Robert Saleh Would be Massive Mistake for Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars may be finishing up their coaching search, as things will likely heat up now that Ben Johnson's Detroit Lions have been eliminated from the playoffs.

But will the Jaguars end up going in a disappointing direction?

It appears that may end up happening, as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated has revealed that Saleh is one of the favorites to land Jacksonville's head-coaching job.

My question is, why?

Let me start by saying that this is not an indictment on Saleh's coaching acumen. He is obviously a defensive genius, as evidenced by his work with the San Francisco 49ers. And I understand that Saleh has worked for the Jaguars before.

But reread that paragraph. What is Saleh? A defensive genius.

Jacksonville doesn't need that. That may sound strange considering that the Jaguars finished 31st in defense this past season, but finding a defensive wiz is not what the team needs.

Right now, the single most important goal for Jacksonville is developing and cultivating Trevor Lawrence. You know, the quarterback Shad Khan and Trent Baalke just paid $275 million in spite of the fact that he has only had one truly impressive season since entering the NFL in 2021.

Let's set the record straight with Lawrence: he is incredibly talented. He was chosen with the No. 1 overall pick for a reason, and he was largely viewed as a generational prospect coming out of Clemson.

However, Lawrence was terrible during his rookie campaign. He was very good for the second half of 2022, but was pedestrian in 2023 before missing seven games in another average 2024 season.

Are the Jaguars really that confident that Lawrence will be able to progress without an offensive guru like Johnson or Joe Brady at the helm?

It's true that at some point, Lawrence will need to do it himself. I get that. But it would definitely help him to have a brilliant offensive mind at his disposal, and Saleh is not the answer in that regard.

Saleh may very well end up being a good head coach somewhere, regardless of the fact that he failed with the New York Jets (which was hardly his fault). But it shouldn't be in Jacksonville.

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