Shad Khan: Jaguars Have 'Cracked the Code' For Success
2022 wasn't Shad Khan's first taste of success as the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it was arguably the sweetest because, this time, the success isn't set to be a one-hit wonder.
Picked as offseason AFC South favorites for the first time since the 2018 offseason after the Jaguars were coming off a 10-6 season and a trip to the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars' trajectory feels different today than it did then. To Khan, it is a simple explanation for why.
"Well, the vibe I get is that, you know, I think we've cracked the code," Khan said during an interview with Jaguars reporter John Oehser.
"You know, we've got a great head coach, we got a great general manager, and we have a great quarterback. And that's the trifecta for success in the NFL."
That trifecta is something Khan has been seeking since he bought the Jaguars in Nov. 2011. Now, with Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke and Trevor Lawrence, Khan believes the Jaguars have found the trio to push them to success beyond just 2022.
The Jaguars had Blake Bortles, Doug Marrone, and a combination of Dave Caldwell and Tom Coughlin in these roles in 2017, and it quickly fell apart in following years. Bortles was never a quality NFL starter, Marrone wasn't a net-positive as a head coach, Coughlin's tenure was unpopular in the locker room, and Caldwell was fired during the 2020 season.
It is this trifecta that Khan frequently mentioned in the 2021 offseason, with hopes that Baalke, Lawrence and Urban Meyer could lift the Jaguars out of the gutter. Meyer proved to be arguably the worst head coach in NFL history though, leading to a 3-14 season, an unproductive rookie campaign from Lawrence, and plenty of criticism thrown Baalke's way.
Now, though, the Jaguars have seemed to find the right ingredients for success. Pederson has fixed everything Meyer broke, while also helping Lawrence and the Jaguars' offense elevate their games to levels Jacksonville hasn't seen. Baalke has earned some brownie points too for his 2021 draft class and overall success in free agency.
"I think it's taken a while but I'm glad it's happening. I'm glad for me. I'm glad for all the fans," Khan said.
The hope now is that the Jaguars' trio won't just deliver one year of winning football. For Khan, the fact alone that the Jaguars seem to have the right three people in place in these important roles is reason enough to believe the Jaguars won't fizzle out.
"Again, I think what gives me the confidence of sustainability is, you know, head coach, general manager and the quarterback. I think, you know, they're here for the long haul," Khan said.
"You know, we've lost a couple of players this year, salary cap, hated to see them leave, but that's really a measure of success that you can't hang on to all your players, you know. And so then obviously, the skill, the trick is to replace them, hopefully, you know, with better players. So, you know, we've got the draft, primarily to develop players for the future and a system that is sustainable."