EVP Search, Play-Calling and More: 5 Important Things From Doug Pederson's Introductory Press Conference
Saturday was the kick off to a new era in Jacksonville, with owner Shad Khan officially introducing Doug Pederson as the franchise's new head coach and leader. Gone are the days of Urban Meyer and here to stay are the days of Pederson and his new vision for the Jaguars' future.
Saturday's press conference opened the door to Pederson's regime, but it also helped close the door on some important topics in Jacksonville, ranging from the front office to the Jaguars' process in finding Meyer's replacement and ultimately hiring Pederson.
So, what were the most important things revealed at Saturday's press conference, whether by Baalke, Shad Khan or general manager Trent Baalke? From on-field matters to restructuring the front office, we break it all down here.
Doug Pederson plans to call plays in Jacksonville
One of the biggest reveals from Saturday is the fact that Pederson plans to call plays in Jacksonville. Pederson called plays throughout his tenure with the Eagles and even at times in Kansas City as offensive coordinator. One of the biggest appeals to Pederson as a coach is what he brings from a schematic and play-calling perspective, and it was made clear on Saturday this will carry over to Jacksonville.
"Calling plays. That's something I pride myself in. I will say right now that I want to call the plays. I want to put myself in position to help this football team. That's my -- not only lead the team but I've done that in my five years in Philadelphia, and I feel really comfortable doing that," Pederson said. "Listen, there are times when you get stuck in games and you turn things over. I'm going to be the first one to tell you that you get stuck as a play caller, and you turn it over to some different eyes. That's just where I'm at. I want to do it. I want to continue to do it and be successful at it."
There are a few reasons why this is important. One, it will help keep consistency for the Jaguars' offense throughout Pederson's tenure. The worry when a head coach isn't the play-caller is that the play-caller will eventually be hired by another team after doing a good job, but that won't ever be a worry in Jacksonville with Pederson at the helm. It also shows that Pederson has significant plans for Trevor Lawrence. Pederson would likely not be calling plays if he wasn't going to cater a system to his quarterback and work closely alongside him.
Shad Khan opens up to the likelihood of an EVP being hired
While the Jaguars have yet to hire Rick Spielman or anybody else to join the front office this offseason, Shad Khan did make it clear on Saturday that the team is looking at candidates to work both above Trent Baalke and below him, revamping the front office and scouting department after the development of each has stalled in recent years.
"I think both of those. We have filed request with the NFL for EVP, so we'll be doing that process," Khan said. "But definitely I think the interview process, I mean, we got great insights on how the organization under Trent is structured. So we need depth there, simple as that, experience. Both of those are what we're working on."
That makes it clear that one way or another, the Jaguars are looking to revamp how they do things in the front office. Khan went as far as to admit the Jaguars have gone by the wayside in this regard, with Khan directly calling the franchise flat. That doesn't mean that Baalke is going anywhere or that his role or title will change, but it does mean there will be new voices in the room when the dust settles.
"Well, one of the reasons we had the search was not only looking for the head coaching candidate but really to learn about other organizations. I mean, that's a by-product of the coaching search," Khan said. "Si some of the practices, some of the structure that works, we got a great insight into it. So strengthening the football operations, more staff, definitely, that's part of our goal. So I mean, we've had too flat an organization, and we want to add brainpower and more people to strengthen that."
What does that mean for Baalke's role? Baalke was asked that directly on Saturday, with the second-year general manager noting that it will free him up and allow him to focus strictly on adding to the team's personnel.
"It frees me up to focus on personnel. There's nothing more important in an organization than the personnel," Baalke said. "Whether that's players, coaches, scouts, support staff. It's all about the people. It will allow me to focus directly on that, more importantly free agency and the draft."
Trent Baalke got a vote of confidence from Shad Khan
Baalke was a big point of emphasis at Saturday's press conference. He was asked about his currently-building relationship with Pederson, who he will be working with for the first time, but he was also asked about Khan keeping him in place despite the uproar from fans and local and national media over the last month. Simply put, Baalke stated that he never doubted he would remain general manager.
"This was a tough month. Is that what you're saying? I knew all along that I was. I had a vote of confidence from Shad," Baalke said. "As we went into the process, I had a plan. There was no timetable to announce the next head coach. We went into it with a very open mind. We had a process. We stuck to it. At the end of the day, it was about getting it right. I truly believe we got it right with Doug. Have no doubt about it."
When asked why specifically Khan chose to keep Baalke, the Jaguars' owner said, "I want to have really the best people to help me, simple as that." Khan also dove into why he never made an official announcement on the decision to retain Baalke, noting that Baalke was still under contract and it isn't the team's strategy to announce when employees are staying in their roles.
"We have great employees who are under contract. So we're not going out announcing, hey, we're keeping their contracts or something like that," Khan said. "So if there is a change, obviously we'd announce it. Otherwise, it makes no sense."
Jaguars don't think this is an 'overnight fix'
One of the most interesting things Pederson said on Saturday was something that slightly contradicted comments the Jaguars have made in the past. Pederson stated the obvious when it came to rebuilding the Jaguars, noting that it won't be a radical and dramatic fix in short time. The Jaguars need to be rebuilt from the ground up, and Saturday was the first acknowledgment of this.
"This is not an overnight fix. This is not we're just going to snap our fingers and start winning football games. Our goal is to win football games, but we're going to do it one player, one coach, one person in the organization at a time," Pederson said. "And I'll challenge our team, and I'll challenge our fans, it's about ownership. It's about support. It's about leadership. And that's what I'll bring to the organization. I'm not going to settle for anything less than a championship caliber, championship caliber team."
Pederson wasn't the only one to note this, either. Baalke -- who was the team's general manager last year and the director of pro personnel the year before -- noted the Jaguars still have a long climb, albeit a climb that may not be starting at ground zero.
"In the situation we're in, I don't think it is an overnight fix. We're going to go through this process," Baalke said. "We're in a very good situation with a franchise quarterback in place. We've got a lot of ammunition with draft picks, 12 draft picks this year, 8 stored up for next year, and cap space second -- I believe second most in the league as we sit here today.
"So there's going to be some changes. In this league, if you look at what Cincinnati did, we can make these changes fairly quickly. We're going to go through it. The first thing is Doug and I sitting down with the rest of the staff once we get them in place and going through the roster and really putting a plan together for free agency, for the draft, and address the needs that we have."
Shad Khan says no candidates were offered the job or had reservations about the team's structure
One of the most important answers on Saturday came from Khan when he was asked directly about the team's process, whether any other candidates (such as Byron Leftwich) were offered the job before Pederson, and whether any candidates raised issues with the team's power structure. Khan noted that it was a long process but one that he felt he had to get right, with him more or less saying that the team never came as close to hiring a coach as they did with Pederson.
"No. I think we never got to the point of having them talk to our players at that point," Khan said.
"We had a process. We ran the process, and we had great candidates, but Doug is our guy. During the time, we interviewed over ten candidates. Some of them -- I mean, that really tells you the pool of candidates we had -- got other jobs, and that was great. But for me, this had to be exhaustive, but it had to be the right one. Some of the things that were really unique and different for me was to really get the insights of our players and insights of the alumni players. So they were -- part of it, it took a little bit longer, but we wanted to get their insight who we were talking to and then allowed them an opportunity, obviously, to talk to some of the finalists."
What about the perception of Baalke scaring some candidates away from Jacksonville? Khan answered to that as well, saying this wasn't expressed to him -- even if the question was asked with Baalke in the room.
"The candidates -- I mean, we had discussions on how we're structured, open, candid discussions, and there was no one -- and Trent was there," Khan said.
"Just like I think the harmony between the head coach and general manager, I think is very, very important. So these are open, adult discussions. So there was no one who said, okay, I don't want to be part of it. I think everyone continued the process."
