Jacksonville Jaguars Insider Podcast: Reaction to Doug Pederson's Firing

What did we make of the Jacksonville Jaguars' firing of Doug Pederson?

Jan 5, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Doug Pederson smiles while looking up at the video board during the first quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

In today's episode of the Jacksonville Jaguars Insider Podcast, we take a look at the firing of Doug Pederson.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan and general manager Trent Baalke spoke on Monday. Below is a partial transcript.

Q: On Khan’s response to candidates potentially having reservations about having a general
manager already in place?

Khan: “What do you mean by clean slate? If so, that’s the definition of a clean slate? What we want to do is for them to have an environment where they’re going to be successful. They say, ‘I want my own quarterback, I want my own health and wellness, I want my own doctors.’ It’s like, you do that, unless they have identified—somebody wants to say that, I would want to really go through that in depth. Because if we can get better, if they have a better doctor… [Head Physician] Kevin Kaplan is among the top two or three best doctors in the NFL, for example. Same thing, a lot of things we’re doing, I’d want to listen to them and get better. If they have reservations, I would want to address them honestly and openly, because our goal is they need to be successful. What do we have to give them to be successful? Fear, preconceived notions, whatever, that really can inhibit the right performance. But if they need something, I mean, obviously, we want to listen and we want to improve. I know we can improve.”

Q: On if Khan expects the Jaguars’ turnaround to be brief?

Khan: “I think so. If our defense would improve, get to the middle of the pack, we were what, 2-10 this year [in one-score games]? How many of those games we could win? I think the schemes on offense just being less predictable. I think we could be more productive on offense. We have the ability through the Draft coming up and salary cap to be able to use that to get more specific players we were seeking. I expect for us to have success very quickly.”

Q: On what the interview timeline to fulfill coaching vacancy will be and if Baalke expects to put in interview requests today?

Baalke: “I think the short answer to that is yes. We’re going to move quickly to get some people lined up to talk to. How long that process takes? I think Shad mentioned, it’s going to take as long as it takes to identify the right individual. Is that one interview, is that two interviews? I think we’re going to do our due diligence and be very thorough in this process.”

Q: On if the new head coach wanted to restructure the front office?

Khan: “My response would be how would you improve it and then if it is credible, you want to do it. How does the structure work? I want to make sure that this isn’t about ego or power or something more sinister quite frankly. There have been some of those elements that I have found in my experience in the NFL. If it’s a legit effort to get better, then everything should be on the table.”

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