Where Does the Jaguars Coaching Staff Land in ESPN's Rankings?

ESPN recently ranked all 32 coaching staffs -- where do Doug Pederson, Press Taylor and Ryan Nielsen land the Jacksonville Jaguars at?

Aug 10, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor look on before a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars have one of the only active head coaches in football with a Super Bowl win under his belt, but how much does that help the Jaguars in ESPN's ranking of each coaching staff?

As it turns out, not much.

The Jaguars come in at No. 18 in the rankings, with most of the negatives surrounding Doug Pederson and Press Taylor's lack of evolvement on the offensive side of the ball. Considering the Jaguars' offense was one of the NFL's most underperforming units in the NFL a year ago.

"Pederson is one of only three head coaches on this list to have won a Super Bowl in the past 10 years. The other two (Andy Reid, Sean McVay) have staffs that are in my top five. Yet here are the Jaguars, all the way down at No. 18.

Pederson hasn't done in Jacksonville much of what made him successful during his early years in Philadelphia (2016-20). He was on the crest of the run-pass option wave then, which made offense simpler for his quarterbacks, but now the Jaguars ask Trevor Lawrence to run a fairly traditional West Coast offense without many of the bells and whistles other quarterbacks get to enjoy. They still run RPOs and use play-action and send players in motion, but nothing is weaponized the way elite offenses do it in today's NFL.

Taylor, who has long been connected to Pederson, has been the subject of offensive frustration. He took over playcalling in 2023 and it looks like he'll keep it in 2024 even though the offense declined in success rate, points per drive and expected points added per play once he manned the headset. Of note was a huge decline on late downs, where Pederson's offenses have typically been excellent: In 2022, the Jaguars ranked ninth in third-down conversion rate and 15th in fourth-down conversion rate. In 2023, they were 17th and 26th, respectively.

I still think Pederson is a good manager of players and has a sound offensive system, but he needs to be more hands-on in reviving this offense -- and he can be. Nielsen, his new defensive coordinator, was one of the pleasant surprises in last year's coaching carousel. As a first-year DC for the Falcons, he got substantial overachievement out of a thin roster. I expect big things in Jacksonville, where he has a bit more talent to work with.

- Ben Solak, ESPN

If there is one primary reason for optimism, it is clearly surrounding defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Nielsen was one of the NFL's top coordinator candidates this offseason after the Atlanta Falcons cleaned house, and the Jaguars have had nothing but praise for him internally since.

“I think, one, there’s excitement around Ryan and what he’s brought to the defense and how he’s going to utilize the players defensively. I think you’ll see, when you’re out there, the excitement. It’s an attack style defense—guys are moving forward," Pederson said earlier in training camp.

"I think it just suits the players, right? I think the players have really bought into that. You’re going to see a lot of teaching, a lot of coaching; not just by Ryan, but by his entire staff—both sides of the ball and special teams. Today’s day one and it just goes from here.”

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