Shad Khan's Spokesman: Report that Jaguars HC Doug Marrone Will Be Dismissed Is Incorrect

Dianna Russini of ESPN reported that Doug Marrone has been told by the Jacksonville Jaguars that he will be fired after tomorrow's game, but owner Shad Khan's spokesman and Khan's son have disputed it.

A few weeks after firing executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, conflicting reports arose about whether Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone would be dismissed following Week 17. 

Dianna Russini of ESPN reported Saturday that the Jaguars told Marrone he would be fired following Jacksonville's (5-10) season finale vs. the Indianapolis Colts at TIAA Bank Field. But shortly afterward, Jim Woodcock, spokesman for Jaguars owner Shad Khan, disputed the report.

"Reports that Doug Marrone will be dismissed after Sunday’s game are 100 percent incorrect," Woodcock tweeted. "Owner Shad Khan will meet with his football staff, which includes coaching and personnel, midweek next week."

Tony Khan, son of Shad Khan and team co-owner and senior vice president of football technology and analytics, also went to Twitter to dispute ESPN's report this afternoon.

"On the other hand, imagine reading that 100% false report stating you’d been informed that you’d been fired when in fact nobody had ever told you that?" Khan tweeted.

It appears as if Marrone has a chance to even remain the coach past Sunday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pelissero says Marrone dined with owners Shad and Tony Khan last night and no decision has been made yet.

Marrone has led the Jaguars on the field since 2017, and was the team's interim head coach for the final two games of the 2016 season, as well. Jacksonville is 21-28 under Marrone.

Jacksonville went 10-6 and advanced to the AFC Championship game in 2017, the first year of the Coughlin-Marrone regime. The Jaguars won playoff games against the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers before losing 24-20 to the New England Patriots. 

Marrone's second season was marred by injuries and inconsistent quarterback play. He was retained following the 5-11 season, but starting quarterback Blake Bortles was released and the team signed free-agent Nick Foles to a four-year, $88 million contract (the largest deal in franchise history) before the 2019 campaign.

Foles has gone on to start just four games for Jacksonville due to a clavicle injury he suffered in Week 1 and a Week 13 benching. Marrone's team faced even more turnover after trading cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams for a haul of draft picks in Week 7.

Jacksonville was 4-4 through the first eight weeks of this season but has gone 1-6 since. The Jaguars have gone 0-3 against AFC South opponents in that span and have been outscored 214-89.