Jaguars Coaching Search Continues This Week
There is just one game left in the Jacksonville Jaguars' season, but the team has already been preparing to make its biggest decision of the offseason.
Last week, the interview process began for the Jaguars and the front office held an in-person interview with former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson for several hours at Shad Khan's home on Thursday, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
The Jaguars have also expressed interest in Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator and former quarterback Byron Leftwich, but he is waiting until after the season before considering accepting a different position.
“Obviously, as a coach anytime your name is thrown around, I guess it is what it is, but it really means nothing at this point. It really means nothing at this point and I kind of think it’s disrespectful to the guys that you really work with every day. That’s really how I view that,” Leftwich said earlier this week.
“If I’m ever fortunate enough to be in that situation that’s when I’ll handle it, but as of right now, I’m really focusing on the opponent we’re about to play and getting us ready to try and play our best football.”
Leftwich's co-worker and Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, however, is not waiting until the end of the season and is expected to undergo a virtual interview this week. Bowles served as the head coach of the New York Jets from 2015-18. Bowles will join Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore on the virtual interviewee list this week. Moore, 33, would be the youngest NFL head coach if hired.
There are other candidates, including Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who served as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach from 2015-20 and Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was the Jags' OC from 2016-18.
The Jags are proving with their diverse list of head coach options that they aren't looking for a specific archetype and they are open to the idea of a veteran head coach or a rookie with a smart football IQ that could help revolutionize the game. It's the smart approach at this stage of the process and with only a potential limited number of openings this offseason, playing the long game with this search is the ideal move.
"Let's go and finish strong. We have one more week left. I don't want to hear -- no one really has, but I don't want to hear anything about offseason. We've got a week left," Trevor Lawrence said on Sunday. "Let's put everything we have into this and feel good about it. You want to go in the offseason feeling like you left everything out there. That's for one."
