Is Jaguars' Coach on Solid Ground with His Own Players?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is leading an 0-4 team and things seem to be getting worse. Where does he stand with his own team?

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches as his team struggles to get a first down during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 23, 2024. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-4 and nothing seems to be going right for Duval's team.

The offense has struggled to get it going in every contest they have played and there have been no answers. Offensive coordinator Press Taylor's changes and adjustments have looked futile. Whatever hand Pederson may or may not have in the play-calling is still a relative unknown.

He did defend the play-calling of Taylor, though, albeit in a heavy-handed way that could have been perceived (and was perceived) by media and fans at-large to be critical of his own players.

On Monday, he discussed the well-documented frustrations in the locker room. It seemed that, if anything, everyone was on equal ground.

"They're  frustrated like I am. It's our job as coaches, we have to point out the good and the bad, right? That's why we watch tape and that's why we make the correction so that we can help the players be better players on Sundays," Pederson said. "Things just aren't carrying over from practice to the games. And that's been our Achilles heel this first, obviously, month of the season. So yes, they're disappointed and frustrated, but no, from the standpoint of, are they turning and going in the other direction. Talked to several of them today. I mean, they see it just like we see it. I mean, one of the things that I'll always do with the players is, one, that I'm always going to have their back and always going to be upfront with them.

"So, I have to support them and at the same time, I’ve got to show them. It's easy for us as coaches to  criticize the negative. Even as reporters, it's easy to criticize the negative, right? It's hard to find a positive when things are bad."

Reports have come out from pundits around the league and outside of it. Fissures between Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke. Fractures within the locker room. Pederson answered to the latter on Wednesday, denying the idea that he's lost his players.

"I would know. I talk to these guys every day; I see them every day and, no, I have not lost the locker room," he said. "I think these guys have done everything I've asked. They continue to play and practice hard and battle. It's a good group. It's a good group. The right leaders in there, and they know. They know what we need to do. They're not making excuses for it and I'm not going to make excuses, and we’ve just got to do it."

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