Welcome to Jagsam. I'm Pennanni Stevens, Brian Sexton, John Oser with me our final jags Am of the regular season. We're gonna talk things out. There's a coaching search coming up and a lot going on in the off season. So big thing number one and so it begins. Doug Peterson released of his duties as head coach, so that means being now looking for a new head coach and leader of this team. Treen Balki says, the search is going to start right away.
I think you think the short answer to that is yes. I mean, we're gonna move quickly to get some people lined up to talk to How long that process takes. I think Sean mentioned it's going to take as long as it takes to identify the right individual. And is that one interview? Is that two interviews? I think you know we're going to do our due diligence and be very thorough in this process.
Brian, we already know eight people that they're bringing in for interview or they've requested interviews that I should say, but talk us through this timeline a little bit because it is different to seear than we see.
In the past.
Well, I think that this process is going to be slower than people have imagined because the league is intentionally trying to push back the hiring date. They're trying to be more inclusive and have more potential candidates. Obviously, that's been something they've been working at for quite a lot of time. Guy, And you can't do an in person interview with someone who's under contract until after the divisional rounds, so not at next week, but the week after next week.
Is the first week that you can do in person interviews. So everything is going to be virtual.
I think the window is Wednesday, Thursday through Sunday this week, and then it tightens down a little bit, so a lot of teams are scrambling to get this first round of virtual interviews in before that deadline hits. John, this is a process that looks like it might take all the way up till Super Bowl for most of these twas, So that's kind of the way the league is setting it up well.
I think people who followed the last Jaguars coaching search sort of have a feel for the pace. Doug Peterson interviewed. I forget the exact timeline, but it was a long time. A month between first interview and actual hiring. So the league has tried to do that with the idea of being to allow the divisional round coaches Championship game coach is a legitimate a legitimate chance to be in the mix,
and frankly, it's worked. The process has slowed. Five or six years ago, it felt like the high you could interview a head coach and there'd be guys announced like next week. I don't anticipate that, and that's good because it does allow teams to take their time and try to find the right guy. And Brian, that's the most important thing is finding the right guy, not the first guy.
I think so, And there is also the possibility that names can be added to that list of eight. Someone along the way comes to mind, someone that you maybe not have heard a lot about, or that isn't in the pup guy as much. And we'll both say this, John, it's about finding the right guy and if that takes thirty days, she'll be it. But I don't think the Jaguars will behind the curve at all because every team is following these new guidelines.
They are, which leads into our second big thing, which is top spot. There's six openings right now for head coaches around the NFL, and obviously we know what the Jaguars have going on in their division and what's been there. John, How appealing is this opening compared to some of the other ones.
Well, I think it's appealing in the sense that you have an owner who supports, You have an owner who doesn't meddle.
You have.
An owner who will clearly spend whatever it takes. You've got Florida, you have this building we're sitting in the MEC. I said yesterday and I'll continue saying it. I think the job is as appealing as the candidate likes Trevor Lawrence, and I think most candidates will like that very much. You have a young quarterback. He's been injured, but you know, before that injury in twenty three playing at a high level.
If he scratched the surface, there's something there. Brian, I think if you're a Trevor Lawrence guy, it's the best job. I don't know how all eight of these guys feel about that, and I think that'll determine what people think about the job.
Well, we've talked a lot about you know, what the Jaguars had to offer the quarterback, the salary cap, the twenty draft picks in the next two years, sparkling new facilities, an owner that won't meddle and will spend. But when you look at the other jobs open compared to this one, you see that the Jets don't have a quarterback, and by the way, they don't have a quarterback. Neither do the Raiders. This is not a good year to need a quarterback. And so when you look at the quarterback issue,
it's front and center number one. If you believe that Trevor Lawrence has good football in front of him, all the other reasons that I mentioned, and then what John talked about the quarterback make this his appealing a job as possible. I mean, you can look at all the other circumstances and situations, whether it's the Bears and playing in that hyper competitive NFC North Division or the Saints who have a salary cap disaster sitting in front of them, this job is as attractive as any.
All Right, Our final big thing is going to be EVP That was mentioned during the Executive vice president that was mentioned during the media availability with Shadkhan and Trent bal Key, and Shad con was asked whether he'd consider hiring also an executive vice president.
You know, it's got to be the right person, Okay, and it's got to be And frankly, I mean we need to add some people. I mean we're lean, but you know, if you look at again on you know, the football side, I mean we've added people, We've changed some people, and if we find the right person.
Definitely, Ryan, how promising is this is real possibility to kind of get someone else in there to help make some of these decisions.
Well, I mean, to me, it's very promising because I want Tony BISSELLI right. I know that that's a name that's been bantered about. And listen, it worked for the Ravens with Ozzie Newsom, It's worked for the Broncos with John Elway. It has worked with John Lynch in that role in San Francisco where that person who represents but Lynch doesn't represent the Niners like Tony would represent the Jaguars. But I think he would be a really good person to put into that role. And I think it's something
that he would excel at. And so if the possibility exists that Tony can come in in a role that has an impact on improving the football operation. And more importantly than that, John setting the Jaguar away. I mean, we hear about how the Steelers do it, and how the Patriots do it, and how these championship franchises do it. We don't have that here in Jacksonville right now. I think Tony Biselli would be a good person to be able to institute that because he was here during the
Golden era. He has the yellow jacket, the gold jacket that signifies his level of excellence as a player, and he's around the National Football League, and he cares. He cares a lot. In fact, I would suggest that there isn't anybody that Shod could hire that would care about the franchise and guard it as much as he would other than Tony Boselli.
Yeah, I think Tony be a home run.
I answer your question Kai, how big of a possibility is that? I don't think Shod would have mentioned it Monday if he wasn't thinking about it. If you recall Shod in the interview process when he hired Tom Coffin for this. When he goes into this interview process, he often is trying to figure out.
What will work the best.
He's often listening to candidates and trying to figure out, Okay, with the people available, how can I make this work. He's an engineer member, so he likes to figure out the system that will work. So I think the fact that he's talking about it Monday saying if he finds the right person, I think Tony's the right person. I don't know how Shod feels about that because he doesn't really talk talk about that sort of thing, but uh,
I do think it's an absolute possibility. Uh, because it was mentioned on Monday in a prominent situation.
We'll keep an eye on it throughout the coming weeks as well as through this coaching search. So we have eight names of people that are they are hoping to come in. We're gonna talk about them coming up after the break. Tag XAM brought to you by Field to Auto Group, Jacksonville's premiere luxury auto group. Head over to Field Auto dot com.
I don't really know.
I know we're a young team, you know, so I would definitely love to have some one, you know, kind of relatable to us, you know, in a sense, you know, somebody with some passion. I love for somebody with some passion and somebody just showing them about what we got going on here.
Just somebody wants to win. Just somebody wants to be around a guys, somebody who's who's eat it fired up, uh with the opportunity to uh just help us uh go and ultimately win the Super Bowl when I first to go here and uh that's what we all want and uh for somebody want somewhere.
I think that's a tough question to answer right now. I just think obviously we're all processing the end of the season. We're all reflecting on just us ourselves individually and as a team, because like I said, we all had a hand in this. So I think the important thing right now is to just reflect personally on where you can do better going forward, all the learning opportunities that were taken from this year and really focus on that.
And the Jaguars players clearing out their lockers this week sounding off about what they would like to see in their new head coach, Christian Kirk always wise pointing out that there's a lot of other stuff that needs to change as well as in just a coaching thing. Players have to get on board as well. But we've now got eight names coming out, you guys, that were announced by the team that they want to have an interview
request with them. So I split the list. It's about half offensive coordinators, half defensive guys or former head coaches. So which way do we Is it stylistic? But the person what kind of goes into this process? Brian, when you're looking at something like.
Well, I think John and I probably both take the same approach on this is it doesn't matter to me whether he's an offensive coach or a defensive coach, or what scheme he runs. What matters to me is that he's a head coach, that he's that leader that everyone will follow, that he has.
The very specific vision.
You know, the Lions are the great example because everyone's looking at them and what they've done is unbelievable. Turning that thing around. Dan Campbell was the tight ends coach and assistant head coach in New Orleans. He was not a hot name. In fact, when the Lions hired him, people were scratching their head, thinking, really, but look at what he's done. I mean, for all that Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, who are both on that list have done on their sides of the ball.
The culture change.
Which we all experienced when we were there last summer and spent the week practicing with them. The culture change is due to Dan Campbell, and that is very much a philosophy, a style, more than what side of the ball he's on.
Yeah, I know.
I did a Jaguars dot Com Head Coach Tracker, which you can find on Jaguars because that's why it's called the Jaguars dot Com Head Coach Tracker, And in part of it, I'm listing offensive rankings and defensive rankings.
To me, those matter not a bit.
It's great that a Ben Johnson, for example, is leading the Lions offense to these great numbers. Can the guy stand in front of the room. Do players when the guy stops talking and they go off to themselves, do they believe in that guy or are they going If you're going, meh, then you can't win. So I think we're talking about the same thing. They have to be able to set the tone, they have to have the vision for the franchise, and the players have to believe
in the message. And I believe that that guy is the right guy, and that's.
What most of the players.
I think we're kind of stumbling around trying to say they want the right guy and the guy they can believe in, whether they're an offensive guy defensive guy. The only caveat to all that is in this day and age, I do believe there is an advantage if you find the right offensive guy, then if the no matter who the coordinator is, the system can stay the same and
the quarterback can have continuity in that system. That's not to say you have to have that, but if you can find that, I think that is an advantage over a ten year period. But guess what, if you don't find the right guy right then all that doesn't matter.
When you're searching like the Jaguars have been searching. What's important to note is that if I'm interviewing somebody, I want to know who are going to bring on your staff?
Right.
I didn't realize this, but Ben Johnson did not go as the offensive coordinator to Detroit. He went from Miami, where he was a receiver's coach, to be a receivers coach in Detroit, and they fired Anthony Lynn, who was here's one point, as the running backs coach, and they identified him as a talent, good coach, and then of course gave him the opportunity and he grew.
So I want to know who are you bringing with you?
Who are the exciting, dynamic, talented coaches that you will attract to come be part of your staff.
I think we might recognize one of them, considering in quarterbacks coach in Detroit. I'm sure he wouldn't mind coming back to Jacksonville.
You're talking about Mark Renold.
Oh maybe that guy?
Yeah, And Mark's at that stage. He's been a quarterbacks coach for a couple of years. You know, he's at that point where next job as a coordinator.
I could see Mark as a head coach some day.
So he's been a head coach before at a tech.
It's it's just it's it's interesting this process and how long and detailed it is, and everyone's looking for answers immediately. But they're gonna go through that list with a fine tooth calm. I know two of those guys personally because.
They were here.
Robert Sala, who I thought was was going to be a star with the Jets. I mean, he's such a leader. It goes to show you the circumstances have something to do with it, because he never had the quarterback that gave him that opportunity, and when he thought he did with Aaron Rogers was hurt in the first series of his tenure.
There.
Good football coach.
I don't know whether he's seriously in the mix on this one, but a good coach. And then Todd Munkin, who you know, left here and went to college football Oklahoma State, Southern miss and then Georgia and then has reinvented himself with.
You know, maybe the MVP in Baltimore.
And again a guy who's been in front of the room before and is a really solid human being, a kind of guy that people will trust.
So I liked seeing both of those names.
On there named a former head coach, named coordinator, a first time offensive coordinator and Ben Johnson, that's a hot name out there. Is there a preference of having experience already as a head coach? Obviously we've seen both here. Obviously Erin Meyer comes in to get Doug who's already been there, done that, been around for a long time. Does that matter or is it mostly what you can bring and what your plan is?
Yeah, if you know that these are all great questions.
If you're the right guy, then at some point you have to you know, just because you haven't done it doesn't mean you can't go do it.
You can't never done it.
So I do think there is a appeal to having a guy who's the adult in the room, which Todd Mounkin unfortunately Brian. I think he's the only one even close to our age. So and I think there's an appeal to that because you've seen it before and there are challenges a head coach. Any head coach will tell you the first time they figure it out, it's like, oh, this is not the jobs I've had before. This is every day there's somebody in my office with a problem.
But my guess is it will be a younger guy because that feels like the trend and the quarterback connection. I just have to believe that there will be a quarterback connection and it feels like a coordinator type deal is going to happen.
Both of of the guys in Detroit interest me because they will have been shaped by the circumstances. They will have seen a rough start. I think Dan Camill went o to eight to get started. Yeah, and they will have seen a franchise that was used to they had a losing culture be transformed into a juggernaut. I mean, what they've got going there is incredible. So either of those two guys and Aaron Glenn doesn't get the same
attention because that offense is just exploding. But you hear the guys who work around Aaron Glenn and you think, and Aaron's a guy that was here in two thousand and seven. He was a part of that really good defense that helped power the Jaguars to the divisional round of the playoffs that year. And Jeff Loginman knows him very well, A really an excellent football player, and I told him excellent tactician and coach and a guy who sure seems to have the personality to get up in front of the room.
So I mean he's a feeling, Yeah, he's appealing.
He's a strong personality, Yeah, strong personality and has been around a bit, so that would not be.
There would be a lot to like if that's the direction.
Yeah.
I mean, I think both coordinators in Detroit deserve the kind of attention and the star next to their name because of what they have been shaped by and the way that they have grown both sides of the ball.
I think Glenn impressive as of late as well. What he's been able to do with the injuries on defense, and then for them to have that game against the Vikings in the season. I mean, just that alone is impressive to be able to have that many players behind and come up and still play that well.
Well, when you lose a player like Aiden Hutchinson and you don't make that, they trade for Zadaria Smith and you bring him in, and I mean right away he has an impact and that doesn't always happen, so I mean he's obviously a guy who strategically gets it.
Just one more comment. We're looking at some of these offensive coordinators that we want to come in, and just because it's been a controversy in the past about play calling, if you were making the decision and you were hiring one of these offensive guys, would you want them to be the primary play caller.
Maybe, But again the whole play calling thing.
That has to be the quarter the head coach's choice, and it depends on how he feels about that system. So sure, but again I don't get into the whole play calling thing. This last year, I still.
Think it was overblown.
That guy has to be the direction of the offense, and whatever coordinator you're gonna have. He's going to be the I mean, whatever coach, he's going to be the spirit of the offense. How he handles the mechanism, I think you gotta leave up to him.
They all have such a influence.
I mean, I always thought that the Press Taylor Doug Peterson stuff was overblown because Press wasn't gonna do what Doug didn't want him to do with his offense, and Doug didn't spend any time on defense.
Doug was in the offensive.
They were in lockstep.
They were in lockstown.
The new guy will be in lockstep if he's an offensive coach. If it's been uh Van Johnson and Mark's the coordinator, for example, I don't know that'll be. Then Ben will probably call the plays with Mark or vice versa. But they'll be in each other's headset. They'll be on each other's desks all week, right, So it'll be sort of the same dynamic, except whatever it is, well probably.
Made clearer than it was in twenty twenty four.
And it's worth pointing out in the Great Era of the Jaguars, where Tom Coughlin was the head coach and he had Mark Brunell and Jimmy Smith and Fred Taylor, and I mean they were loaded.
Tom didn't called places right.
He had a heavy hand in what went on, but he had, you know, Kevin Gilbride or Chris Palmer. I mean, he had those guys who ran the offense for him. Because he wanted to focus on being the head coach. He wanted to be engaged on the sideline in the entire game and not over talking to the quarterback or the offensive line. Now he'd go do that, but for a head coach, you've got to be engaged with the team on the field and the officials and the clock.
And I think, think I want my head coach to bring in an offensive coordinator who is strong enough that he's confident enough in that he can say, this is what we're gonna do, and then he goes and does what a head coach does, trust him to execute.
Very good.
All right, we'll be obviously following the story for a while. Coming up, we're gona do a little this or that after break. For eleven years, dream Finders Homes has been proud to call themselves the official home builder of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Do is a dreamfinders homes dot Com for all of the available inventory and go jag I.
Think so, I mean, if our defense would improve, you know, get to the middle of the pact. But we were watch to intend this year. I mean, how many of those games you know we could win? And I think the schemes on offense just being less predictable. I think, you know, we could be more productive on offense, and we have the ability through the draft coming up and salary cap to be able to you know, use that
to get more specific players we were seeking. So I mean, I expect this, you know, for us to have success very quickly.
This oh this, oh hey, a little this or that shot kind expecting a quick turnaround here, but we got to figure out exactly what went wrong. Obviously there's going to be a new head coach, new leader in charge, but some of the players weighed in earlier this week about some issues that they saw throughout the season.
I don't think we had enough synergy as a group. I think there were times where certain guys are playing their butt off, and as a group, we didn't all show up at the same time. That's kind of what it felt like. It was like trying to cover for one guy not doing his job and then he gets out of position and that kind of was like this went down to.
Total Bowl for us, it's this we have to learn how to win and learn how to take winning. Like obviously we know how to win games, but when it comes to being consistent with winning in the NFL, you have to bring it week in and week out, and sometimes it's just certain sacrifice that certain players or individuals how to make.
Similar things are seen throughout miss assignments, you know, putting in that effort, getting that full buy in.
Jon. This is stuff we've been talking about.
Yes, that's something a coach needs to put into place, but players have to buy in as well. So is there plenty of blame to go around? Is it one more than the other?
With that, I think it's plenty of blame to go around, and you know, I think the coach is responsible for it, But I said all season, I think the players still have to be a group that takes it by the you know, the horns if you will, and decides they're not going to lose. And I still think that there has to be an element of that and to rally around the coach. But I think there are they need more key veteran players who are ready to be that guy.
I've heard culture defined by coaches as what you expect and what you accept, right, and the expectation level has to be set, and then you have to vigorously guard that and it's the players that really guard it.
They have to buy in.
As you heard Treyvon Lawrence say, Treyvon Lawrence, Trevon Walker say this week, you have to have the players that will hold the standard that the coach sets. And again I go back to what Dan Campbell talked about, and there are many NFL films clips of him talking about guys that belong in their locker room and guys that belong as part of that process of what they were doing in Detroit, and then all those players held everyone
to that standard. So that's really what you're looking for, is the guy that can come in and set the expectations that the players then.
Will say this is what we expected.
One another go into the season.
We're obviously going to see some player changes as well, free agents and pending free agents, and possibly some of the higher paid players that are entering the end of their contracts, specifically Evan Ingram and Christian Kirk, both of them weighing in on whether or not they want to be here next year.
Yeah, I would love to be here, and I mean I'm under contract still. Obviously there's other things that I can't really control. So I'm just kind of focused on being healthy again next next year, being healthy this offseason, getting healthy, and just being the best player that I can be, because you know, I feel like I've proven that when I'm on the field. Uh, you know, I am one of those players that is one of the better ones on the field. And so I'm just looking
forward to to getting back to that. And I wanted to be here in Jacksonville.
Like I said, there's a lot of changes that are coming when you have seasons like this, So that's up to God. I think, uh, you know, I I wanna be here. I have a home here, and I think this is this is a special place to do something great and I wanna continue to grind to do that. So but that's all out of my control. And uh, like I said, this is unfortunate thing about having a season like this. There's gonna be a lot of changes, and uh, you never know what side you're gonna be on.
But definitely, uh, definitely wanna be here, John.
I think both these guys have been around long enough, they know how this kind of works. Is it feasible that both of them could be back next year?
Very doubtful that both of them are back. I hope they're both back.
I mean, it's iffy that either of them are back, really be but saying that it's because we don't know what the direction of the coach who comes in, how that's going to look.
There's meetings to be had. They will decide that.
Christian's salary cap number is huge, Evan's salary cap number is big compared to Brenton strangers who came in, and I don't know, I don't know that there's.
A emission of a drop off. I hope both they're back.
I'm afraid we're saying goodbye to at least one really good guy.
They're total pros the way that they handle themselves on the field and in the locker room. Christians to the expensive point of his career. Right when you sign a free agent, generally you're looking at a three year deal here, no matter what the fourth does. But they're getting to, you know, twenty four million dollars and he's a nine million dollar savings and Kai there's not just gonna be a chain the coaching suite. There's a change on the field.
There's a new number one. There's a new sheriff in town and his number is number seven, and Brian Thomas Junior has got to become the focal point of the offense. Evan is a nineteen million dollar cap with about thirteen million in dead money, so he's about six million in savings. So you have to decide, you know, the offense how it's going to run. But everybody has to understand that the ball is going through seven now, not through Christian, not through Evan.
It's gonna be some difficult decisions to be made that will monitor throughout the off season. So stick with us. We'll come back after the break and tell you zach schedule for the off season coming out. Jag fans, if you want customers Daguars furniture for your home, checkup zipchuer dot com to brows all the customizable options. Zip cher is furniture for fans.
I mean, I'm sorry for what I've came out and did this season, but I mean it doesn't I mean doesn't stop. Now. He's got to keep going keep pushing. I mean, like someone I always trying to come in and take your spot. So just come in, keep pushing it, and keep putting your best before it each and every day.
Brian Thomas Jr. For sure the bright spot from this season. Disappointment elsewhere, but he's been amazing. We do want to talk quickly about this coaching search. We will be away for about a month, so what's a realistic timeline you guys think early February we might know who this might be.
Could be anywhere from January twentieth ish. Yeah, I'd be early to post super Bowl, so you gotta keep.
The door upen.
I would think the week of the super Bowl might be a good opportunity for them to make that sort.
Of an announcement.
Very good.
We'll be back the week after the super Bowl talking about it and whoever the new head coaches. So enjoy the off season.