REPORT: Shocking Coaching Candidate Could Emerge for Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars' coaching search seems to be winding down, as it looks like they have narrowed things down to a few probable names.

But who will replace Doug Pederson?

Ben Johnson and Joe Brady have generally been viewed as the top potential candidates to take the job, but could things change in the midnight hour?

Mike Sando of The Athletic ran through some possible fits for the Jaguars, and he mentioned one very surprising name among his list of candidates: Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

More specifically, he named Fangio as a "wild-card hire" for Jacksonville.

"Fangio worked with [Trent] Baalke in San Francisco. He also interviewed with Baalke and the Jaguars in 2022, when the team was looking at him as a potential head coach or defensive coordinator," Sando wrote. "The Eagles jumped from 30th to second in defensive EPA per play after hiring Fangio this season, while also going from fourth-oldest to fourth-youngest in snap-weighted average age on that side of the ball."

But here's the question: would the Jaguars really bring in a defensive-minded coach even though their primary concern is surely cultivating quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who they handed a $275 million extension last offseason?

Yes, Jacksonville had a plethora of issues defensively in 2024, so hiring someone like Fangio would certainly help in that regard. As Sando noted, it has worked wonders for the Eagles.

However, when you are trying to get a young quarterback—and one who was a former No. 1 overall pick, I might add—on track, it's probably best to land an offensive guru, which is why the Jaguars have been heavily linked to Johnson and Brady.

Jacksonville is probably not as bad as its 4-13 record indicated this past year. The Jaguars actually have numerous foundational pieces on both sides of the ball and represent a rather attractive destination because of it.

To be clear, Jacksonville has issues to address. It needs to acquire more weapons for Lawrence, and it absolutely must patch up some holes defensively.

But every team in search of a new coach has major problems that it has to rectify. The Jaguars are no exception there, and again, they may ultimately be the most desirable landing spot.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.