3 Names Who Make Sense as Jaguars Next WR Coach
The Jacksonville Jaguars will reportedly be in the market for a new wide receivers coach following the impending exit of Chris Jackson.
So, what now?
The wide receiver room was one of the Jaguars' best-coached and most productive units in 2022. With good reason, too, considering each of the Jaguars' top four receivers was making north of $4.5 million, leading to the Jaguars having one of the most expensive receiver rooms in the NFL.
The room will need a new leader in 2023, though, to help continue what was a successful 2022.
"We feel really good about the guys we have under contract. I thought that group this year did an excellent job, but the most important thing is we’re going to surround Trevor [Lawrence] with the same cast of characters, if you will, the same cast of receiving threats, the same running back core for the most part," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said on Tuesday.
"We’re always going to look to insert guys here and there, but for the most part, getting that core group back for a second year in the same offense with the same play caller and all of that goes with it, I think that’s really going to help Trevor take the next step and this team take the next step.”
So, which names could potentially replace Jackson? We take an early look at three below.
David Culley
The name that jumps off the page immediately is David Culley. It made sense for Culley to not coach last season after he was fired by the Houston Texans as head coach after just one year, but with a year away from football, he could look for a role back with a familiar face like Pederson.
Pederson and Culley have ties that date back to when Pederson played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, which was also Culley's first year as wide receivers coach under Andy Reid. Culley would remain in the position for over a decade alongside Reid, coaching with Pederson in Philadelphia from 2009-2012 as the Eagles' senior offensive assistant & wide receivers coach.
Culley and Pederson then each followed Reid to Kansas City, where they coached together for three years. Pederson spent that period as Reid's offensive coordinator, while Culley was the assistant head coach & wide receivers coach.
Considering Pederson's first staff with the Jaguars featured a host of former head coaches and assistant head coaches, Culley's ties with Pederson should make him a top contender for the role.
Matthew Harper
Another coach with Pederson ties, Matthew Harper is currently the assistant special teams coach with the San Francisco 49ers, but he has experience as a wide receivers coach. Harper was first hired by the Eagles under Chip Kelly as an assistant special teams coach.
Harper was retained by Pederson in his first season in 2016 and spent the first three years of Pederson's tenure as an assistant special teams coach before being named wide receivers coach in 2019 and continuing to assist with receivers in 2020. Pederson went through a revolving door of receiver coaches during his Eagles tenure, but Harper is one coach who he never had to fire.
Joe D’Orazio
The final name with Pederson ties is Columbia University Running Backs Coach/Offensive Run Game Coordinator Joe D'Orazio, who has ties with both Pederson and Reid.
D'Orazio got his first job in the NFL as a training camp operations intern under Reid in 2010, eventually following Reid to Kansas City in 2013 and 2014 as the Chiefs' senior assistant to the head coach, overlapping with Pederson for two years.
Pederson then made D'Orazio a part of his first NFL staff, hiring him as assistant Wide Receivers Coach/Offensive Quality Control Coach in 2016, with D'Orazio running the scout team offense each week. He has since spent time in the college ranks, but his several years with Reid could make him a natural fit to jump back into the NFL.
