Coaching Tracker: Who Has Joined Doug Pederson's Jaguars Staff So Far?
Arguably the most important aspect of any head coach's job is his staffing. Who he surrounds himself with on offensive, defense and special teams proves pivotal to whether a coach and ultimately the team succeed.
Last year's debacle with Urban Meyer proved just how critical it is to hire a cohesive staff that is up to the task of working together. Now, new Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson will have to succeed where Meyer failed and truly build a strong and effective staff full of teachers and communicators.
"We work together, and we're in place, as I mentioned earlier, to help the player to become the best version of himself. And that's how you end up winning the game through one player at a time. Staff is important," Pederson said last Saturday. "I love guys that are high energy guys because I'm going to be that way on the field, and guys that are great teachers and great communicators. It doesn't always have to be your best friend because there's some great coaches out there and there's some guys that -- it's just unfortunate, but there's only just so many spots on a coaching staff. You could fill them with a lot of good coaches.
"At the end of the day, I get the decision to make that choice, and through communication and, again, our process here, and that's who I want to surround myself with. It's an ongoing process now. Nothing is set. Nothing has been established. I'm going to be working on that here in the coming days."
Who has joined Pederson's staff so far and who are still some names to watch? From the coordinator spots to the assistant coaches, we track it all below.
Offensive coordinator: Press Taylor
Update: According to NFL Network, the Jaguars will be hiring Press Taylor as offensive coordinator.
The most obvious name for Pederson's offensive coordinator choice would be Press Taylor, the Colts offensive assistant and younger brother of Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor, 34, spent five years with Pederson with the Eagles and worked his way up from offensive quality control and assistant quarterbacks coach to quarterbacks coach to passing game coordinator.
Passing game coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter
A somewhat surprising addition to the coaching staff, former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will reportedly be joining as the Jaguars' passing game coordinator, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Cooter, 37, spent 2021 as an offensive consultant with the Eagles after serving as the New York Jets' running backs coach from 2019-2020. Cooter first got his break in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Colts from 2009-2011, eventually becoming quality control coordinator in Kansas City in 2012 before reuniting with Peyton Manning in Denver as an offensive assistant in 2013.
Cooter was then Matthew Stafford's quarterbacks coach from 2014-2015 before being promoted to coordinator, a role he held for three years. Cooter won't call plays in Jacksonville, but it does appear he will play a big role in Trevor Lawrence's development.
Running backs coach: Bernie Parmalee
It appears one coach retained by Doug Pederson will be running backs coach Bernie Parmalee.
Pederson's running backs coach with the Eagles was Duce Staley, but he is the assistant head coach in Detroit and it appears unlikely that Staley would leave the Lions. Parmalee, who was seen in the following video from when Trevor Lawrence and James Robinson met Doug Pederson last Saturday, spent all of 2021 on Jacksonville's staff.
Wide receivers coach:
Another role this isn't yet cleared up is wide receivers coach. Pederson has a deep rolodex of wide receiver coaches up his sleeve just going off his time with the Eagles, but there has also yet to be any reports of the Jaguars moving on from wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal. Lal also interviewed with the Eagles following the 2016 season when Pederson was looking to replace Lewis.
Quarterbacks coach: Mike McCoy
The first Pederson hire to be reported this week was one of the most important, with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reporting Pederson hired former San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as quarterbacks coach.
McCoy, a former NFL and CFL quarterback who was Pederson's roommate with the Packers during the 1995 season, has an extensive history coaching offense and quarterbacks specifically, though he has not been a quarterbacks coach since 2009.
McCoy hasn't coached since the 2018 season when he was fired by the Cardinals and replaced by Byron Leftwich after seven games, though he has interviewed for offensive coordinator gigs with the Jaguars (2019) and Panthers (2020) since. Now, it appears McCoy will become one of the first and most important members of Pederson's staff in Jacksonville.
Offensive line coach: Phil Rauscher
Former Minnesota Vikings offensive line coach was reportedly selected by Pederson as his offensive line coach and running game coordinator, per ESPN's Field Yates.
A former UCLA graduate assistant, Rauscher spent the last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Rauscher, 36, spent 2020 as the Vikings' assistant offensive line coach and last year as the team's full-time offensive line coach.
Rauscher was named Dixie State's offensive coordinator in 2010 before becoming Hawaii's tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator from 2012-2013. He then was Cal Lutheran's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2014 before taking his first NFL job with the Denver Broncos as a coaching assistant from 2015-2016.
Rauscher was named Denver's assistant to the head coach in 2017, putting him on the same staff as Mike McCoy. Over the next two years, Rauscher served as Washington's assistant offensive line coach under esteemed offensive line coach Bill Callahan. When Callahan became the team's interim head coach, Rauscher was promoted to interim offensive line coach.
Tight end coach: Richard Angulo
A member of the Baltimore Ravens' coaching staff will join Doug Pederson in Jacksonville. According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Ravens assistant offensive line coach Richard Angulo will take the tight end coach position in Jacksonville.
Angulo, who played with the Jaguars from 2007-08, coached tight ends for the Ravens from 2015-2016 and has been the team's assistant offensive line coach since 2017. Angulo, 41, had been employed by the Ravens as a member of the coaching staff since 2014.
Defensive coordinator: Mike Caldwell
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported earlier this week that it would be Tampa Bay linebackers coach Mike Caldwell, though NFL Network's Ian Rapoport also reported the Jaguars were interviewing Miami Dolphins defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander for the role. Jacksonville ultimately hired Caldwell to lead the defense.
Caldwell got his first NFL job under Andy Reid in 2008, joining the Eagles as a defensive quality control coach. He was eventually promoted to assistant linebackers coach and then ultimately linebackers coach before Reid's staff was fired after the 2012 season.
Caldwell then followed Todd Bowles -- a member of the Eagles' 2012 staff -- to Arizona, where he would serve as inside linebacker coach for the next two seasons. He followed Bowles to New York when Bowles became head coach, joining the staff as assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach and serving in that role for all four of Bowles' seasons.
Outside linebackers coach: Bill Shuey
Another former Eagles coach, Bill Shuey will join Pederson's staff according to Aaron Wilson. Shuey, 47, was the Chicago Bears' outside linebackers coach in 2021 after two seasons as the team's pass rush analyst and assistant linebackers coach.
Shuey was first hired by Chicago in 2018 as a defensive quality control coach. He was also the Eagles' linebacker coach from 2008-2010, spending two years on the same staff as Pederson under Andy Reid.
Inside Linebackers coach:
This is another role that hasn't yet been determined. Charlie Strong was Urban Meyer's No. 2 and right-hand man so it seems unlikely he would return to the franchise a season following Meyer's departure, while Zach Orr has taken a defensive assistant job with the Baltimore Ravens. If the Jaguars were to make an internal hire, it would likely have to be assistant linebackers coach Tony Gilbert, who has been on the defensive staff the last two seasons.
Defensive backs coach: Deshea Townsend (secondary), Cody Grimm (safeties)
Former Tampa Bay defensive and special teams assistant Cody Grimm has gotten the nod to coach the safeties, per The Athletic's Greg Auman. Meanwhile, former Bears secondary coach Deshea Townsend will join as secondary coach.
Defensive line coach: Brentson Buckner
According to Pro Football Network's Aaron Wilson, the Jaguars have tabbed Arizona Cardinals defensive line coach Brentson Buckner to perform in the same role in Jacksonville. Buckner, a former second-round pick who spent 12 years in the NFL, Buckner has been Arizona's defensive line coach since 2020. He previously has served in the same role for the Raiders (2019), Buccaneers (2018) and Arizona Cardinals (2013-2017).
Special teams coordinator: Heath Farwell
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Jaguars are expected to hire Buffalo Bills special teams coach Heath Farwell as Pederson's special teams coordinator.
A former linebacker and special teams ace for the Minnesota Vikings (2005-2010) and Seattle Seahawks (2011-2014), Farwell was Seattle's assistant special teams coach from 2016-2017 before taking on the same role with the Carolina Panthers in 2018. In 2019, Farwell was named Sean McDermott's special teams coordinator in Buffalo.
During Farwell's three years in Buffalo, his units finished No. 21, No. 4 and No. 19 in special teams DVOA. According to SI.com's Rick Gosselin, the Bills had the eighth-best special teams unit in 2021 and 2020 and the 12th-best in 2019.
Other assistants
- Former Eagles assistant and Joe Moorehead disciple Andrew Breiner is expected to join as an offensive assistant, per Field Yates.
- According to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, Louisiana defensive line coach/assistant head coach Rory Segrest is expected to join Pederson's staff. The two spent time together with the Eagles, with Segrest serving as the Eagles' special teams quality control/assistant defensive line coach (2006-07), special teams coordinator (2007-09) and defensive line coach (2009-10).
