Here is Trent's basic to-do-list. Is he capable? 

1. Land a capable HC that can build T-Law an offense he'll thrive in
   
2. Get that offense a capable OL - he has recently added Cleveland, Harrison and Morse who are all capable enough - but Little at LT is an injury-prone question mark, and RG would benefit from adding a clear front-runner to start that will aid our short yardage issues. 
   
3. There are some intriguing guys at DT right now who may step up, but it certainly seems a stud interior rusher could rapidly change our fortune on defense. Armstead just came out saying he wants to play the middle for the Jags in 2025. That will help. Maason Smith started to flash late in his rookie year, so what will he be in '25? Who would you target to help this group? 
   
4. BTJ was a wise choice and has added a boon to our offense despite a bevy of other issues around him on 2024.  However - the team lacks another outside receiver capable of keeping defenses honest consistently. If the team retains both Engram and Kirk, this issue is somewhat assuaged, but I'd still love to see Baalke acquire a Z receiver that is much better than what we got from Gabe Davis in 2024. 
   
5. SECONDARY -  this is the big one, IMO. The other position have seen Baalke land some degree of talent in the past. Even if DT is a bit of a question mark there. 
   As far as I can tell - Baalke has drafted Tyson Campbell and Jarrion Jones  + he signed Darious Williams (and let him walk inexplicably).  Other secondary acquisitions have been bad.  Though - it appears Nielsen's scheme and deployment may have made that all appear much worse than reality in 2025. A good outside CB+ a good FS and a solid SS would be a boon for this team. 
   

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All said - My only real concerns are Baalke's ability to find starters for the secondary and a DT that can disrupt the pocket. (even just one CB and one Safety would make a huge difference)
He hasn't proven adept in filling those areas with talent thus far and he will need to be. 

The HC thing is big too, but he's not making that call on his own.
 I'm more concerned with what input the HC has on the personnel issues listed above since we have no idea who that will be yet. I believe Pederson was part of the problem in addressing the OL in 2022 and 2023. Hoping the next HC is not a repeat of that. 

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Pretty much in unison with much of the above concerns. Just boils down to value and when and where in the draft come April. Some of these issues can be addressed via free agency as well.

I wouldn't hold my breath though that he gets any of this right. Much like ownership, he'll have a half [BLEEP] approach to how he addresses these needs or a lame duck backfilling process.

I am 100% in agreement on finding a WR opposite of BTJ for 2025 and beyond, a new RG, a viable LT option and a Safety and CB from this draft coming up. I think DT will get very minimal work applied to it this summer. Especially with Baalke still here and with the investments he already made.

RG, LT, WR and S need to be prioritized though. I would also say EDGE is an absolute must that needs to be resolved. There's nobody beyond Hines-Allen or Walker at the moment that instill confidence in this rotation to hit the QB.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

He can retire and get out of the way. Is that corn? Reasonable your outlines are good but history is not on his side.

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Birth of the Franchise - November 30, 1993
Death of the Franchise - November 29, 2011

Fans deserve better. Thanks for all the good times too many are in the past.

IM NOT SEEING " WE GOTTA GET BIGGER AND STRONGER" OR THE TASK I GOT FOR HIM. I'D GO WITH BLANK # 2, BUT I THINK WE'VE ALL SEEN ENOUGH # 2 FROM THE GUY THAT'S KEEPING HIM AROUND.

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Why is success being measured by being a playoff contender. That is the problem with Shad and his current mentality.

Success should be a Super Bowl win. That will never happen given the franchises current mentality.

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Why is success being measured by being a playoff contender. That is the problem with Shad and his current mentality.

Success should be a Super Bowl win. That will never happen given the franchises current mentality.

No one defined playoff contender as "success" 

I merely asked if you thought Baalke could achieve that much. 

Given the fact that the Jags have registered 20 of their 30 seasons in existence under the .500 mark - I have zero problem seeing "playoff contender" as a reasonable goal. 
Of course everyone wants to win the Super Bowl every year. 
Can't do that unless you can first get to the playoffs and win a damn game, so... yeah, I want the Jags to be a playoff contender.

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I'd like to stay positive, but let's face it, Baalke is not capable of drafting properly to make us a contender. I'm glad Doug is gone, he's been a terrible HC with no ability to develop most of our players, or even recognize who to play and at what position.

But the fact that Baalke remains means we're in big trouble. Baalke hiring the next HC is a disaster, unless the HC he hires can convince our dear owner that Baalke just as big a problem as Doug was.

I have less than no faith that things will get better. But I do still have hope enough to not completely give up. Maybe enough of the HC candidates tell Shad they want to bring in a new GM that Shad wakes the [BLEEP] up. Stranger things have happened.

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Why is success being measured by being a playoff contender. That is the problem with Shad and his current mentality.

Success should be a Super Bowl win. That will never happen given the franchises current mentality.

No one defined playoff contender as "success" 

I merely asked if you thought Baalke could achieve that much. 

Given the fact that the Jags have registered 20 of their 30 seasons in existence under the .500 mark - I have zero problem seeing "playoff contender" as a reasonable goal. 
Of course everyone wants to win the Super Bowl every year. 
Can't do that unless you can first get to the playoffs and win a damn game, so... yeah, I want the Jags to be a playoff contender.

Because if the aim is to be a contender for the playoff every year, it means sneaking in as the 2nd/3rd WC is considered a success/overachieving. It means they won't be making the playoffs a lot of the time, but because they were eliminated in Week 17/18, they met expectations. You could easily argue that 2 of 4 Baalke seasons have been successful by that metric.

It is basically Tomlin since 2011. I get that seems like an amazing result for this franchise given the last 15-20 years. But without the Steelers pedigree and prior SB success, Tomlin and the Steelers 14 years would be colored in a very different light. 

Plus Khan and many fans seem to believe that this team has a potential needle mover at QB. When you think you have that guy, you can't play it safe and aim to be contenders for the playoffs. Making the playoffs should be the floor. 

Now if Khan/Baalke/FO actually do not have that kind of faith in Lawrence and view him as like an Adam Smith or Kirk Cousins level player. Then their goal setting makes more sense. But there has not been any real indication of that viewpoint.

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The best team every assembled

Bigger faster stronger

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No one defined playoff contender as "success" 

I merely asked if you thought Baalke could achieve that much. 

Given the fact that the Jags have registered 20 of their 30 seasons in existence under the .500 mark - I have zero problem seeing "playoff contender" as a reasonable goal. 
Of course everyone wants to win the Super Bowl every year. 
Can't do that unless you can first get to the playoffs and win a damn game, so... yeah, I want the Jags to be a playoff contender.

Because if the aim is to be a contender for the playoff every year, it means sneaking in as the 2nd/3rd WC is considered a success/overachieving. It means they won't be making the playoffs a lot of the time, but because they were eliminated in Week 17/18, they met expectations. You could easily argue that 2 of 4 Baalke seasons have been successful by that metric.

It is basically Tomlin since 2011. I get that seems like an amazing result for this franchise given the last 15-20 years. But without the Steelers pedigree and prior SB success, Tomlin and the Steelers 14 years would be colored in a very different light. 

Plus Khan and many fans seem to believe that this team has a potential needle mover at QB. When you think you have that guy, you can't play it safe and aim to be contenders for the playoffs. Making the playoffs should be the floor. 

Now if Khan/Baalke/FO actually do not have that kind of faith in Lawrence and view him as like an Adam Smith or Kirk Cousins level player. Then their goal setting makes more sense. But there has not been any real indication of that viewpoint.

You're conflating whatever you seem to believe Khan "believes" or what his goals are with a simple question about whether or not Trent Baalke can improve this team enough to get into the playoffs and win a postseason game. 

You can go on and on about what goals are or aren't good enough for your sensibilities, but I'm just trying to gauge fan opinions on the GM's ability. I wasn't; addressing that stuff at all. 

Seems silly.

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Here is Trent's basic to-do-list. Is he capable? 

1. Land a capable HC that can build T-Law an offense he'll thrive in
   
2. Get that offense a capable OL - he has recently added Cleveland, Harrison and Morse who are all capable enough - but Little at LT is an injury-prone question mark, and RG would benefit from adding a clear front-runner to start that will aid our short yardage issues. 
   
3. There are some intriguing guys at DT right now who may step up, but it certainly seems a stud interior rusher could rapidly change our fortune on defense. Armstead just came out saying he wants to play the middle for the Jags in 2025. That will help. Maason Smith started to flash late in his rookie year, so what will he be in '25? Who would you target to help this group? 
   
4. BTJ was a wise choice and has added a boon to our offense despite a bevy of other issues around him on 2024.  However - the team lacks another outside receiver capable of keeping defenses honest consistently. If the team retains both Engram and Kirk, this issue is somewhat assuaged, but I'd still love to see Baalke acquire a Z receiver that is much better than what we got from Gabe Davis in 2024. 
   
5. SECONDARY -  this is the big one, IMO. The other position have seen Baalke land some degree of talent in the past. Even if DT is a bit of a question mark there. 
   As far as I can tell - Baalke has drafted Tyson Campbell and Jarrion Jones  + he signed Darious Williams (and let him walk inexplicably).  Other secondary acquisitions have been bad.  Though - it appears Nielsen's scheme and deployment may have made that all appear much worse than reality in 2025. A good outside CB+ a good FS and a solid SS would be a boon for this team. 
   

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All said - My only real concerns are Baalke's ability to find starters for the secondary and a DT that can disrupt the pocket. (even just one CB and one Safety would make a huge difference)
He hasn't proven adept in filling those areas with talent thus far and he will need to be. 

The HC thing is big too, but he's not making that call on his own.
 I'm more concerned with what input the HC has on the personnel issues listed above since we have no idea who that will be yet. I believe Pederson was part of the problem in addressing the OL in 2022 and 2023. Hoping the next HC is not a repeat of that. 

Your list of priorities during this off-season is very reasonable. No doubt that the new head coach may decide to release players like Kirk and Engram if he has replacements in mind. Personally, I would keep both of these players since the team has critical needs at other positions so why add to this list by releasing 2 above average players. If I was to play general manager, this would be my plan:

1. Sign a free agent cornerback as this group is vey deep and an upgrade from Darby should not be hard to find. The team has about $50 million in cap space and this position would be my top priority. 

2. Determine if Darnell Savage should remain a starting safety. If not, sign someone like Cam Bynum who had a very solid season for the Vikings.

3. The first draft pick should be Mason Graham- as long as he performs well at the Combine including his interview. Graham gets the edge over Will Johnson, the very talented cornerback from Michigan since the cornerback position will be addressed in free agency.

4. Select an interior offensive lineman with pick 37 in the 2nd round. This needs to be a guy who is very good at run-blocking with a mauler mentality. There should be at least 2 or 3 players who fit this description including Tate Ratledge. I'm also a fan of Wyatt Milum who is less likely to be available than Ratledge. He can also play tackle- if necessary.

5. The remaining draft choices need to address another pass rusher as well as additional help on the offensive line. If they decide to part ways with Kirk, a receiver should be added as early as round 3 or in free agency. 


It is my hope that Shad Khan "falls in love" with Ben Johnson during his interview(s) and hires him as the head coach- preferably on the condition that Khan finds a new General Manager.

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Because if the aim is to be a contender for the playoff every year, it means sneaking in as the 2nd/3rd WC is considered a success/overachieving. It means they won't be making the playoffs a lot of the time, but because they were eliminated in Week 17/18, they met expectations. You could easily argue that 2 of 4 Baalke seasons have been successful by that metric.

It is basically Tomlin since 2011. I get that seems like an amazing result for this franchise given the last 15-20 years. But without the Steelers pedigree and prior SB success, Tomlin and the Steelers 14 years would be colored in a very different light. 

Plus Khan and many fans seem to believe that this team has a potential needle mover at QB. When you think you have that guy, you can't play it safe and aim to be contenders for the playoffs. Making the playoffs should be the floor. 

Now if Khan/Baalke/FO actually do not have that kind of faith in Lawrence and view him as like an Adam Smith or Kirk Cousins level player. Then their goal setting makes more sense. But there has not been any real indication of that viewpoint.

You're conflating whatever you seem to believe Khan "believes" or what his goals are with a simple question about whether or not Trent Baalke can improve this team enough to get into the playoffs and win a postseason game. 

You can go on and on about what goals are or aren't good enough for your sensibilities, but I'm just trying to gauge fan opinions on the GM's ability. I wasn't; addressing that stuff at all. 

Seems silly.

If that is the target, then of course he can do that. In fact, he has already done that.

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You're conflating whatever you seem to believe Khan "believes" or what his goals are with a simple question about whether or not Trent Baalke can improve this team enough to get into the playoffs and win a postseason game. 

You can go on and on about what goals are or aren't good enough for your sensibilities, but I'm just trying to gauge fan opinions on the GM's ability. I wasn't; addressing that stuff at all. 

Seems silly.

If that is the target, then of course he can do that. In fact, he has already done that.

Yes, but most fans blame him for not being able to get back there the past two seasons

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Why is success being measured by being a playoff contender. That is the problem with Shad and his current mentality.

Success should be a Super Bowl win. That will never happen given the franchises current mentality.

You can’t win the Super Bowl if you don’t make the playoffs.

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Baalke has a tall order and a ton of [BLEEP] to address this spring, summer. I just don't see it all happening. We're going to need a spark on defense and offense. Just looking at the numbers across the board. This team had minimal impact.

Bigsby was the leading rusher with 766 yards and 7 TD's with Etienne falling off a cliff with 558 yards and 2 TD's.
Thomas Jr. was basically the only threat we had in the passing game with 1,282 yards and 10 TD's. Behind him, it was Strange as the 2nd leading receiver with just 411 yards.

Only 6 interceptions on defense as a squad. Nobody exceeding more than 1 INT as an individual player. A pathetic 34 team sacks with Walker leading with 10.5 and Hines-Allen trailing him with his career average of 8. Everybody else behind them was pretty much adding a pair of sacks with the exception of Maason Smith slightly separating himself with 3.0 individual sacks.

It's honestly a miracle that this team lost the amount of games that it did by one score or less. Hate to say it, but, we probably fired the wrong guy this month. I would have kept Pederson and allowed him to hire the right person to work with General Manager wise. We'll never know the full extent of the power struggle of who had the ultimate final say in my opinion.

I still think you can only coach so much. You might get a lucky break and spark with new blood injected through the staff, but, after that? It could be Doug Pederson all over again with the team falling short or stalling out because teams catch onto your BS the second year and you can't get away with the same game plan, and you especially can't fall off the rails when an injury or two occurs. Your depth has to step up.

So, we'll see. Don't want to beat a dead horse because I have this same mantra being chanted in other threads, but:

They need to prioritize fixing at least two positions along the offensive line, adding another impactful playmaker at WR opposite of BTJ, a pair of EDGE rushers to compliment Hines-Allen and Walker and at least one safety to shore up the backend. As much as I would like to add another CB? I think you have to consider moving Jones up to Darby's spot opposite of Campbell and giving Prince the nickel CB role and then adding another CB later on.

Failing to bolster the interior of the offensive line and the edges on defense this off season will result in the same lame duck season. Especially with that schedule on paper.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Took the second option, maybe he just likes to build with a heap of late bloomers, but with TLaw's deal still being relatively cheap, fans and team (I surmise) sick of the perpetual ineptitude, I want him to have a sense of urgency. Build for today, not two years from today. Get guys who are going to yield results and get us in the postseason reliably. Use your cap room and draft capital in a way that makes sense - patch where patches are the best option, draft where value fits.

Last year was a double punch in the gut, we whiffed bad in FA and frittered away picks in an OL-heavy darft class, only to see the offense appear underprepared and for Trevor to again struggle through injury.

I'm curious to see who of the HC candidates will or will not work with him. This could be a costly decision for Shad.

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Took the second option, maybe he just likes to build with a heap of late bloomers, but with TLaw's deal still being relatively cheap, fans and team (I surmise) sick of the perpetual ineptitude, I want him to have a sense of urgency. Build for today, not two years from today. Get guys who are going to yield results and get us in the postseason reliably. Use your cap room and draft capital in a way that makes sense - patch where patches are the best option, draft where value fits.

Last year was a double punch in the gut, we whiffed bad in FA and frittered away picks in an OL-heavy darft class, only to see the offense appear underprepared and for Trevor to again struggle through injury.

I'm curious to see who of the HC candidates will or will not work with him.  This could be a costly decision for Shad.

I think Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson and Kellen Moore would potentially steer clear from here. Which should bother him. Vrabel being the defensive version of Pederson, minus the actual Superbowl Cinderella win. Ben due to coming from and currently working within a great culture in Detroit. Kellen because he has an interesting background of success with everywhere he's worked.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

If that is the target, then of course he can do that. In fact, he has already done that.

Yes, but most fans blame him for not being able to get back there the past two seasons

I blame him for not adequately addressing the team's biggest needs in a meaningful way last offseason. He tried with EA, MM, Davis, Savage, and Darby, but it seems to have been a complete failure. I applaud him for a few of the things he's done like the BTj deal in the draft, that was savvy and a great job. My constant and only real complaint is in the philosophy behind his moves and unwillingness to move on from guys like Cam Robinson and Brandon Scherff when it's time (last offseason for instance).

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Just shift deck chairs

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Took the second option, maybe he just likes to build with a heap of late bloomers, but with TLaw's deal still being relatively cheap, fans and team (I surmise) sick of the perpetual ineptitude, I want him to have a sense of urgency. Build for today, not two years from today. Get guys who are going to yield results and get us in the postseason reliably. Use your cap room and draft capital in a way that makes sense - patch where patches are the best option, draft where value fits.

Last year was a double punch in the gut, we whiffed bad in FA and frittered away picks in an OL-heavy darft class, only to see the offense appear underprepared and for Trevor to again struggle through injury.

I'm curious to see who of the HC candidates will or will not work with him.  This could be a costly decision for Shad.

If you believe Pete Prisco and his source in the building - plus Shad Khan's own words at the presser a few days ago - potential HC candidates are being given input into not only F.O. decisions but potentially F.O. personnel changes. 

In other words - the right HC candidate could potentially suggest a change at GM if the braintrust are sold on that HC candidate. 

It's weird and convoluted, but if they want to insure they get all of the guys they like to show up to an HC interview, this is one way to do it.

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