Now that the NFL season is over, the NFL Scouting Combine takes stage this week. With the combine in full effect all 32 teams get their first opportunity for scout for the future of their franchises including in Jacksonville. The Jaguars are beginning another new era in Northeast Florida as Doug Pederson takes over for Urban Myers.
Remember Urban Myers was fired during the 2021 season after losing to the Tennessee Titans midseason.
Doug Pederson was announced as the new Jags coach on February 3rd.
Coach Pederson joined CBS Sport HQ this week in Indianapolis. Shout to CBS Sports and Jeff Kerr for their work. Pederson spoke about why he wanted the Jaguars' job, "When I looked at this team and when I evaluated this roster, this team is not that far off quite honestly," on yesterday show. He knows and understands that the Jaguars not there as far as competing with the top teams in the AFC let alone the top teams in league, but he sees the talent on the roster and where they can improve. See the video below for the full conversation from CBS Sports HQ.
Now, the question becomes how many years are fans in Jacksonville and in the front office are willing to give Pederson on changing this team back to a successful team since 2017? Remember in 2017 under Doug Marrone, the Jaguars was one of the best defensive teams in the league with a physical running game with Leonard Fournette. The Jags went 10-6 and won the AFC South in Marrone 1st year as coach. The went the AFC Championship but lost to the New England Patriots in Foxboro as the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that season. That had six Pro Bowlers all on the defensive side and none of them are currently with the team including Jalen Ramsey who won this season Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.
After the 2017 season Marrone and the Jaguars never made it back to the playoffs the next three season just going 12-36 in those seasons and Doug Marrone was fired.
Next was Urban Myers and we all show that went this past season, his only season as coach.
Now Doug Pederson is the head man in Jacksonville.
Pederson coached the Philadelphia Eagles for five seasons. In those five seasons, Pederson went 42-37-1, winning two NFC East titles, and taking the Eagles to three consecutive playoff appearances (2017-2019). Led the Eagles to win Super Bowl LII by defeating the New England Patriots led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
That is what the people in Jacksonville is looking for especially after seeing the Cincinnati Bengals playing in Super Bowl LVI all be it in a losing effort. But the thing is that the city of Cincinnati, the people, and the front office was patience with Zac Taylor and what he was building. In just three years, Zac Taylor took the Bengals from NFL purgatory to AFC North Champs, AFC Champs, and Super Bowl appearance.
The question for the city of Jacksonville, the people of Duuuuval, and owner Shad Khan, can y'all wait three to four maybe five years? Can you allow Pederson time to change the culture in Jacksonville and build a roster that can compete with the top teams like Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore (when completely healthy), Cincinnati now, and even division rival Tennesse? Do y'all have the patience? Or is it too much to ask for a fanbase that have been in NFL purgatory for a long time outside of that 2017 season?
Just talked about Zac Taylor turning the Bengals around in three years with Joe Burrow as his QB and Jamar Chase leading a dangerous wide-receiving cord with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Sean McVay of the Super Bowl Champion Rams took him five seasons to finally capture that Lombardi Trophy, all be it a different pattern from Zac Taylor. McVay turned the Rams around his first on the job, leading the Rams to the NFC West title playoffs before losing the Atlanta Falcons in the Wildcard Round.
Don't expect a quick turnaround like McVay and Marrone did their first season with their teams. Be more like the Bengals with Zac Taylor, build season by season, draft well and smart, and spend money in free agency for some veteran leadership.
Year one under Pederson could be bad or could be good, but that's the beginning stage of this relationship. Learning the team as the head coach and the team learning their head coach. Year two is improving year. That's the year where the coach and team understand what is missing after year one and they address it together. Then year three is where you want to how your team stacks up against the top dogs of the league. How close are we from getting there? Where is that missing piece at to get over the top? Year three is the prove it year to see if you like the direction your team is going.
So, Jacksonville, Jaguar fans, and owner Shad Khan, take year one as it is and look forward to year two for improvement and then year three you can see if Pederson and the Jaguars are trending in the right direction. Patience is key for the city of Jacksonville.
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