The timing could be nothing more than a coincidence, but it does point to the Jaguars’ lack of direction in the last six months. Rumors regarding Pederson’s looming termination circulated for months before he was finally relieved of his duties at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season. Jacksonville curiously chose to retain Baalke, with Khan essentially pinning the blame on Pederson for the Jaguars’ on-field failures.
“I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” Khan said on Jan. 6 when asked why he kept Baalke. “We have a lot of things that are working that can always be improved and will improve, and there are other things that are not working that need to be fixed. The coaching, that is an area that needs to be fixed now.”
Khan added then that he would collaborate with Baalke and “others within and close to our organization to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”
So far, no coach has done so. Three legitimate candidates who interviewed with Jacksonville have since taken jobs elsewhere: Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears), Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) and Coen. The Jaguars have second interviews scheduled with just two candidates: Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former Jets coach Robert Saleh.
If ever there were a time to clear a path for a new regime to take over in Jacksonville, it’s now. Khan appears to have recognized this and acted swiftly, with the inclusion of “effective immediately” punctuating the decision emphatically.
Baalke leaves Jacksonville after five years spent in their front office, rising from director of player personnel to interim GM and eventually, permanent GM. He served in that role from 2021-24, overseeing the selection of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, his Clemson teammate Travis Etienne and a host of others that helped Jacksonville defeat the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2022 postseason before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
That would be the last time the Jaguars reached the playoffs under Baalke, melting down in the back half of the 2023 season to finish 9-8 and miss the postseason. A year later, they hit rock bottom, finishing 4-13.
We’ll see if the next regime can revive the Jaguars in short order.