Doug Pederson is out as Jacksonville’s head coach after the franchise’s “best team assembled” won just four games
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Doug Pederson is out as Jacksonville’s head coach after the franchise’s “best team assembled” won just four games.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Pederson on Monday, a day after a 26-23 loss at Indianapolis in overtime. It was the team’s 18th loss in its last 23 games. But Khan kept general manager Trent Baalke, a questionable decision that surely will affect who will become Jacksonville’s next coach.
Khan made the move with one year remaining on Pederson’s contract. The decision came more than five months after Khan stood in front of coaches and players and declared this the “best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever.”
“Winning now” was Khan’s edict as training camp opened and after he committed nearly half a billion dollars to to signing quarterback Trevor Lawrence, pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen and cornerback Tyson Campbell to long-term deals in the offseason. It was the most expensive stretch of roster building in franchise history.
And Khan has gotten little, if any, return on his investment.
“Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife Jeannie when that occasion arrives,” Khan said in a statement. “As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.
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