Gardner Minshew, Doug Marrone Stress the Jaguars Are Not Tanking in 2020

With the majority of the public thinking the Jaguars are throwing away the 2020 season on purpose, the Jaguars coaches and players continue to say otherwise.

Ever since the 2019 season ended — and even before that — the Jacksonville Jaguars have held a certified fire sale as they reshape their roster. Gone are key veterans and young building blocks from just a few years ago, and in are an influx of rookies and second-year players and an abundance of draft picks. 

Much like how the Miami Dolphins were pegged by the national media, and even some inside the league, as a team that was tanking in 2019, the Jaguars have now been pegged that team. To many, the Jaguars are actively trading away or releasing starters in hopes of better improving their draft position in 2021. The recent departures of Yannick Ngakoue, Leonard Fournette and Ronnie Harrison have all reinforced this idea to some.

While some moves have been curious, such as the trade of Calais Campbell, others were either logical or were the result of Jacksonville's internal issues and not due to them actively tanking. And much like the Dolphins did last season, the Jaguars have continued to publically stress that they are not actively tanking the 2020 season.

Head coach Doug Marrone had to specifically speak to these circumstances on Monday after the Jaguars made the surprising move to release Fournette. After the Jaguars have finished 11-21 in the last two seasons, Marrone narrowly kept his job this year, so it isn't surprising to see Marrone rationale that a tanking season would do him no good.

“I can’t speak for anyone, like I said I’m not going to speak for anyone else. But if that’s the case then the realization is that if that happens, I’m not going to be here. Right?" Marrone said Monday.

"At the end of the day, if I don’t win enough games or do enough with this team, I don’t foresee me still being employed. So I’m doing everything I can to make sure that we have the best team to win football games. I mean that’s as simple as I can be on it."

Regardless of Marrone's stance, no matter how logical it is, the Jaguars will need to prove on the field that they are not actively tanking, much like the Dolphins did last season. But even then, the Jaguars could potentially be seen as simply overachievers during a year in which they attempted to not be successful which, again, is the book on the Dolphins last season.

The Jaguars now hold 11 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, including four picks in the first two rounds and nine in the first five. Gone are all of their six pro bowlers from 2017, as well as every first round pick from before 2018. The only second round pick from before 2017 who is still on the roster is Myles Jack. Simply put, the Jaguars' roster has been completely overhauled in favor of draft picks and cap space, in part due to aging players and in part due to broken relationships with key players such as Jalen Ramsey and Ngakoue.

But even in the event the team's front office moves would potentially indicate tanking, it would be foolish for anyone to think the Jaguars coaching staff and roster are doing so. Perhaps the only person with more on the line than Marrone this season is quarterback Gardner Minshew, who has a rare opportunity to establish himself as a team's starting quarterback. 

Those chances don't come often for sixth-round picks. And what comes often even less are second chances after an initial flameout. Thus, Minshew needs the Jaguars to win more than almost anybody, so don't look for him to ever attach his name to a tanking mantra.

“Yeah, I think more than anything, I think it just shows that people are watching us very closely. You know, I think people see it from afar and see, ‘Oh they’re losing their biggest names.’ But that’s not how we feel," Minshew said Thursday when asked about the perception of the team tanking.

"And I mean realistically, I know if we’re tanking, Coach [Doug] Marrone, Dave Caldwell and [I] are probably going to be out of jobs. So, I know us three and a lot of those other guys in the locker room are not going to let that crap happen. So, I feel very confidently in everybody’s desire to win and that’s absolutely not anything that we envision happening.”

Until the Jaguars prove otherwise, most outsiders will continue to believe the team isn't trying to win. It will be up to Minshew, Marrone and the rest of those in the locker room and on the sidelines to change that perception once the games begin.