Jaguars fire Doug Pederson

Jaguars fire Doug Pederson

After a tumultuous 4-13 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have fired head coach Doug Pederson after three seasons, owner Shad Khan released in a statement Monday morning.

“I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago,” Khan’s statement read. “I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”

In three seasons, Pederson went 22-29 with just one postseason berth in 2022. In eight combined seasons with Jacksonville and Philadelphia, the 56-year-old head coach went 64-66, winning one Super Bowl with Nick Foles and the Eagles in 2017.

Pederson was brought in to be the quarterback whisperer for Trevor Lawrence, not named Urban Meyer. It started off beautifully, as Lawrence had a very good sophomore season, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. It was an underwhelming 2023 season followed by a disastrous 2024, completing only 60.6 percent of his attempts for 2,045 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions in just 10 games.

The offense, called by Pederson, couldn’t get off the ground in 2024. They were amongst the bottom-eight teams in yards, first downs, passing touchdowns, rushing yards and percentage of drives ending in a score.

Regardless of his supporting cast, the next head coach has to maximize Lawrence, who is on contract through 2030 with cap hits of $17M, $24M, $35M, $47M, $78.5M and $74.8M, respectively, according to Spotrac. They invested in their franchise quarterback–whether you believe he is or not.

Growth and development aren’t always linear, so it’s not like Lawrence won’t be able to improve. But it’s a long road ahead for the 25-year-old signal caller, which is why who this next guy is very important for this franchise’s trajectory.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates!

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