Circuitous Jaguars Search Might End Up Where It Started — With Talented Interim GM

Team got late start after firing Trent Baalke but Ethan Waugh is strong in-house candidate, insider says

Jacksonville Jaguars assistant general manager Ethan Waugh talks with the media before the start of Friday's rookie minicamp session. The Jacksonville Jaguars held their first day of rookie minicamp inside the covered field at the Jaguars performance facility in Jacksonville, Florida Friday, May 10, 2024. | Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jacksonville’s circuitous search for its next general manager could end up right where it started, with the team removing the interim label from Ethan Waugh’s title.

Insider Jeremy Fowler reported Thursday that Waugh “is a strong in-house candidate for the job.” And why not? While the team kicked off interviews this week, Waugh is warming the seat for what will be one of the latest GM hires in league history.

Interim GM Ethan Waugh is a strong in-house candidate for the job, and #Packers VP Jon-Eric Sullivan is also a name I've heard as a potential candidate that could be in the mix. https://t.co/jOGl9pPH9B

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 13, 2025

Typically, teams hire general managers in January, giving them time to assemble staffs and collect critical intelligence on draft prospects at college all-star games and the combine. But when Jacksonville fired Trent Baalke on Jan. 22 in order to secure head coach Liam Coen, the Jaguars knew they’d have to settle for a later-than-normal GM search.

While Baalke hired Waugh as assistant general manager in May of 2022 and the two worked together for 12 seasons with the 49ers, Waugh’s career isn’t aligned exclusively with Baalke’s. Waugh made the transition from coaching the 49ers' personnel department in 2004, before Baalke arrived, then ascended to vice president of player personnel under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. Waugh helped assemble a 49ers nucleus responsible for teams that earned Super Bowl berths in 2019 and 2023.

Both Waugh and Coen played for head-coach fathers, and both are former college quarterbacks. And unlike Baalke, the new general manager would work closely with Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Boselli. Jacksonville’s new executive vice president of football operations, Boselli will report directly to owner Shad Khan – as will Coen and the new GM. Together, the team said, they’ll form a football leadership unit that spearheads strategy, makes major football decisions and counsels the owner.

Jacksonville began GM interviews with 49ers director of scouting Josh Williams, Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray and Rams director of scouting strategy James Gladstone. Three assistant GMs, Chad Alexander (L.A. Chargers), Brandon Brown (N.Y. Giants) and Ian Cunningham (Chicago), also appear on the list, while Trey Brown from the Bengals, Jon-Eric Sullivan from the Packers and former Titans GM Jon Robinson have drawn interest.

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