There was a very good article today in the Athletic regarding the Amit Patel embezzling scheme. Patel spoke to the writer, Katie Strang, from his attorney's office last week. This article is worth reading for several reasons:

1. How could the organization not be aware that $22 million was being stolen by an employee? This total lack of financial oversight says a lot about the Jaguars' organization as a whole. This helps to answer questions we've all had about several mind-boggling decisions made by this organization. The one that tops my list is Gus Bradley getting a contract extension following a 3 year record of 12-36. The team was rewarded for their decision with Bradley leading the team to a 2-12 record the following season before getting fired. We all have our favorite team "blunders" but can we really be surprised Khan's organization failed to detect what was happening with Patel?

2. Patel's gambling addiction was thoroughly described by himself and the writer. It's hard to imagine anyone feeling sorry for Patel considering the fact he used much of the $22 million to fund a jet-set lifestyle which included fancy cars, expensive jewelry and a new condo, to name just 3. However, the article explains how gambling sights like Fanduel and Draftkings make it tantalizing for gamblers to continue betting despite having already lost huge sums of money. Gambling addiction has only become a greater problem with all the venues available. 

3. Will this embarrassing incident motivate Shad Khan to hire people to improve the oversight needed in many areas of the organization? If it does, I hope he starts with finding someone to oversee the scouting/draft process who has the power to make final draft decisions, especially if Baalke and Pederson disagree on a potential pick. Rick Spielman had apparently been considered for this role, but he is now with the Commanders. It's too late for this to happen before next month's draft, but the Jaguars cannot afford to repeat the failure of 2023.

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