It’s been a month since the Jacksonville Jaguars started their head coaching search (in terms of the first interview), and the team has yet to name a new person to lead the franchise.
Despite having a two-week head start, the team’s process has been a puzzling mess that has dragged on so long that three other teams have replaced their head coaches. Two of those coaches, Matt Eberflus and Nathaniel Hackett, were candidates the Jags were reportedly impressed with. Now, the Jags are left in a situation where the only known and available candidate who has interviewed twice is Byron Leftwich, who is said to be still a viable option by many.
That puts us where we are today, as the Jags could roll with Leftwich or another candidate they spoke with aside from Eberflus and Hackett. They could also start a new search, extending this messy saga even further.
However, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jags are interested in a candidate who is currently set to coach in the NFC playoffs. That candidate is Kevin O’Connell, who is the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator and is someone the team is hoping to speak with on Monday if the Rams are eliminated.
O’Connell, 36, is one of the better young play-callers in the league when looking at the work he’s done with the Rams. In the regular season, they ranked fifth in passing (with a 287.8 YPG average) and ninth overall (with a 372.1 YPG average). However, it’s worth mentioning that they have way more talent than the Jags as his current group consists of Matthew Stafford, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyler Higbee, and Van Jefferson among notables.
O’Connell, like other names the Jags have been associated with, has worked with Jags general manager Trent Baalke. The two were on the San Francisco 49ers’ staff in 2016, which was Baalke’s last year as general manager with the organization before he was fired.
O’Connell, who is a rising star to many in the league, has garnered interest from the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Minnesota Vikings. He was named a finalist for the Broncos (who hired Nathaniel Hackett) and is a finalist for the Minnesota Vikings opening. He’s also viewed as a top choice for the Texans according to the NFL Network report.
O’Connell wasn’t on the Jags’ initial list of eight candidates (nine if you include Dan Quinn). With that being the case, it seems unlikely the Jags’ interest in O’Connell was strong early in the search (if it was ever strong at all), adding yet another layer of uncertainty to what has already been a bizarre search process.
