Insider Weighs In On Biggest Question Facing Jaguars HC Search

Will Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan be open to changing Trent Baalke's role? That is the biggest question facing the Jaguars' search.

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan speaks as the business bearing the name on the new practice facility, Miller Electric Center, is announced during a media conference after a minicamp football practice Monday, June 13, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars have plenty of questions moving into the future, but there is one looming one hanging over the franchise as they search for their next head coach: what is the future of general manager Trent Baalke?

There was a general feeling of shock around the NFL when Jaguars owner Shad Khan announced on Monday that Baalke would assist in the search for a new head coach in the wake of Doug Pederson's firing.

But after Khan and Baalke held a joint press conference on Monday, it is obvious Baalke is a big part of Khan's decision making. But does that mean his role is secure moving forward?

"So there will not be a search firm that the Jacksonville Jaguars use. And obviously Shad Khan is going to lean on Trent Baalke," CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones said this week.

"You can certainly see that in the press conference that was earlier this week, that Shad has very strongly leaned on Trent Baalke in terms of what he thinks about this roster construction, what he has thought about the job Doug Pederson did out there for the Jaguars when they were not able to build on the success of a couple of years ago."

Jaguars owner Shad Khan will face head coaching candidates who will want their own personnel person with them. How he reacts to that could determine the next leader of the Jags @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/wrVsTa7hZS

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 8, 2025

Will the Jaguars' group of candidates -- which now consists of nine of the best coordinators and assistants in the NFL -- be willing to work with Baalke? That is the question facing the Jaguars and Khan moving forward, and the entire NFL is on notice.

"I'll say this about the coaching candidates, and Ben Johnson should be near the top of that list. Aaron Glenn, as well as Liam Coen, the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. I have heard from one coaching candidate who is hopeful to go into this interview and propose his own personnel person. I've heard from another coaching candidate who believes that that would not be possible to do," Jones said.

"And so I mean to say in this that it's going to be fascinating, because folks that I talked to around the league while they were surprised that Trent Baalke was retained as the Jags General Manager, they also don't believe it is 100% that he will remain as the general manager. And Shad almost alluded to that when asked if someone like an EVP of football operations could be brought in over top of Trent, or perhaps in replacement of Trent. And Shad did not turn down that idea. So certainly, if the Jaguars find their coaching candidate, and perhaps that coaching candidate corners them more or less and says, You can have me, but I have to have my personnel guy, it's going to be fascinating to see if the Jaguars would ultimately agree to that. That is a question a lot of folks around the league have right now."

For now, Baalke is clearly the general manager and power wielder moving forward. We will see if that changes in the coming weeks.

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