Todd Wash Shoots Down Any Myles Jack Role Changes: ‘He Is Our Mike Linebacker’

Jacksonville Jaguars middle linebacker Myles Jack has faced a lot of criticism in 2019. From a Week 1 ejection due to fighting to uneven play against the run, Jack has become an embattled figure to many outside of TIAA Bank Field.

But that is not the sentiment inside the confines of the stadium. While some have pondered the question of if the fourth-year player should move to outside linebacker due to his issues taking on blocks and maintaining a consistent gap discipline, Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash has not.

"No," Wash said during his Thursday press conference when asked if he has thought about moving Jack to outside linebacker. "No, he is our Mike linebacker."

While the reluctance to move Jack from middle linebacker to outside linebacker may confuse some since Jack has seemed like an odd fit more often times than not during his 26 starts at the spot since 2018, it makes sense.

For instance, Jack has never once played weakside linebacker for Jacksonville since he was drafted to the Jaguars in 2016. He played strongside linebacker for the entirety of his rookie season, often times playing on the line of scrimmage. In 2017, Jack's best season as a pro, he played strongside linebacker on run downs and then played middle linebacker on third downs. Since then, he has played only middle linebacker.

So in Jack's 58 career games as Jaguar, he has been either a strongside linebacker or a middle linebacker. For all of the calls to move Jack to weakside linebacker, he simply has never once played the position.

For Jack, the solution is to simply play better inside. The Jaguars made him the NFL's third-highest paid inside linebacker before the season started, giving him a four-year, $57 million contract with $33 million in guaranteed money. As head coach Doug Marrone noted this week, the entire defense needs to get better at taking on and shedding blocks, Jack included.

"Well, I think it’s like everything else, there are times that we just have to keep hustling, working, getting off of blocks better. Taking on blocks and getting off of them," Marrone said. "I think the one thing you see is that we had guys coming up and guys covering us up last week, and we were unable to get off blocks. So, I don’t know if it’s a matter of athleticism, or whatever it may be, but I think it’s just a matter of, ‘Hey, when someone’s coming at us, you have to take them on and get off.’ And that’s the one thing we’re not doing very well. The common theme has been when we haven’t been able to stop the run, we haven’t been able to get off blocks, or we haven’t been in the right spot and a lack of tackling.”

Wash was asked Thursday about how Jack has been playing the run and taking on blocks, with the question being if he relies on his athleticism too much. As Wash would explain, Jack isn't being asked to be a downhill linebacker in Jacksonville's scheme.

"He is on an edge a lot but that is what is going to happen in zone schemes. Within our system, not that everybody knows, but if our linebackers just run downhill, we are going to get killed in the passing game," Wash said Thursday. "It is just the way we play our system. It is the way Gus (Bradley) plays it, it is the way (Robert) Saleh plays it, it is the way they play it in Seattle. Your linebackers can’t just get downhill. A lot of people don’t understand that; a lot of people don’t understand football, to be honest with you."

"So our scheme allows them to go east and west but when he does see it, we need to see our linebackers getting downhill better than we have," Wash continued. "But we are not going to see them just running downhill. That is not our system."

As long as Wash is in charge of the Jaguars' defense, do not expect Jack to be moved from his middle linebacker spot. Wash and the Jaguars have invested too much time and resources into his development at the position and, for now, have nobody else to take over for him.