Why Jaguars' Doug Pederson is Coaching Himself to a Scalding Seat

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was listed by in one report as one of four head coaches currently on the hot seat -- but why?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks on before a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

The first half of Doug Pederson's tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars seems like a million years ago.

This time last year, the Jaguars were fresh off a playoff trip in Pederson's first season. In his second season, they were leading the AFC South race with an 8-3 record. There were legitimate hopes for earning the AFC's top seed in the 2023 playoffs.

But since then, no team has struggled more than Pederson's Jaguars. Jacksonville owns the worst record in the NFL this year at 2-8, and they are 3-13 in their last 16 games. The second half of Pederson's tenure -- the one the Jaguars are in the middle of right now -- has seen Pederson and the Jaguars dig themselves into a hole, and in a big way.

The time for Pederson and the Jaguars to keep jobs came at 0-0. And then again at 0-4. And once more at 2-5. But despite sky-high expectations, Pederson and the Jaguars are 1-6 in one-score games and Pederson is starting to get talked about as one of the coaches with the hottest seats in the league.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell examined the case for the four coaches in the NFL he sees as the hottest seats, and Pederson of course landed smack dab on it.

"Between the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023, the Jaguars went 14-4 and outscored teams by four points per game. Since that fateful loss to the Bengals on "Monday Night Football" last December -- when a win would have put them in position to claim the top seed in the AFC -- the Jags have gone 3-13 and been outscored by 5.3 points per contest," Barnwell said.

"This with a team ownership said was the "best Jaguars team ever assembled" before the season. Instead, these Jags have the same record the Urban Meyer Jags did through 10 games and a game on the road against the Lions on the way next week."

The latest inexcusable loss? A 12-7 debacle vs. the Minnesota Vikings where the Jaguars lost despite all history and odds going their way. And while that loss is not the one that will cement Pederson's future, it is the latest in a long line of losses that should not have happened.

"Unlike the other teams on this list, the Jaguars actually led for most of the game Sunday, courtesy of an early touchdown drive and three red zone interceptions of Sam Darnold. While the Jacksonville defense was able to quiet Justin Jefferson and keep Minnesota from scoring an offensive touchdown the Mac Jones-led offense did nothing after the first quarter to extend that lead," Barnwell said.

"No team had lost a game in which it allowed zero offensive touchdowns and forced three interceptions since 2000, with teams going 93-0 between 2021 and 2024 before Sunday."

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