Jaguars Owner Shad Khan Responds to Coach Misgivings About GM Trent Baalke

What does Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan have to say about potential coach misgivings about his retainment of general

Dec 1, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan looks on before a game against the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars need a new head coach -- but could they have trouble attracting one?

While the Jaguars announced the firing of ex-head coach Doug Pederson on Monday, the Jaguars also announced there would be no changes to the front office. The announcement sent a shockwave through the NFL world.

Jacksonville Jaguars On Sports Illustrated reported a prominent candidate having reservations about the Jaguars' job because of owner Shad Khan's retainment of general manager Trent Baalke.

However, when Khan was asked about Baalke's place and what potential reservations on Baalke could mean, he definitely gave the impression that a reservation of Baalke doesn't mean Baalke is safe.

“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," Khan said on Monday when Jacksonville Jaguars On Sports Illustrated posed the question of how he would respond to a coach with reservations.

"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.”

The move to retain Baalke was a somewhat shocking one in the NFL world, though there was never nearly as much momentum inside the building for Baalke to be removed as there was for Pederson.

Simply put, Baalke is Khan's most trusted football confidant. Perhaps, though, the right coaching candidate could change things.

“My response would be how would you improve it and then if it is credible, you want to do it," Khan said.

"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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