4 Observations on the Jaguars' Hiring of Nick Sorensen as Special Teams Coordinator

Jacksonville has a new special teams coordinator in Nick Sorensen, the latest important hire for head coach Urban Meyer. What does the hire mean for the team moving forward?

The Jacksonville Jaguars made an important hire on Tuesday, officially announcing the addition of Seattle Seahawks secondary coach and former special teams assistant Nick Sorensen as the team's new special teams coordinator.

Special teams is often the most overlooked aspect of the sport, but it is one the Jaguars have placed a major emphasis on. As a result, the hiring of Sorensen is a key one.

But what exactly does the Sorensen hire mean for Meyer and the Jaguars' moving forward? We break it down with four observations below. 

Addition of Sorensen makes a lot of sense due to familiarity with Seattle's system

Urban Meyer's decision to hire Nick Sorensen isn't particularly surprising considering the context of the Jaguars' situation on special teams. While the Jaguars have had just a few on-field practices during voluntary organized team activities this offseason, they have had an entire special teams system in place since hiring Schneider in February. The Jaguars weren't going to just wipe that slate clean with their newest hire.

As a result, Meyer and the Jaguars hiring a coordinator who has experience coaching with Schneider is far from shocking. While every coach is different, Sorensen's experience in Seattle while Schneider was the Seahawks' special teams coordinator likely helps with the transition to the Jaguars' scheme. Sorensen was a special teams assistant from 2013-2016 as well.

"That was a crazy play, but it was beautifully designed by the coaches and the special teams, (special teams coordinator) Brian Schneider and the guys did a great job," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said about the play design of a fake punt in 2016.

"It was really a play that (special teams assistant coach) Nick Sorensen had been involved in years ago and so Nick had a nice contribution to that as well. So it was really fun to see that happen."

Full attention is on Meyer's hires following recent departures

Whether fair or not, the Jaguars likely have a magnifying class on them when it comes to organizational hires, at least during the early part of Meyer's tenure. As a result, any new addition is going to have a good bit of attention on them as the public at large waits to see if Meyer got one right or if he is going to have to one again do some reshuffling.

Meyer has already had two coaching hires leave his staff and one member of the front office has left as well. Chris Doyle resigned from the team fewer than 48 hours after Meyer hired him as the Jaguars' Director of Sports Performance. Schneider stepped away from coaching in May for personal reasons. And former Senior Vice President of Football Operations Karim Kassam announced his departure last week after joining the team on Feb. 19. For a myriad of reasons, Meyer and the Jaguars have seen a number of important hires last a short amount of time with the organization. As a result, each new hire -- like Sorensen's -- will be closely watched and judged.

Seattle-to-Jacksonville pipeline remains strong

The Jaguars didn't just continue their plans to implement a special teams scheme similar to Seattle's when they hired Sorensen. They also continued a pipeline of Seahawks coaches joining Meyer's staff that continue to show Meyer's willingness to model his organization after the Seahawks. Considering Carroll is one of the best college-turned-professional coaches the league has seen, this makes sense.

For a run down on the coaches the Jaguars have brought from Seattle, or coaches who at least have deep Seattle ties, look below.

• Sorensen, who had been on Seattle's staff as either a special teams or defensive assistant since 2013.
• Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who coordinated the Seahawks from 2011-17.
• Passing game coordinator Brian Schotenheimer, who coordinated the Seahawks' offense from 2018-2020.
• Wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal, who was a senior offensive assistant with the Seahawks in 2020.
• Schneider, the former Jaguars' special teams coordinator who coordinated Seattle's special teams from 2010-2020.

All in all, the Jaguars' hiring of former top Seahawks assistants won't guarantee that they will find any success similar to the success the Seahawks have found under Carroll, it does at least reflect the respect Meyer has for Seattle and his own desires to replicate their model for winning.

Pressure will be on Sorensen and special teams unit right away

Sorensen may be a rookie special teams coordinator in 2021, but the expectations won't be for him and the unit to take long to hit their stride. Instead, the special teams unit will have more pressure on it to succeed in 2020 than the Jaguars' third unit has seen in some time. So while Sorensen is still wet behind the ears of terms of coordinating a special teams unit, that doesn't mean expectations will be lowered.

The Jaguars have already made some big investments on special teams this season, signing core special teamers Rudy Ford and Jamal Agnew to larger than average deals. The Jaguars also placed an emphasis on special teams via the draft in Tyson Campbell and Jalen Camp, along with adding to the kicking unit by signing Aldrick Rosas to compete with Josh Lambo. That is on top of the Jaguars extending punter Logan Cookie this offseason as well. Add in Meyer's storied background as a special teams coach, and there is a lot of pressure on Sorensen and his unit to produce right away.