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What Do the Jaguars’ New Offensive Hires Say About Doug Marrone’s Approach to 2020?

Here is why hiring experienced coaches to fill out Doug Marrone's staff indicates where his thinking is at for 2020.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars badly need to shake off two years of disappointment and learn how to win in 2020 or else heads will roll. This was presumed to be the case in 2019, but it is certainly the case now following a 6-10 season.

Owner Shad Khan knows it. General manager Dave Caldwell knows it. And as made evident by recent coaching staff changes, head coach Doug Marrone knows it as well as anyone.

"The message as the whole football organization as I met with them after our season was over, is the time to win is now," Khan told local media last Tuesday. "We have everything really in place with some of the changes to expect a good season."

In recent weeks Marrone has made two additions to his coaching staff, each coming on the offensive side of the ball. Out are quarterbacks coach Scott Milanovich (left Jaguars for a head coaching job in Canadain Football League) and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo (team parted ways with him shortly after 2019 ended). In are ex-NFC East head coaches Ben McAdoo and Jay Gruden. 

In Gruden and McAdoo, Marrone has made it clear what his emphasis is for his 2020 coaching staff: experience. Each has multiple years of experience as head coaches, offensive coordinators, and position coaches. While Milanovich and DeFilippo weren't especially new to the coaching scene, McAdoo and Gruden have done more and done it longer at this level. 

So, why did Marrone opt to go this route instead of hiring a young and upcoming play-caller and position coach? What Marrone said after he hired Gruden gives us the answer. 

"My experience has been that I have had people with me who have been first-time coordinators, and I think you go through a learning process and you’re getting better each year. There is a curve to that. One thing that going into it what I felt was I don’t have time for that [learning] curve," Marrone said after the Gruden hire was announced in late January. 

No time for that curve, indeed. Marrone knows his leash is short after he surprisingly was retained after 2019. His words reflect this, and his actions reflect it even more. 

With hiring Gruden and McAdoo, Marrone has indicated that even if some are skeptical about the Jaguars' willingness to change things up after failure, he doesn't think he is so safe. In Marrone's eyes, he has to do nothing but win. 

Between the two new coaches, Marrone has brought in experienced football minds who know what it is like to be in Marrone's position, while also having experience working with successful quarterbacks at the NFL level. With Jacksonville's season likely hinging on how quickly quarterback Gardner Minshew II develops, this was a paramount move for Marrone and the Jaguars.

While hiring former head coaches to key staff positions in a make-or-break season may make some head coaches feel threatened, Marrone has made it clear that he would be even more threatened if he brought on coaches who didn't have the capability of leading Jacksonville to wins quickly.

Jacksonville is 11-21 over the past two seasons, giving Marrone one winning season in three years as head coach. The Jaguars have finished in last place of the AFC South in consecutive years despite having a Super Bowl window in 2018 and signing the biggest free agent in franchise history in 2019. 

In most other franchises, this would have led to Marrone being on the chopping block. It hasn't yet, but Marrone can only have so many chances. 

Khan, Caldwell, and Marrone have all made it public knowledge that the Jaguars need to win more in 2020 than they have the past two seasons. There is no exact number or expectation, but they simply have to be better, and they all know it. 

And even if some don't believe the words, just look at the actions. Hiring two coaches with years of experience as head coaches speaks just as loud as anything the Jaguars' brass can say. 

Because of this, don't expect Marrone to take 2020 slow or without urgency. If the Jaguars fail in 2020, it won't be because Marrone wasn't trying to get the team in a win-now mode via coaching.