Jaguars HC Doug Marrone on New Offensive Assistants Jay Gruden and Ben McAdoo: ‘Those Guys Have Fit in Great’

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone made two notable additions to his offensive staff this offseason, bringing on former head coaches to design and call the offense and coach the quarterbacks. So far, the experiment has gone well in his eyes.

Marrone hired ex-Washington head coach Jay Gruden in January to be the team's new offensive coordinator, replacing the one-year tenure of John DeFilippo. Earlier this month, Marrone also tabbed ex-New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo as Gardner Minshew II's and Nick Foles' position coach.

"Those guys have fit in great," Marrone said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Their communication has been awesome. I’m excited about what we’ve been doing and where we’re going. There is an energy in our offices.”

Jacksonville's offense was marred by inconsistencies in 2019, finishing 26th in points per game and 20th in yards per game. Between dealing with the rotation of Minshew and Foles at quarterback throughout the season and one of the league's least successful red-zone offenses, the Jaguars' offense never found its footing and played a big role in the team's 6-10 record.

To find a solution to the Jaguars' issues on offense, Marrone has turned to Gruden and McAdoo, formerly ousted NFC East head coaches, to reverse troubling trends from 2019. Gruden will be asked to help the team find more of a run-pass balance on a consistent basis, as well as help the Jaguars sort out their scoring woes in the red-zone. McAdoo will help mold the quarterback room and will be instrumental in teaching whoever the Jaguars do eventually name the starting quarterback.

The two coaches each have years of past experience in the roles they will perform for the Jaguars, but it is also the head coaching experience of each that could benefit Marrone and his staff.

“When people are former head coaches, they bring [experience], they will be able to help me in the seat I’m in. They understand what’s going on," Marrone said. "I think those coaches like Jay or Ben, they have dealt with a lot of players, a lot of different people, dealt with a lot of coaches. They have managed a lot of people. I think those people are always going to help you if you handle things the right way."

Marrone, Gruden, and McAdoo will now be able to put their heads together and use all of their vast experiences to guide the Jaguars' offense through a pivotal 2020. Marrone noted that the Jaguars had to sort out the right roles, but now they are all geared up to prepare for the season and enter it with a plan.

"For me, it was just a matter of what do these guys want to do? They want to win for Jacksonville. They want to win for us right here. That is their whole focus and their whole goal," Marrone said.

"I look back a lot at not necessarily their coaching record and what they did, but for the job we are trying to hire them for. When you look at Jay and his play-calling ability and obviously what he did in Cincinnati and then you look at Ben and what he did in Green Bay and when he was hired in New York. We are talking about working with quarterbacks and with Jay, with coordinating. Those are the things that came into play."