Will Jaguars HC Doug Marrone’s Meetings With His Staff Bring Changes?
In an offseason overflowing with important decisions and crossroads to travel, today will mark one of the most important and consequential periods for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a dissapointing 6-10 season, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone will at last meet with his staff and evaluate it for 2020.
When Marrone was retained by owner Shad Khan on Dec. 31 for a fourth season leading the Jaguars, the future of the rest of his coaching staff became a hot topic. Would Marrone keep each of his coordinators and all of his position coaches? The day Marrone was retained, it appeared as if his mind was far from being made up.
“I think it is something that is going to go back and be evaluated. I think, obviously, my focus and concentration at the end was to get our players in a better position to perform," Marrone said the day it was announced he would return. "I think I am going to go back through the same process of looking at the staff, seeing what we can do … I think part of being a good leader is being able to make sure that you have the people in the right position, and you can get the most out of them in that position with their strengths.
"First, it comes to me – kind of what we talked about here, some of the changes that I am going to make and what we do, not just for myself, but for the staff, everyone that touches these players. I think it is going to be a process of I am going to look at it as … The coaches are gone today, they will be back on the 13th, that Monday. That is when we will start meeting and going through that process.”
As Marrone said, today marks the day he will begin meeting with his staff and evaluating today. After waiting until two weeks after the season, Marrone likely was able to eliminate elements of knee-jerk reactions and emotional decisions, giving him more time to think clearly about the direction he wants the team to go in 2020.
Marrone has already overhauled his Jaguars' staff before, firing numerous position coaches and offensive coordinator Nate Hackett during and after the 2018 season. Marrone knew the message his staff was sending was no longer getting through to the players, and he needed new voices in the room.
Among the new voices were offensive line coach George Warhop, running backs coach Terry Robiskie, and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. But with the changes, a few things remained constants. Defensive coordinator Todd Wash, wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, and tight ends coach Ron Middleton.
One year later, it appears as if the new voices, and the ones who remained, did little to reverse Jacksonville's fortunes. Jacksonville won only one more game in 2019 than they did in 2018, and the team frequently put a product on the field that reflected poor coaching.
Slow starts, penalties, lack of technique and fundamentals -- there were issues on both sides of the ball as it pertains to coaching. If you are just going off of the 2019 season to make a decision, then McCardell and Robiskie were the lone assistants to see their position groups take strides compared to the previous season.
Jacksonville finished the season ranked near the bottom of most offensive and defensive statistics, a poor reflection on Wash and DeFilippo, though context is required. Jacksonville scored only 18.8 points per game (26th in NFL), but DeFilippo's starting quarterback was injured in Week 1 and he had to change his playbook to fit Garnder Minshew II's skill set.
As for Wash, the Jaguars' defense allowed 24.8 points per game (24th in NFL) and a staggering 5.1 rushing yards per attempt (31st in NFL). Wash's scheme was easily picked apart, whether it was by efficient passing offenses such as Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans, or by bottom-ranked passing offenses such as Joe Flacco and the Denver Broncos.
Wash had to compensate for injuries at linebacker and defensive tackle, along with the departure of stud cornerback Jalen Ramsey, but the fact that Wash couldn't adjust his scheme to the talent he had on the field is a concerning trend.
It remains to be seen if Marrone decides to fire Wash after the worst Jaguars' defensive season in several years. Wash, who has been in his role since 2016, is well respected by Marrone and has been Marrone's only defensive coordinator during his time in Jacksonville.
But sometimes, tough decisions have to be made. Sometimes, new voices are needed. With the season Jacksonville endured in 2019, logic would indicate that a new message and scheme defensively is what the Jaguars need, along with changes at a few other coaching positions.
But those decisions are Marrone's to make, and his only. Sooner than later, we will have his answer and know the fate of Wash and the others.
