Pederson and Taylor: The Coaching Duo To Jumpstart the Jaguars' Offense

Can Doug Pederson and Press Taylor revitalize the Jaguars' offense in 2022 and beyond?

When Jacksonville Jaguars head  coach Doug Pederson hired Press Taylor to be his offensive coordinator earlier this week, he knew that he was getting a guy who was not only familiar with the offensive scheme but someone who is like-minded and able to take this offense to the next level with Trevor Lawrence and company.

Taylor, the younger brother of Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor, spent seven years with the Philadelphia Eagles, serving as an offensive quality control coach from 2013-2015, the assistant quarterbacks coach for the 2016-2017 season, and later got a promotion to be the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2019-2020 season. Taylor then spent the 2021 season with the Indianapolis Colts as a senior offensive assistant under Frank Riech.

Even though Press Taylor got his start with Chip Kelly at the helm, his chemistry with Pederson kept him with the Eagles and together they oversaw one of the most successful eras in Eagles history, resulting in the 2018 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. This relationship the two men had in Philadelphia influenced the reunion in Jacksonville. Pederson emphasized the importance of having a guy like Taylor in the building.

“He’s the type of guy that as I went through my tenure there in Philadelphia, he’s the kind of - - you always have the coaches you keep your eye on, and he was always one of those guys for me that I kept my eye on,” Pederson said. “I knew that one day I think he was going to be an offensive coordinator. I felt in my heart that he could be. I was going to eventually make him a coordinator possibly in Philadelphia, and things changed.”

Pederson described Taylor as highly intelligent, detailed, and organized. It was these qualities that led to Taylor taking on more responsibility with the offense and becoming Pederson’s guy to bounce ideas off of. For Taylor, having a guy like that around has meant a lot to him during his career.

“I’ve learned a lot from Doug,” Taylor said. “Over the course of - - we were together for five years. We kept in contact last year just throughout the season and all that just because I enjoy talking football with Doug. He’s a guy that I’ve been able to learn from a lot in terms of maybe it’s his experience as a player or his experience as a coach. He was a quality control, he was a quarterback coach, he was an offensive coordinator, now he’s a head coach. He’s kind of done everything that I’ve done or hope to do.”

Taylor noted that it’s important to learn from the people that have been in the same position before you and apply that information towards opportunities moving forward. These experiences with Pederson have helped his coaching career tremendously and played a big role in his success. Pederson’s mentorship role towards Taylor has been mutually beneficial, as both men have been able to grow together and achieve peak performance in their profession.

As a new era of Jaguars football is set to get underway, the Pederson and Taylor connection is vital for the success of the offense and the development of franchise cornerstone Trevor Lawrence. These factors will determine whether we see improvement on that side of the ball next season or if they take a step back.