When the Jacksonville Jaguars rounded out their coaching staff with a flurry of additions Thursday, it was mostly defensive coaches hired.
Ryan Nielsen filled the void left by the firing of Mike Caldwell as defensive coordinator, and several assistants who were colleagues of Nielsen’s in Atlanta or New Orleans followed him on to the staff.
Interestingly, one position that wasn’t filled was a spot on the offensive staff. At least for now, the Jaguars’ passing game coordinator role sits vacant.
In 2022, it was Jim Bob Cooter who held the title until he left to become the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. Nick Holz took over the position in 2023, but that only lasted one season before he became offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
It’s certainly possible that another hire will happen to round out the staff, but it seems more likely that the coaches will get to work without a replacement for Holz.
The Jaguars passing game wasn’t exactly a smooth operation during the 2023 season. Third-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw 14 interceptions — a jump from his eight picks in 2022 — and he was sacked a career-high 35 times. Still, the team finished ninth in passing yards.
Perhaps Doug Pederson feels there were simply too many cooks in the kitchen. Between Pederson, offensive coordinator Press Taylor, and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy, and assistant quarterbacks coach Andrew Breiner, there are already a handful of coaches in Lawrence’s ear. While the head coach felt a pass game coordinator was necessary the last couple years, the team’s sloppy performance in 2023 may have changed his mind.
Jacksonville needs a much sharper fourth season out of Lawrence, and it looks like it’ll be a smaller coaching staff tasked with helping him accomplish that.
