Jaguars Head Coach Search: 5 Observations on Search Following Divisional Round
The Jacksonville Jaguars should have their head coach sooner than later thanks to a Divisional Round that saw several top candidates eliminated from the playoffs. But what do the results of this weekend's game really mean for the Jaguars?
From Byron Leftwich and Nate Hackett to the patterns the Jaguars' process has revealed thus far to which high-ranking Jaguars member is impressing, we weigh in with our five thoughts on the Jaguars' process following the second round of the playoffs.
We did similar last week following the Wild Card round, but the picture is even clearer this week as the Jaguars' search continues to wind down and inches closer and closer to its conclusion.
So, which coaches stood out this week and what does it mean moving forward? We break it all down below.
Was Byron Leftwich's performance encouraging or a red flag?
Much like the Packers on Saturday, Tampa Bay opened up Sunday's game against the Rams with a pathetic offensive effort. Three of Tampa's first four drives ended in a punt, while they turned the ball over on downs on two poor drives in the game's final quarter. For much of the game, the Rams' defense was in complete control and was able to push around Byron Leftwich's unit. The Buccaneers did manage to still put up 27 points, but was Sunday a red flag for Leftwich?
I personally do not think so because this was a game the Buccaneers' offense was always at a disadvantage coming into. The Buccaneers' offensive line allowed 25 pressures as Aaron Donald and Von Miller had their way with the beat-up Tampa Bay front, and it was clear that Brady was never able to be comfortable due to the pressure. With this in mind, I thought Tampa's game plan did a good job of trying to attack the middle of the field and get the ball out of Brady's hands quickly due to their personnel. The results weren't great and the process was ugly, but Leftwich's performance against the Rams wasn't one that should concern anyone -- the Rams were simply the better team.
Why Nathaniel Hackett's stock didn't change this week despite a bad Packers' offensive performance
The Packers' offense looked truly anemic for every drive outside of their opening one on Saturday, but I am not sure that works against Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and his qualifications as a head coach. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' patchwork offensive line had bad nights as the Packers scored just 10 points and failed to convert first downs in key moments, but Hackett's candidacy for the Jaguars and other teams should still be as intact as it was entering the game due to his role on the team and coaching staff -- a role that primarily deals with the red-zone and little else in regards to the Packers' play-calling.
With that said, it also speaks volumes that no matter what the Packers did on Saturday, Hackett would look the same in terms of strength of candidacy. His role with the Packers is as insignificant as any offensive coordinator in the NFL because it is Matt LaFleur's show on offense. Does hiring a coordinator whose best years in the NFL have come when his role matters the least really inspire that much confidence? I don't believe so, but it does at least show that the Packers' poor performance on Saturday doesn't hurt him much.
Todd Bowles' last-minute play-call puts a damper on his candidacy
There should never be a single game that shows if a coach is ready to be a head coach or not. Sample sizes are important, especially in the game of football. With that said, I am still a bit baffled by Todd Bowles' final play-call against the Rams in Sunday's 30-27 loss. After Tampa Bay staged a miraculous comeback in the second-half, all Tampa Bay had to do was let the Rams -- who had no timeouts -- complete a pass in bounds and go to overtime.
Instead, Bowles called a blitz and sent six rushers at Matthew Stafford and left the rest of his defense in man coverage. This led to single coverage on Cooper Kupp, who beat the Bucs' coverage for a 44-yard gain and set up the game-winning field goal. One play-call does not define Todd Bowles, but it does give me some reservations that in such a big moment, he went with such a left-field play-call.
Which Jaguars official has impressed in the search up to this point
The Jaguars haven't exactly had a normal search process up to this point by many standards. Trent Baalke has remained on board and has helped do the legwork on the coaching search even though owner Shad Khan has yet to give him a public endorsement and state that he is being retained. With so many coaches and agents around the league vehemently against the idea of working alongside Baalke, that makes the entire process a bit jaded.
With that said, there has been a popular notion around the league that Jaguars' co-owner Tony Khan has been a bright spot in the search and has impressed with his knowledge, energy, and his vision for the team and how to move forward throughout the search. While that doesn't mean that Khan is gaining any more power than he has previously had, it is a good sign for the Jaguars that the potential future owner and operator of the franchise (whenever Shad Khan gives up the reigns, if that does indeed happen) has left a strong impression on the NFL.
Thanks to this weekend's results, the search process should now be expedited
The Jaguars have always marched to the beat of their own drum under owner Shad Khan -- they won't their process be dictated by how other teams throughout the league are operating. If that would have meant dragging this search on for another month due to the playoffs, I think the Jaguars would have been perfectly fine with doing so, even as seven other teams conduct their own head coach searches. With that said, there is nothing about the Jaguars' process thus far that suggests this weekend won't speed things up a bit.
Before this weekend's games, the only coach the Jaguars had reached out to about conducting a second interview was Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. This is despite the Jaguars having a chance to talk to coaches such as Jim Caldwell, Doug Pederson, and Kellen Moore for a second time.
Why else would the Jaguars not talk to more coaches for a second interview unless their shortlist of candidates were coaching this past weekend? The Jaguars had three candidates coaching in the second round of the playoffs in Leftwich, Hackett, and Bowles, and it is likely that both Leftwich and Hackett are among the favorites to land the job. With each of them now available completely, I think we see the Jaguars' search wrap up in the next seven days as opposed to the next couple of weeks.
