JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars finished their season Sunday with an overtime loss to the Colts to cap a 4-13 finish. They fired head coach Doug Pederson on Monday and have started a new head coaching search. Jamal St. Cyr and Justin Barney answer questions on what went wrong, who the team should hire, and hand out offensive and defensive MVPs.
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We know many things went wrong this year, but what were one or two of the biggest things that derailed the season?
JS: The inability to flush it. Players and coaches always talk about flushing games, good and bad. The Jags let the bad linger around this year. It started in the Miami game in Week 1. A fumble at the goal line shouldn’t derail a whole season, but it did. That team that began the Miami game played like a confident football team. I’m not sure I ever saw the Jags play confident football again this season.
JB: There’s typically a silver lining, but both sides of the ball were bad. The defense struggled to rush the passer. The secondary was as bad as it had been in 30 years. The free-agent signees, outside of center Mitch Morse, were terrible. Even with a healthy Trevor Lawrence in the front part of the season, the offense was inconsistent. Usually, you could pinpoint one side of the ball and say it did an admirable job. Not this year. But the two biggest things for me were that the defense was awful and the offense lost far too many players to injury.
In a perfect world, who would be your head coaching hire?
JS: Ben Johnson is the way the world wants this to go, and I can’t argue against him. The key to the Jags future is tied to Trevor Lawrence and Johnson is the coach who gives you the most hope of that happening. I do want to make a pitch for another guy. The Lions and the Jaguars were in a similar position a few years ago, and a big difference between the two teams right now is culture. That has been a buzzword in sports for years, but it is real. Dan Campbell created a culture in Detroit. The Jaguars attempted to borrow culture by signing free agents from other established programs. It didn’t work. The Jags need a guy who can create a culture in Jacksonville. Could Johnson do it? Maybe. But I feel more confident about Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn being that guy. I know, I know, everyone wants the playcaller. I get that. I have been the same way. But Glenn has an edge to him and is a guy who could help bring that edge to the locker room. That is what this team needs. Sign me up for AG. He may not be considered the sexy hire, but most of the time the sexy hire doesn’t end up being the best hire.
JB: I’ll go against the popular choice and say Kliff Kingsbury. Hiring the hot-name coordinator doesn’t always work out. Kingsbury has been a head coach in the NFL before and has worked with an array of QBs in his career (Johnny Manziel, Caleb Williams, Kyler Murray, and Jaden Daniels). The priority should be maximizing Lawrence’s talent. I wouldn’t be opposed to Johnson at all. He’s done wonders with another former No. 1 overall pick, Jared Goff.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the Jaguars have been the worst franchise in the league during Shad Khan’s 13 years as owner. Will he figure it out?
JS: I understand the frustration. Teams are judged by wins and losses, and under Khan there have been more losses by a landslide. But he’s always one of the reasons why the Jaguars job is attractive to coaches. Khan isn’t the micromanager. He also isn’t the cheap owner. Khan takes the hands-off approach and just writes the checks. He expects his coaches and general managers to do their jobs. The problem is that Khan hasn’t hired the right people for those jobs. I really struggle to fault him for that because so many different franchises have had decades-long struggles in their history. Then, they find the right coach, and it flips. Khan just hasn’t found that one yet. Is this the coach? Who knows, but I believe that Khan will get it figured out.
JB: Khan has come off as detached and disconnected during his time owning the team. I don’t necessarily think he’s as oblivious as he appears at times, but his hires haven’t been great. Khan has got to nail his next coaching hire, and hope that GM Trent Baalke has a late-career renaissance. Khan has been overly loyal to Baalke, and I’ll argue that that has been to the detriment of the franchise. Original owner Wayne Weaver had a 143-140 record (playoffs included), and he had to build the franchise from the ground level. Khan is 67-150 during his 13 years, the worst mark in the league since 2012. If Khan is guilty of one thing, it’s trusting and believing the wrong people.
Trevor Lawrence is entering his fifth year in the league. What is the realistic expectation for Lawrence at this point in his career?
JS: I’d be lying if I told you I had any idea. Lawrence has moments of brilliance and others that are head-scratchers. I could defend Lawrence by saying the supporting cast and offensive scheme haven’t exactly laid out the red carpet for him. But if Lawrence is going to be the guy, he has to transcend the situation. That is what he has done at times but not others. I think the Jags could do a lot to make Lawrence’s life easier. I think as early as next year we could be talking about Lawrence as a guy right outside the top 10 QBs … or we could be looking at his contract as a massive problem.
JB: At his peak, from the halfway mark of 2022 to the halfway mark of 2023, Lawrence was a top 10 QB who went 14-4. He has regressed significantly since then. I don’t think Lawrence will ever reach the ballyhooed “generational” status that was projected when he was coming out of Clemson, but he’s still capable of being an upper-echelon QB. Is he a $275 million QB? Not yet. Not even close. And maybe he never will be. Jacksonville should have waited until this offseason to start contract discussions. If Lawrence can recapture the form shown during that 18-game sample, this team has the potential to thrive. If Lawrence plays like he has most of his four-year career, Jacksonville is going to stay in the space that it’s been in.
Who were your offensive and defensive MVPs?
JS: Brian Thomas Jr. and Travon Walker. That is easy. BTJ is the MVP of the season; no explanation is needed. Walker had a big season for the Jags. The defense largely underwhelmed this year, and Walker was one of the few guys that lived up to expectations.
JB: I’d have to agree. Thomas was Jacksonville’s best player, which is both a testament to how good he was and how poor the rest of the offense was. He looks like a foundational player to build around. I still would have taken Aidan Hutchinson over Walker 10 times out of 10 at No. 1 in the 2022 NFL draft, but at least Walker is performing at a high level. He’s had double-digit sack totals in back-to-back years. Walker over Hutchinson wasn’t Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan-level bad or Greg Oden over Kevin Durant bad. Walker is a good player and still ascending.
Who were your most disappointing players of the season?
JS: Andre Cisco. A contract year and he fell flat. Cisco was a guy who looked like he was on an upward trajectory, but this season was a big step back for him. I still think Cisco is a guy who might be worth a one-year prove-it deal to bring back, but I know that won’t be a popular take.
JB: Cisco would have been my choice, too, but I went a different way and took three guys who are playing on expensive deals. DaVon Hamilton. He signed a $34.5 million contract extension in 2023, then suffered an infection in his back that limited him last year. Hamilton had a career-high in tackles this year (62) but was no better than the league average at most things. He didn’t have a sack. Tyson Campbell was Jacksonville’s best corner. He didn’t have an interception, missed five games with injury, and graded out relatively average. That’s not what you expect from a guy who signed a $76.5 million extension. Receiver Gabe Davis had more notable drops than big plays. He got a $39 million deal and vastly underperformed.
Name one assistant coach who you’d be happy to see stay under a new coaching staff.
JS: Heath Farwell. I don’t know if Farwell got lucky because he inherited Logan Cooke and Ross Matiscik, but that duo both made the NFLPA All-Pro team. Cam Little was automatic as a rookie. Luck or not, Farwell is the only coach I’d seriously consider keeping. A close second would be Bill Shuey.
JB: I agree with Jamal. One bright spot this year was Jacksonville’s special teams play. Cooke and Matiscik are two of the best in the league. Little had the best season by a rookie kicker in franchise history. Farwell has been with the team since 2022, and he’d be an assistant that I’d look at holding on to.