The Jacksonville Jaguars finished the 2023 season as one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL, resulting in multiple changes on the coaching staff in January. However, head coach Doug Pederson decided to retain offensive coordinator Press Taylor.
Loyalty to coaches has been a trait of Pederson as a head coach, including during his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles. When the Eagles’ front office urged him to make changes and he refused, Pederson was fired and out of the NFL until becoming Jacksonville’s head coach.
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Taylor, once the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for Pederson in Philadelphia, joined the Jaguars’ franchise as offensive coordinator in 2022. Jacksonville’s head coach has given Taylor significant control over the team’s offense.
- Jacksonville Jaguars offense 2023: 22.2 points per game (14th), 5.2 yards per play (16th), 38.16% third-down conversion rate (17th)
While the offense massively underperformed compared to expectations in 2023, Pederson kept Taylor on the Jaguars’ coaching staff following the 2023 season. With the offense seemingly unlikely to change, at least in terms of play-calling, it now seems to be a source of contention in Jacksonville.
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According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, there was “some buzz” out of Jacksonville in the last few weeks of the regular season that Jaguars’ general manager Trent Baalke and the front office were looking hard at the team’s offensive underperformance under Taylor.
Jacksonville is committed to Pederson and Taylor for the 2024 season, but Jacksonville’s head coach seems to be repeating the same decisions he made in Philadelphia. If the Jaguars underperform in 2024 with Taylor’s offense letting the team down and Trevor Lawrence not meeting expectations, bigger changes could come in 2025.
