(01-13-2025, 10:16 AM)Mikey Wrote: (01-10-2025, 09:14 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: The way I see it is that Khan already had the HC in the drivers seat with Pederson.
They said they were making picks and acquisition decisions "together" but if they fired the HC and not the GM - it points toward the likelihood that the HC was really calling the shots at the end of the day.
Is that backwards to conventional hierarchy? Yes, but it's hardly the first time (or twentieth time) a coach has been handed the keys in the NFL.
Shad clearly blames Doug more than he blames Trent but is also noncommittal about Trent.
Culpability assigned IMO.
Does that make it odd involving Trent in a search for a guy that might want him gone?
Yeah - but he seems to have been living in that reality for the past 4 years anyway - so he knows the deal.
They've put together a great list of coaches and asked to interview all of them.
The only questions now are these:
- Can Khan+Baalke+Waugh+the rest of their committee pick the right guy?
- If Khan is open to a HC suggesting F.O. changes, don't you think he sees he'll have to navigate that carefully in interview sessions that include Baalke? i.e. separate conversations are clearly going to be had with candidates to guage their comfort level working with Trent. Does that have to be a bad thing?
Given Shad's preseason comment about the roster, I think he was happy with the direction, regardless of who had final say in who we brought in. I think the half measure is more a sign that there was no solution or adjustment when the plan didn't work. Outside of Darby, what personnel or scheme change did we see as an attempt to improve results?
If TB is this silver-tongued devil that everyone characterizes him to be, I think it's very dangerous giving him a say in who we bring in as HC, if Shad is open to letting the HC influence his GM position. I gotta bad feeling that TB will have an inkling, whether he's in the room or not, whether a candidate has a preference for the current or their own GM, and that's going to be a big part in who TB advocates for as the final decision. Does Shad have the stones to go against achieving consensus?
It's so very awkward, but so very Jaguars. We really do excel at shooting our own feet. It's a miracle we have any toes left at all. Probably the only good thing to come from the Bortles era.
To the bolded - I don't agree at all with that.
That comment was made to coaches and players in a private meaning as a challenge to them all to win now.
He did not proclaim publicly that this was the best Jags team assembled - and it only became public when that "hunt" documentary released its third episode.
That was Khan saying "no excuses" to the staff and players. They failed and he fired a super bowl winning coach as a result.
Here's the context so it's clear and not soundbyte'd
Because I think Jags nation as a whole is missing the boat on this big time.
Khan takes podium
Khan tells the team/staff we just signed a deal with the city to build a new stadium
Says that reporters calling on him about the stadium also asked Khan about "football"
Khan's words from that point forward:
"I was quoted:
For us, winning now is the expectation. So I've been looking forward to tonight (the meeting with players and staff) to set the record straight. I was NOT misquoted. Let me just repeat: Winning now IS the expectation. Make no mistake, this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ever. Best players, best coaches, but most importantly , Let's PROVE it by winning now."
Do you think that was a decree of quality or a mandate to go win some [BLEEP] football games??
In defense of the dubious "best team" statement - which I wholeheartedly believe was meant as a challenge, not a decree - this roster very likely is the second most talented group assembled in Jax since Khan took over.
Sad. Very sad. But also true.
Next:
How is firing Doug Pederson and probably 90% of his staff a half measure, exactly?
Seems a little fuzzy on the math to me.
Khan has now made it crystal clear that the next coach is going to have power beyond the GM's in decision making and can even influence a personnel changes in the front office.
And it is also now clear that Doug apparently had more juice than Baalke did when it came to player personnel decisions.
So Baalke was somewhat subservient to Pederson and will be even more so with the next guy.
That's why this is more than a "half measure" from my perspective. It may not be the clean sweep I wanted and most wanted, but it is pretty darn close.
I'd much prefer a new GM and coach coming in together and telling us all that they have a shared vision and solidarity on everything from defensive linemen arm length requirements to the water alkalinity in the training rooms.
But what we have is an owner saying "I'm making this GM give the next guy whatever he wants, and if the next guy wants this GM gone, we'll consider that too."
Regarding Khan having the stones or not:
Yes, I think firing Doug and leaving Baalke neutered and dangling by a thread publicly in that presser shows he is willing to make the change if a HC candidate convinces him.
