How This HC Search Differs From Past Jaguars Searches

This year's search for the Jacksonville Jaguars new head coach has quite a few differences from 2021 and 2022.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan on the field before the start of Sunday's game against Buffalo. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Buffalo Bills at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, FL, Sunday, November 7, 2021. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] Jki 110721 Bsjagsvsbuffalo 10 / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars need a new head coach -- again.

It has been a consistent theme during the ownership of Shad Khan; in 13 seasons, Khan has had five different head coaches work for him in the form of Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone, Urban Meyer, and Doug Pederson.

In that time, only two of those coaches ever even had a winning season at the helm. Pederson did it twice, but the team's 4-13 record in 2024 ended his tenure after three seasons.

"We have a lot of things that are working, that can always be improved and will improve, and there are other things that are not working that need to be fixed," Khan said on Monday after firing Pederson. "So, the coaching, that is an area that we need to fix now. But certainly, over the last few years, we built a football administration and a lot of things are working well there.”

The Jaguars have been through plenty of coaching searches before, but this one is already off to a different -- if not improved -- start.

For one, the Jaguars have been more transparent from the jump. The Jaguars announced on Tuesday that they had put in formal requests to talk to eight coaches who are currently under contract. On Wednesday, they announced a ninth request for Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

This is quite different than how the Jaguars have handled their searches before. In past years, the Jaguars almost operated in secrecy as they looked for their next head coach; nothing would be put out officially from the team until the hire was made.

Perhaps this year's shift is due to the overwhelmingly negative reaction to Khan retaining general manager Trent Baalke; by showing the fan base the Jaguars were interested in top names, some fires could be put out.

But it could also show a shift in how the Jaguars approach the searches. The cloak and dagger is gone, and the Jaguars are making it known which candidates they are in the running for.

The other significant difference? Only two of the coaches they have requested interviews with -- Flores and Robert Saleh -- have been head coaches in the NFL before. The rest are young, up-and-coming candidates.

For a Jaguars organization that has gone with retread hire after retread hire, this is a significant change in pace. And soon, it could be a sign of a search gone right.

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