Insider Details How Ex-GM Trent Baalke Impacted Jaguars HC Search

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer detailed the exact impact Trent Baalke had on the Jacksonville Jaguars search this week.
Jacksonville Jaguars Manager Trent Baalke walks off the field during the third day of an NFL football training camp practice Friday, July 26, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville Jaguars Manager Trent Baalke walks off the field during the third day of an NFL football training camp practice Friday, July 26, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Jacksonville Jaguars ushered in a new era on Monday, officially introducing Liam Coen as the eighth head coach in franchise history.

It was a long and winding road to get to this point, however, a road that saw former head coach Doug Pederson fired on Jan. 6 before general manager Trent Baalke was fired two weeks later -- and just two days before Coen was named head coach.

Looking at the entirety of the Jaguars' coaching search, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer detailed exactly the kind of impact Baalke had on candidates like Liam Coen, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.

"So, obviously, Baalke’s presence was a factor. As I’d heard it, Johnson’s camp did get the impression, from Khan, that the Jaguars would consider moving on from Baalke to land Detroit’s offensive coordinator," Breer said.

"Also, Glenn’s camp expressed some desire to bring a personnel guy along, if the Lions’ DC were to take the job, and Baalke balked at that because of how it’d affect his No. 2, Tom Gamble. After all that, one thing I did hear was that Baalke did have a real conversation, to his credit, with ownership, not wanting to be an impediment anymore."

According to Breer, it appears the biggest impact Baalke had on the Jaguars' search was aiding in Johnson landing with the Chicago Bears.

"If you want to boil this down, the real cost of the Jaguars’ handling of this situation is the guy who’s the head coach in Chicago now," Breer said.

"My belief is that Ben Johnson was very high on the Jaguars’ job—high enough on it to have taken the interview with Jacksonville even before they let Baalke go. Jacksonville was high on Johnson, too, enough so to discuss making a big-money offer. But in the end, I’m not sure Johnson wanted to have to push Baalke out to go there. So Johnson chose the Chicago Bears over the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Jags moved on."

Jaguars owner Shad Khan did not elaborate much on his decision to fire Baalke when asked about the move during Coen's first press conference.

"My goal is to do the right thing for the team, and I believe I'm doing that," Khan said.

"Well, after the 10 video interviews were done and we were ready for -- that was a transition point for me to reflect and what was the right thing for the organization, and that's when I decided that it was time for a change.”

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John Shipley
JOHN SHIPLEY

John Shipley has been covering the Jacksonville Jaguars as a beat reporter and publisher of Jaguar Report since 2019. Previously, he covered UCF's undefeated season as a beat reporter for NSM.Today, covered high school prep sports in Central Florida, and covered local sports and news for the Palatka Daily News. Follow John Shipley on Twitter at @_john_shipley.