Has Jaguars' Doug Pederson Accepted His Fate Entering Week 18?

With one game left on the 2024 schedule, Jacksonville Jaguars Doug Pederson seems at peace with whatever comes next.

Dec 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson against the New York Jets during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The 2024 season is nearing the very end for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The end could be nearing for head coach Doug Pederson's tenure, too.

But judging by Pederson's disposition at his weekly Friday press, the Super Bowl-winning head coach has accepted his fate, whatever that may be. He isn't tuned into the weekly reports about his job status and which way Jaguars owner Shad Khan may be leaning into Week 18.

“Yeah, because I don't listen to it. I don't subject myself to reading. I don't get the notifications on my phone, things like that. And/or your friends telling my wife, ‘Oh, do you see what they said today?’ I'm like, why did you say that? You know, type of thing. But it's hard to keep your family in a bubble," Pederson said.

"They're outside of these walls and they see it and hear it every day. I'll tell you this, if it wasn't for probably our faith and being grounded there, then I think you could cower under just about anything. Any stress, anything that kind of weighs you down. But as a family, we choose not to let it bother us. They get mad at it, just like I do sometimes when they tell me about it."

The Jaguars will finish the 2024 season in Indianapolis, but the result of their final AFC South game of the season likely matters little. In the grand scheme of things, there isn't much difference between 5-12 and 4-13 -- not for a team that was supposed to compete for a playoff spot.

Instead, Week 18 will either be the final game of the season or the final game of an era. And if it is truly Pederson's last stand, the Jaguars coach is going out the only way he knows how.

"But look, we've been around this league almost 30 years, player and coach, and you've seen a lot of things," Pederson said.

"If this is the last one, then I can look back and go, ‘Hey, it was a great run.’ You had a chance to do a lot of great things. You had a chance to win a Super Bowl. You've coached some great players. You played in this league for a long time. So, whatever happens, happens. But we keep moving forward."

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