Jaguars' Tony Boselli Reveals Key Insights to GM Search, Finalists

Jacksonville Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli is hitting the ground running in his first week as an NFL front office member.

Boselli and the Jaguars officially kicked off their general manager search this week, putting in requests to interview candidates to replace former general manager Trent Baalke and work alongside new head coach Liam Coen.

Speaking with talkSPORT End Zone during Super Bowl week, Boselli revealed several key insights to the Jaguars' general manager search and the timing of their decision -- along with one name who has already emerged as a finalist.

"So first I'll say is we are not behind. We're going to be just fine because Ethan Waugh is our interim GM, and we are operating in business as usual. And Ethan Waugh is a finalist for the GM, and he is a heck of a personnel guy," Boselli said. "He's the assistant GM. He was in San Francisco before this. He's a pros pro. And so we are operating right now on schedule, on time, and we're moving forward to the combine, towards the draft and everything else. So that is not an issue. So I don't want any of our fans think, oh no, they gotta hustle, and they gotta, you know, rush around and make a quick decision. We're not gonna do that. We're gonna make the right going to make the right decision."

The Jaguars already have plenty of interviews scheduled for the role, and it appears the team will begin the interview process on the day after the Super Bowl. The timeline for the Jaguars to make a new hire is Feb. 28, while the NFL Scouting Combine begins a few days before then.

"And we're kicking off the first interviews next week on Monday, and we have nine external candidates that will go through virtual interviews," Boselli said.

"We have some internal candidates as well, Ethan being one of them, Ethan will be a finalist because he's earned that right. He has proven what kind of personnel person he is. And then once we go through the virtuals, we'll narrow it down to three to five that will include Ethan. And then we'll have in-person interviews hopefully the next week, all depending on scheduling. And then we'll come out with a decision."

Including Waugh, the Jaguars now have seven known candidates for the role vacated by ex-general manager Trent Baalke. The list includes: Waugh; New York Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown; Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham; Cincinnati Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown; and Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander; Los Angeles Rams director of scouting James Gladstone; San Francisco 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams.

With Boselli noting that the Jaguars have nine external candidates, this means there are currently three candidates who have not yet been announced via reports in the media.

In addition to the general manager search, the Jaguars made a key front office hire on Monday by naming Boselli as the team's new executive vice president of football operations. Boselli will now work hand in hand with the Jaguars' new general manager and head coach Liam Coen to form the Jaguars' newest power structure.

"Boselli will report to Khan, as does new head coach Liam Coen. The team’s general manager will also report to Khan once that hire has been made in the weeks ahead. The new general manager will then join Coen and Boselli to form a football leadership unit that will collaborate and align on all major football decisions, develop a long-term strategy for sustainable on-field success, and provide counsel to the team owner," the Jaguars said in a statement on Monday.

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