Can Jaguars' Pederson Save His Job?

Can Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson save his job to end the 2024 season?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson on the sidelines early in Monday night's game. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Cincinnati Bengals at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida for Monday Night Football, December 4, 2023. The Jaguars were tied 14 to 14 at the end of the first half. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Things are bleak for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The franchise entered 2024 with playoff hopes, but were eliminated from postseason contention after just 13 weeks.

Star franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered two different injuries in the span of a month, landing him on injured reserve and ending his season.

The 2-10 Jaguars are not only at the bottom of the NFL's standings, but they are 3-15 in their last 18 games.

And through the first 13 weeks of the season, the Jaguars are on track to pick No. 1 overall for the third time in five years -- an NFL record.

Simply put, the odds are stacked against Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson in his bid to return in 2025. While Jaguars owner Shad Khan made no changes to either Pederson's or general manager Trent Baalke's status following the worst loss in franchise history in Week 11, the question of how he will decide their fate following Week 18 remains hanging in the air.

That brings us to the central question: is there anything Pederson can do to save his job?

With how derailed the Jaguars' came under Pederson, along with failed expectations and the stockpiling of injuries on Lawrence, it is fair to assume Pederson would need a minor miracle to come back in 2025.

But if there is a way Pederson can still make a sell to Khan, then it could come in how the Jaguars perform in the final five weeks of the season. If the Jaguars can go on a mini-run without their starting quarterback, it would show off Pederson's coaching chops and prove that he can guide the locker room through troubled waters.

“I don’t, because that’s up to me. That’s up to me to make sure that these guys don’t throw in the towel, wave the white flag," Pederson said on Wednesday. "So that’s on me to make sure that doesn’t happen. I won’t let that happen. And too, we’ve got great leadership in that locker room, and I’ll lean on those guys to help me with that."

The locker room has yet to quit on Pederson despite the nightmarish season, which could be the biggest feather in his cap. But while he looks to save his job in the final five weeks, he will have to find some kind of way to turnaround one of the league's worst offenses and defenses.

"I mean, we still have to show up and show out. Come in here, get ready to get the play call and go out there and execute offensively, defensively, special teams," Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said on Wednesday.

"So can't really worry about anybody else's position. Because if you start worrying about others, then you are going to slip in yours. So, you know, that's really my philosophy."

The deck is stacked against Pederson. But if he can somehow will this beaten down Jaguars roster to positive momentum to end the 2024 season, then he will give himself the best possible shot to have a prayer to stick around.

But even that might not be enough.

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