The Jacksonville Jaguars will reportedly promote former offensive line coach/assistant head coach and current interim head coach Doug Marrone to replace Gus Bradly at the helm in 2017 and beyond.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported this news Monday.
Jacksonville planning to hire Doug Marrone as HC, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 9, 2017
This move indicates the franchise will likely continue to give Blake Bortles a shot to develop under Marrone, who helped coach the team’s offense the past two seasons. Marrone is a former head coach of the Buffalo Bills before his surprising choice to leave back in 2014 after guiding the Bills to a 15-17 record.
Jaguars fans might not feel thrilled about this move. After all, Marrone has been a part of what can only be described as a massive failure to cultivate a young offense. The Jags ranked No. 23 in total offense this past year and No. 18 in 2015, struggling especially to run the ball while Bortles threw 35 interceptions between the two seasons.
We’ll take a wait-and-see approach to this reported hire. Who knows? If Marrone can bring in talented offensive and defensive coordinators and can get Bortles on the right track, maybe things will work out just fine.