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5 Takeaways From Doug Marrone's Firing: Failed Era of Jaguars Football Deserves Context

Doug Marrone is no longer the head coach of the Jaguars, leading to the question of what is next and what exactly went wrong.

For the first time since December 2016, Doug Marrone is not the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars made the decision to fire Marrone on Monday, one day after the team finished with a 1-15 record, the worst single-season record in franchise history. Marrone had been the lead man on the field for four-plus years, but three consecutive seasons with double-digit losses forced owner Shad Khan to make a change.

"I am committed and determined to deliver winning football to the City of Jacksonville. Realizing that goal requires a fresh start throughout our football operations, and with that in mind I spoke this morning with Doug Marrone to express my gratitude for his hard work over the past four seasons as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars," Khan said in a statement on Monday. 

"I’ll always appreciate Doug’s passion, grit and class, and I’m confident he will enjoy success in the next chapter of his career. As the search for our new general manager continues, now the quest begins to find a head coach who shares my ambition for the Jacksonville Jaguars and our fans, whose loyalty and faith are overdue to be rewarded. "

What does Marrone's exit mean for the Jaguars today and moving forward? How should his tenure be remembered? We give our views on this and other takeaways from his firing here.

This was an easy football decision to make and one that simply had to be made

For as much as Doug Marrone was liked inside TIAA Bank Field -- and even outside of it by media and fans -- this was a decision that frankly shouldn't have been a hard one to make. In fact, it would be surprising if Khan did have any difficulty pulling the trigger on firing Marrone. From a football sense, it was a move that had to be made to ensure the franchise could take its next step. Marrone was rarely ever the primary problem with the Jaguars, but results speak for themselves. As a result, this was an easy and necessary call by Khan.

Marrone went 25-45 as Jacksonville's head coach, but 12 of those wins came in the 2017 season. In the three seasons following, the Jaguars averaged just over four wins per season, finished last in the AFC South three times, and finished with double-digit losses each season. Marrone isn't as bad as a coach as the record says, but accountability needs to be handed down at some point. Not many coaches would get the amount of time to right the ship that Marrone got, either.

Shad Khan is hitting reset for the first time in nearly a decade 

The Jaguars have only one winning season in Shad Khan's tenure, but this marks the first time he is truly hitting the reset button on his team since he fired Mike Mularkey and subsequently Gene Smith following the 2012 season. That was done to give Khan a chance to direct the rebuild of the Jaguars. This decision ushered in Dave Caldwell as general manager and Gus Bradley as head coach. Eventually, Marrone joined the staff as offensive line coach in 2015. Caldwell would stay in place until Nov. 29, 2020, while Marrone would eventually become head coach for four-plus seasons. Khan took the team in a new direction with the hiring of Tom Coughlin as front office czar in 2017, but most of the team's changes under him have been half measures. 

But firing Marrone is the opposite of a half measure. There is one scenario where the Jaguars could have kept Marrone in 2021 and let the next general manager evaluate him. Considering Khan's reluctance to incite massive change in the past, this wouldn't have been outside the realm of possibility. But instead, Khan put the final nail in the coffin of the Jaguars' past. Whether the results change moving forward is yet to be known, but Khan is at last moving in a fresh direction.

Marrone's tenure was ultimately a failure, but history should remember the context of the Jaguars' organization during this era 

Marrone's failure to lead the Jaguars to on-field success has already been talked about in this space, but some context is desperately needed for why the Jaguars failed during his tenure. He wasn't an offensive mastermind who provided extensive value from a schematic standpoint. He had his issues at times with being too conservative, as well. But he deserves credit for keeping the Jaguars semi-afloat during the turbulent and heavy-handed reign of Tom Coughlin. 

Considering the semantics of a team having a head coach but also an all-powerful executive who can undermine said head coach, it isn't tough to say Jacksonville was a bad situation from a head coaching perspective in recent years. The reality is, the fallout of the Coughlin era could have been even worse than it already was had it not been for Marrone providing stability and calmness at the head coach position. 

Marrone's tenure was a failure; he had one fantastic season and three awful ones. But he was dealt a bad hand from the jump due to the dynamics of the franchise. That shouldn't be forgotten. 

Lack of quality quarterbacks, regression of defense defined Marrone's time

If there is anything that defined the Jaguars from 2017-2020, it is the lack of quality play. Marrone had six different quarterbacks start for him as head coach, with none of them exactly being the type you want to lead your offense each week. Blake Bortles, Cody Kessler, Nick Foles, Gardner Minshew II, Jake Luton and Mike Glennon all got chances as Jacksonville's starter, but none were the answer. In fact, none were even halfway close to being the answer. 

According to rbsdm.com, the six Jaguars starters finished with the following rankings in terms of EPA per play (out of 103 qualifying passers) since 2017: Luton (No. 89), Kessler (No. 85), Glennon (No. 72), Minshew (No. 44), Foles (No. 39), and Bortles (No. 36). Essentially, the Jaguars didn't even have a top-32 quarterback in the entire league during Marrone's time as head coach.

Marrone wasn't completely at fault for the lack of quality quarterback play; the blame there should go to the front office. But Marrone does deserve blame for the regression of the defense. The team saw their best defensive players leave via trades and free agency, but Marrone never made the logical move to replace Todd Wash as defensive coordinator. It was clear after 2018 that the Jaguars needed a new direction on defense, and it was even clearer after 2019. In both instances, Marrone stuck by a defensive coordinator who didn't earn his unwavering faith.

Three names who make the most sense to replace Marrone

With Marrone officially gone from the Jaguars' organization, the focus now shifts to how the Jaguars will replace him. It is clear the Jaguars are placing an emphasis on synergy within their organization moving forward, so the next head coach will have to be someone who can work hand-in-hand with Khan and the next general manager. With this in mind, here are three names we think make the sense. This is just us assuming who would make sense and not us reporting or projecting, for what it is worth.

Urban Meyer: Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. Hiring former Gators and Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer would be a bold and risky move, but he is a proven program builder (albeit at the college level) and would bring experience and excitement to Jacksonville's sideline.

Brian Daboll: There isn't a better head coach candidate to develop a young quarterback than Brian Daboll. His work with Josh Allen as Buffalo's offensive coordinator has been immaculate, with Allen improving by leaps and bounds over his years with Daboll. Buffalo's offense has reshaped itself as it has added more pieces, a credit to Daboll for being flexible with his scheme.

Robert Saleh: If the Jaguars aren't married to the idea of hiring an offensive-minded head coach, then San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh makes a lot sense. The former Jaguars linebackers coach knows Khan and how the organization operates, and his work with San Francisco's defense the last two seasons indicates he could be just the man to rebuild Jacksonville's defense.