Jaguars' Coach Still on Hot Seat, Could Be Cooked With Loss

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson needed to win against the Indianapolis Colts. He is still on the hot seat at 1-4.

Sep 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks on during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are no longer winless on the 2024 season.

Head coach Doug Pederson needed to beat the Indianapolis Colts. He did. And so the pressure was lifted just a little bit for the coach at the helm of what owner Shad Khan called the best team in franchise history, the same team that fell to 0-4 on the season.

Pederson acknowledged the weight off his shoulders after the game while looking ahead to the future.

"It's a weight off of my shoulders too. Now [the media] can get off my tail for at least a week," Pederson said. "Listen, that's what I told the guys, I mean, if they just continue to stick together and work hard and trust what we're doing and trust each other. That's what you're seeing, right? Is it perfect? No. It's never going to be perfect. But the other thing you have to realize too, we've had five games. Four of them have been one-score games, right? So that's another thing we have to get used to. These games are going to come down to the last drive or two of a game. And that's something, as a team, we've got to embrace, and we've got to learn to do."

Pederson is far from out of the woods, however. Another loss, perhaps two consecutive in London, would set everything back further for Pederson. CBS Sports' Jordan Dajani wrote that Pederson's seat is the hottest in the NFL after the firing of New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday.

"Pederson was asked a question pertaining to worrying about his 'status' as coach following a fourth straight loss to start the season, and he was completely caught off guard by it," Dajani wrote. "'My status? I mean, no,' Pederson said. 'That's kind of a strange question, but OK.' Well, if there's one coach on the hot seat right now, I would imagine it's Pederson but his seat might have cooled a bit following the Jaguars' first win of the season. The Jaguars are 2-9 over their past 11 games after starting the 2023 season 8-3.

"The only two wins in that span came against the lowly Carolina Panthers and the Colts. The Jags have lost six straight road games, and that includes the embarrassing 47-10 loss to the Bills in prime time. According to the Florida Times-Union, someone close to Jaguars owner Shad Khan said he was 'angrier than I have ever seen Shad' following the brutal Buffalo beatdown."

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