The Jacksonville Jaguars first started the interview process on Dec. 30, and over a month later, they’ve hired the man they started that process with in Doug Pederson.
Pederson will join the Jags with 12 years of NFL coaching experience (also has seven as a player), a 42-37-1 record, and Super Bowl title to his name. For that reason, many seem excited about his hiring, despite it not being the candidate most had as No. 1 on their list.
Pederson’s hiring ended what had been a sloppy coaching search for the Jags, so needless to say, there were many who were relieved by the news as the Jags also did a poor job with keeping their fans updated. However, owner Shad Khan broke his silence Thursday night and had nothing but great things to say about Pederson.
“Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship,” Jags owner Shad Khan said Thursday night. “I hope Doug can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville, but what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning head coach in the National Football League. It’s exactly what our players deserve. Nothing less.”
“Combine this with his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, and you have why I am proud to name Doug Pederson the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I know our fans will warmly welcome Doug and his family to Duval and I personally look forward to having Doug as part of everything we envision for the team, downtown and community in the years ahead.”
The most interesting part about this statement is that it doesn’t mention a thing about general manager Trent Baalke, or working with him. That’s important because he’s the key reason why the Jags stumbled throughout the process as many candidates didn’t want to work with him because of his poor reputation.
Reports have surfaced the last few days that the Jags are looking to potentially hire former Minnesota Vikings executive Rick Spielman to their front office. That’s important because Spielman and Pederson are both represented by PSR Inc., and it’s believed that both would join the Jags in a package deal.
As of Thursday, the team was still continuing their work to add Spielman to a role above Baalke’s, but nothing was deemed official. That said, it seems that could be ironed out in the near future and Pederson would be in a situation where he wouldn’t even have to report to Baalke.
