3 Observations on the Jaguars Firing Doug Pederson

What do we make of the Jacksonville Jaguars' decision to fire Doug Pederson?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson elates after the game of an NFL first round playoff football matchup Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Jaguars edged the Los Angeles Chargers on a field goal 31-30. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Jki 011423 Chargers Jags C 32 / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars made the monumental move of firing head coach Doug Pederson on Monday, making the inevitable finally official after a wildly disappointing season.

But what do we make of the Pederson firing and what does it mean for the Jaguars moving into the future? We break it down below.

Pederson's loyalty did him in

The biggest thing that got Pederson fired in Jacksonville? His loyalty to his staff, specifically to offensive coordinator Press Taylor. Pederson has always gone to bat for his coaches no matter where he is, but it was clear from the offset that Taylor was set to be an issue in Jacksonville because of how other top leaders saw the offensive coordinator.

Shad Khan made it clear in the offseason that he wanted Pederson to call plays this year, and that there could be major changes if he didn't. Despite this pressure, Pederson stood next to Taylor to the very end, something that clearly played a role in his firing on Monday. Pederson always stood up for Taylor, but it did little to protect him.

Pederson, at the least, helped the Jaguars move past the Urban Meyer era

While Pederson's tenure in Jacksonville ultimately ended in the one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, Pederson does deserve some crediit for helping pull the Jaguars out of the abyss of the Urban Meyer. And make no mistake -- the credit for doing so should go directly to Pederson and nobody else.

Helping the Jaguars' franchise heal and the locker room mature after the Meyer era didn't result in enough wins, but Pederson does at least deserve some flowers for what he did to lead the franchise out of some of its darkest moments. Even in his firing, he deserves to be commended for that.

Pederson was at a disadvantage from the start

There were plenty of coaches who privately discussed reservations with working alongside general manager Trent Baalke back in 2022 before Pederson got hired. At one point, Pederson was even rumored to be among those coaches. But getting back into the NFL as a head coach was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and Pederson took a chance on the marriage working out.

The issue for Pederson, and any other candidate, was that they were never going to be looked at as a package deal with Baalke. Shad Khan is known to evaluate his football employees on their own merit, and he did so here with Pederson. When judged separately from Baalke, it was hard for Pederson to not be seen as the biggest issue considering Khan's high opinion of the job Baalke has done, putting him at a disadvantage from the start.

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