle. It’s a good group. It’s a good group. The right leaders in there, and they know. They know what we need to do. They’re not making excuses for it and I’m not going to make excuses, and we’ve just got to do it.”

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Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was asked the same question, if he thinks Pederson has lost the locker room and he gave the same remark.

“I mean, I shouldn’t even have to answer it,” Lawrence said. “You’ve got to do your job so you’ve got to ask it, but I shouldn’t even have to answer it. I mean, not at all. I don’t know where that’s coming from, so I don’t even want to really expand on something that’s just not true.”

Players were also asked in the locker room after practice Wednesday as well and the unanimous response was that the locker room was still together.

“Not true one bit,” Jaguars tight end Evan Engram said while shaking his head in disagreement. “I don’t know who said that, but that’s just not true.”

“That’s never a question,” Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk said in regards to if he still believes in Pederson, “I love playing for coach Pederson. It’s the reason why I came here. I know everyone else can say the same. We have so much fun coming in here. He just creates an environment for us to go out there and own it. This is our team. It’s a player-run team. Doug has done a great job in just putting it in our hands. We all know he wants the best for us.”

The accusation is not too surprising, or at least it shouldn’t be for Jaguars fans. The team is still searching for their first win heading into Week 5 of the season. They were 2:54 away from beating the Texans this past Sunday, until CJ Stroud and the Houston offense drove 69 yards down the field for a touchdown pass to former Jaguars player Dare Ogunbowale.

There are no answers for why the Jaguars are performing the way they are each week. Both the offense and defense continue to struggle against opponents, but the team says it just takes one play to rewrite the script and change the season.

“All you have is this week and you can’t look ahead to—you can’t go get four in one week either,” Lawrence said. “All we can do is just win this game, this week. I think that’s the message and that’s where I truly believe that because I’ve experienced it, and I know that that’s what it takes to get out of these ruts and to really get the team going and get some momentum. It just takes one, so whatever we have to do for each individual to feel their best, play their best on Sunday, it’s what we need to do this week. Keep practicing hard, I mean, like I said, we put the work in. It’s not that, it’s just carrying everything over to the game and just making the plays, and speaking to myself too. And I’ve got confidence in that.”

The Jaguars host the Colts Sunday at 1 p.m.