How Much Damage Did the NFLPA’s Stance Against Jaguars and Tom Coughlin Do?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The fines have rained down hard and often inside of TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville for the last three years. Under Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, the locker room has been run like a dictatorship. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost.
"In the off-season, players from other leagues come and ask me about the fines," cornerback A.J. Bouye said in the locker room Wednesday. "And they laugh at us cause they think I'm lying. But now that stuff like this is coming out, they know it is true we got fined for it."
Bouye is one Jaguars player who admitted Wednesday that he has been fined during his time with the Jaguars, an unspecified amount he said occurred once in 2017 due to a miscommunication. But he is far from the only one.
Some light was shed on grievances between Jaguars players and the team's upper-management earlier this week when the NFL Players Association took the franchise to task for fining players for things that should have been voluntary under the collective bargaining agreement.
The NFLPA laid out some jaw-dropping figures. They said over 25% of grievances filed the last two years have been filed against the Jaguars, a truly astounding figure. On top of that, former defensive end Dante Fowler was fined 25 times for a total of $700,000 alone in 2018 because he would not go to injury treatment sessions at the team's facility during the offseason - something the team can't force any player to do.
What kind of things have the Jaguars fined players for under Coughlin's rule? According to Mark Long of the Associated Press, running back Leonard Fournette was fined nearly $100,000 for sitting on the bench in Week 17 vs. the Houston Texans last year .... despite being inactive for the game.
Fines are so much a part of the culture of the Coughlin-led Jaguars that rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II said veterans told him about the possibility of fines when he arrived to the team after being drafted in April.
"A little bit. I’ve always been the type, kind of play it straight by the book. I don’t like giving away my money so I ain’t going to do anything to push it. But I think you learn as you go," Minshew said Wednesday.
"I heard a little bit of it. I’m not 100 percent sure of what all’s going on so I can’t say anything," Minshew said when asked about the NFLPA statement.
The final few lines of the statement are what has stuck the most with many. In just a few short paragraphs, which were sent to every player and agent in the NFL, the union came crashing down on Jacksonville's reputation as an organization and landing spot for future potential free-agents.
"The decision puts a stop to the blatant overreach by the Jaguars and emphasizes the voluntary nature of almost all football activities during the off-season. It should be noted that Jaguars players continue to be at odds with Jaguars management over their rights under the CBA far more than players on other clubs," the union said.
"In the last two years, more than 25% of the grievances filed by players in the entire league have been filed against the Jaguars. You as players may want to consider this when you have a chance to select your next club."
Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone addressed this aspect of the statement during his Wednesday press conference. Just how much damage could this do to the team moving forward if it hasn't already damaged it, is something Jacksonville will need to seriously consider, and Marrone knows it. He went as far as to say he will reach out to the NFLPA about it eventually.
“For me personally, I am one of those types of guys that eventually when I get done where my focus isn’t on trying to win games, I am probably going to reach out and ask, ‘Why?'" Marrone said.
"For me, I am one of those guys … I kind of overanalyze things and I try to get both sides and see what is going on before I form an opinion on things. When I first heard about it, that is how I felt. I am sure there is a reason for it. I do not think they just throw things out there. I would like to be able to talk to the NFLPA if they want to talk to me. They may not."
Defensive lineman Calais Campbell, a former free-agency signing who is also the team's NFLPA rep, said the purpose of the NFLPA is to protect and educate players. How does he perceive his time with the organization?
"For me, I have had a great time," he said Wednesday. "Jacksonville has been a great place for me. A great experience here."
How much damage the NFLPA's statement, and the fallout from the Coughlin marshal law era, will have on Jacksonville moving forward remains to be seen. For Jacksonville, the hope is more players will have the impressions Campbell has had.
But for that to happen, something has to change when it comes to fining players excessively for no other reason than to try to flex complete control over every aspect of their lives. Fining players like this does nothing to help teams win on Sunday's.
A few weeks ago, Coughlin stood in front of media and ranted about how everyone inside TIAA Bank Field needs to stand together and row in the same direction. But when the man delivering that message is also going against labor union rules to punish and alienate his players, how can that be accomplished?
The answer is simple: it can't be.
