3 Observations on the Jaguars Moving On From Trent Baalke

What do we make of the Jacksonville Jaguars parting ways with Trent Baalke?
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke walks off the field after the organized team activity session Monday, June 3, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke walks off the field after the organized team activity session Monday, June 3, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke's four-year run at the top of the front office ended this week, and it a new era for the Jaguars.

But what do we make of the Baalke move, and what does it mean moving forward? We break it down below.

This move had to be made for the Jaguars to start fresh

Simply put, this is the move the Jaguars always had to make. It is tough to sell quality candidates on a forced marriage. It happens sometimes, but that is usually when the general manager is the one pursuing the head coaches. Instead, the Jaguars were having to sell candidates on the idea of that same general manager still being in the building. It was a problem during the Doug Pederson era, and it would have been a problem here again.

Instead, it looks like the Jaguars are set to finally have alignment at general manager and head coach. The last time the Jaguars made a head coach and general manager hire from outside the organization in the same season was in 2013 when they hired Dave Caldwell and Gus Bradley. Bradley's replacement was then in-house, while Caldwell was replaced by Baalke when he was already a member of the organization as well. The Jaguars have needed to hit the rest button for almost a decade. Now, they have finally done it.

Shad Khan has to own his misstep

Simply put, Jaguars owner Shad Khan has to own the fact that he directly impacted his franchise's ability to land a top head coach. Khan doesn't answer to anyone because the buck stops with him as the owner of the franchise, but Khan has to learn a lesson from his misstep -- or missteps -- as it pertained to Baalke's employment.

The word of coaches having reservations of working with Baalke is not a new thing. It was loud in 2022 as well; the Jaguars simply found a coach with little other options who was willing to embrace a forced union with Baalke. In this year's pool of candidates, it does not appear that coach exists. Khan has to come away from this situation knowing that his stubbornness on the Baalke front had a real impact on his team.

The reaction inside the building

While the Jaguars/Khan called this a mutual decision between the team and Baalke, I am skeptical. Jacksonville Jaguars On SI reported at the end of the season that Baalke had been operating day-to-day as the general manager moving forward because, plainly, he believed that was the case. Several people inside the organization spoke with us since the move and expressed surprise at the move as opposed to something they felt was building.

As for Baalke's overall reputation in the building, there are certainly some who will miss him and some who will see it as a new day in Jacksonville. Baalke is a solid football mind, but it has been known that he could also be stubborn and, at times, tough to work alongside with. Baalke will leave behind a complicated legacy in Jacksonville because it truly was a tenure that had highs and lows, positives and negatives.

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John Shipley
JOHN SHIPLEY

John Shipley has been covering the Jacksonville Jaguars as a beat reporter and publisher of Jaguar Report since 2019. Previously, he covered UCF's undefeated season as a beat reporter for NSM.Today, covered high school prep sports in Central Florida, and covered local sports and news for the Palatka Daily News. Follow John Shipley on Twitter at @_john_shipley.