Doug Pederson Explains How the Jaguars Need to Heal Following Urban Meyer
For Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, his job description goes past simply managing the Jaguars on the field 17 Sundays a year.
Instead, Pederson will have to dig a little deeper with his new team. He isn't just a coach, a strategist or a quarterback guru in Jacksonville.
He is also a healer.
"I do believe there has to be some kind of healing with the situation and everything that transpired last year because it’s just there’s a lack of trust that was broken, I think," Pederson said Friday ahead of the first day of Jaguars rookie minicamp.
"For me, it’s about gaining the trust back and they have to see it through me."
Pederson knows he isn't just replacing another head coach. He is replacing Urban Meyer.
Meyer, who ran uncontrolled through Jacksonville's organization throughout the 2021 season and created one of the most toxic environments in recent NFL history.
Meyer, whose failure in leadership has not only been the most notable among any NFL head coach in the last several generations.
Meyer, whose actions have led to former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo suing the Jaguars.
Meyer did a number on the Jaguars as an organization in 2021. He did far more damage than any one firing and explosive inside article can fix. He took a young and developing franchise, forced them to trust him, and then made sure he spent every single day tarnishing that trust and the development of every player on the roster.
"They have to see the transparency, the honesty. I’ve always said I’m going to be open with them and I want them to be open with me," Pederson said. "It just comes down to communication and having an open line of communication. We’ve been able to have some conversations that way in team settings and I think the guys have really embraced it and are doing well.”
That is why Pederson is in the role he is now. Meyer wasn't fired because of how bad of a coach he was, though the fact that he couldn't remember the names of his best players didn't help. He wasn't fired because of how bad of a leader he was, though his constant throwing assistants under the bus didn't help.
Meyer was fired because of the way he lied to the Jaguars organization every day of his tenure. He was fired because he did very real and tangible damage to the Jaguars. Wounds that Pederson is now in Jacksonville to mend.
“When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that?” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said via USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not possible.”
“It was not about wins and losses,” Khan said.
"I think when you know someone is not truthful, how can you be around someone, OK? We had Doug Marrone here four years. We had Gus Bradley here four years. I have nothing but the utmost respect and friendship with them. That’s why they got the time, because it wasn’t a matter about respect or truth. It was a matter of wins and losses over four years. This is much bigger than that.”
The Jaguars are hoping Pederson is everything they think he is in terms of his football acumen and his ability to manage an offense and locker room. But more importantly, the Jaguars are hoping he is the right man to heal the franchise after a year of abuse at the hands of Meyer.
So far, Pederson has met the challenge. He has earned rave reviews from the locker room, especially quarterback Trevor Lawrence and captain Shaquill Griffin. And to this point, the Jaguars locker room is earning rave reviews right back.
“It already has for me with this team. I think about just the numbers of guys that are here in the offseason program. It just shows the character and sort of who these guys really are and football’s important to them, winning is important to them," Pederson said.
"They’re willing to change and wanting to change and needing it to change obviously. It’s a credit to the players, the leadership of this football team that we have this many guys in our offseason program.”
