Jaguars Players Endorse Doug Marrone For Job Done During Turbulent Season

The Jacksonville locker room closed its ranks around Doug Marrone on Thursday.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — While one piece of the Jacksonville Jaguars brain trust was removed from his position this week, Jaguars players are hoping another piece will remain. 

Executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin was fired by Jaguars owner Shad Khan on Wednesday night, and Khan confirmed in a statement that general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone will report to him on an interim basis to end 2019. But some inside the TIAA Bank Field locker wonder if maybe that structure should remain even past this season. 

"Yeah, definitely," Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette said Thursday when asked if he would like to see Marrone return in 2020. "I think Coach Doug has done an excellent job with the players. Like I said, nobody is perfect. I think he has learned too -- communicating better with the players. Just trying to understand us. It is a different generation of guys, too. I think he has done a tremendous job with us, and he is very understanding this year. I love Coach Doug."

Under Coughlin's heavy-handed and disciplinarian approach, Marrone had to change his style a bit. He became the good cop to Coughlin's bad cop, and became a resource for players to come to when they had to vent. Because of this, Marrone has built strong relationships with his players and many of them still back him fully.

Marrone has also had to deal with issue after issue in 2019. From Yannick Ngakoue's training camp holdout to Nick Foles' Week 1 injury to Jalen Ramsey's trade request after a blowup with the front office, there has been no shortage of storylines and issues surrounding this Jaguars team. 

Despite that, Marrone has worked hard to keep his team together and focused on one goal. His players have taken notice of that effort, too. 

"I feel like he has done a great job because we have definitely faced adversity throughout OTAs, throughout the season. And I feel like Coach Doug, he is a great listener," cornerback D.J. Hayden said Thursday. "He listens to us and how we feel, and tries to take that into account. And man I like him a lot."

Would Hayden like to see Marrone back in 2020?

"I would. I would like to see our whole coaching staff back," Hayden said. "But you know, that is out of my control."

Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell has some of the most influence inside the locker room due to his status as a respected veteran, and his message is the same as many of his teammates. He didn't say whether he hopes Marrone and his staff are back in 2020, but he gushed about the job Marrone has done despite the team's 5-9 record.

"An incredible job. He has done an incredible job. And we have had a lot of noise," Campbell said. "So much stuff that we went through this year that you don’t typically go through in the season, and he has done an incredible job keeping guys focused.

"That is impressive. He is a very good coach."

While many gave Marrone a vote of confidence on Thursday, other players also pointed out the obvious when it comes to Marrone and his job status: they don't have much of a say. 

"I don’t know. I don’t do the hiring around here," defensive tackle Abry Jones said. "If Mr. Khan feels that Coach Coughlin played a big role in what Coach Marrone was doing, then he might be able to do that, but I don’t hire at the end of the day."