Jaguars and OC John DeFilippo Mutually Part Ways as Doug Marrone’s Staff Begins to Change

Doug Marrone will be looking for his third offensive coordinator in as many seasons after John DeFilippo and the team mutually parted ways.

For the third year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars will have a new offensive coordinator after the team announced Monday that John DeFilippo would not return in 2020.

"The Jacksonville Jaguars and Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo have mutually agreed to part ways, the club announced today. Head Coach Doug Marrone will begin the offensive coordinator search immediately," the team said in a statement. 

DeFilippo was hired on Jan. 16 in 2019, a few weeks after Marrone fired former offensive coordinator Nate Hackett during the season. Just short of one year later, Marrone will be looking for his third offensive coordinator in as many seasons. 

Jacksonville's offense was a disappointment in 2019, even compared to the poor offensive output during the 2018 season. DeFilippo's offense finished with 18.8 points per game (26th in NFL), 341.8 yards per game (20th in NFL), 34% conversion rate on third-down (26th in NFL), 235 passing yards per game (20th in NFL), and 106.8 rushing yards per game (17th in NFL). 

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of DeFilippo's lone season as the Jaguars' offensive coordinator was Jacksonville's red-zone offense. Jacksonville converted only 40.43% of the time, the second-worst rate in the NFL and only ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

DeFilippo was hired by Marrone after one season as offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings (2018) and two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach (2016-2017).

Most presumed DeFilippo was hired to fit with free agent quarterback Nick Foles, but the two never built a solid foundation in Foles' few starts in 2019. Foles was injured in Week 1 and missed the next eight games, and would only start three more games until getting benched in favor of rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II. 

In Foles' starts in which he played more than one quarter, the Jaguars never scored more than 20 points. Foles finished the season with 736 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions with two lost fumbles. He didn't win a game. 

Minshew went 6-6 as Jacksonville's starter in 2019 and fared better than Foles, though he had his rough stretches as well. The Jaguars scored 12 points or less in five of those starts, though they scored 26 points or more five times as well. 

Minshew finished the year with 3,271 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions with seven lost fumbles.