I readily admit I have never spoken with Trent Baalke.  In fact, I have rarely even seen him interviewed, and the time or two I have ssen an interview with him, there is very little in terms of his overall philosophy that sticks out to me, so I do not pretend to myself or to you that I have direct knowledge of what he is thinking.  But I have to think Baalke has very specific goals and objectives to accomplish this offseason. 

• He has to get the coaching hire right
  
• He has to build around Trevor Lawrence
  
• He has to get the draft right with immediate impact players.
  
• He has to take some of the heat off of himself
  

With this in mind, what does this have to do with Bill O' Brien?

Given the way Bill O' Brien single handedly ran the Texans into the ground with some absolutely horrific trades, why would he want BOB?  Why is he advocating BOB be interviewed?  I know BOB would be a very unpopular choice with the Jaguars' fan base based on the reactions on the board.  To many fans, such a hire might be the final straw.   U know BOB is not my first or even second or thirdchoice.  I've been pushing for Pederson since he became available last year, so I promise you  this isn't some instance of paradigm attacking, devil's advocacy board stirring post from me.  But I present to you some possible reasons why Baalke is pushing for Bill O Brien, if the reports are true based on the considerations I have listed above.


1.  Bill O' Brien is, on some level, a defensible hire.  He's been a head coach on the NFL level.  He won several division titles.  He has won with less than stellar QBs and with Deshaun Watson, so it checks the box about being able to set a good culture and develop Trevor Lawrence, which brings me to my 2nd point.

2.  BOB is well versed in the Patriots scheme, having been an assistant coach under Belichick who has worked with Brady.  You could argue that his system is QB and WR friendly.  Presumably, he'd bring his best friend Doug Marrone to coach the offensive line.  Say what you will about Marrone, but there was a stretch when he was here earlier where he oversaw dramatic improvement along the offensive line, where the team gave up 70+ sacks before he got there, dropping that number to 55 his first year, then cutting it down to a low of 24 in 2017.  On top of that, he's coached most of the incumbents along the OL. 

3.  Part of the angst against Baalke is the near complete lack of rookie impact in the draft class outside of Trevor Lawrence.  It's not a stretch to suggest the near complete lack of rookie impact in this draft class contributed a great deal to the 3-14 record.  On too many levels to delineate, this team needs immediate impact from rookies.  This is where a Bill O' Brien hire possibly tips his draft hand.  Bill O' Brien is currently Alabama's offensive coordinator.  He has direct first hand knowledge of the football abilities of some guys who could be of interest to the Jaguars this draft-T Evan Neal, WRs Jameson Williams, John Metchie III, and TE Jaleel Billingsley.  All of these guys fit positions of major need for the Jaguars, and if O Brien is named coach, would possibly have great bearing on the Jaguars draft strategy.  IOne of the hardest things for a team to do is get a handle on the football and overall character of guys they never coached.  That would not be a problem with a BOB hire.  They worked with these prospects every day.  They are in a position to know if there are any off the field concerns, their work ethics, and practice habits.  They are in a position to know the strengths and weaknesses of these guys. They won't have to depend on the reliability of 3rd and 4th hand information from interviews with coaches and scouts with whom they may not be familiar.   While it may not be a stretch to say they ran Saban's schemes, it's also not a stretch to suggest BOB incorporated many of his own principles and philosophies into into the Alabama offense.  To the extent he has done so, their transition to the NFL would be made much easier if a BOB led Jaguars team drafted them.  I think with Bill O Brien, the Jaguars will employ one of two possible draft strategies in the first round.  If they stay at one, Neal is the target.  If they are able to trade back, Williams is the target.  If they double up at WR, they add Metchie in the middle rounds, especially given Baalke's thing for guys with torn ACLs.  If the Jaguars drafted those guys, they are more likely to have a positive immediate impact, which gives TL help and Baalke time.  Furthermore, they will have coached against Alabama's defense every day in practice, and Georgia's defense twice this season.  In case they decide to bolster the defense, they have extensive film study on many quality prospects already.

4.  I think if things go south, a BOB hire at least gives Baalke some cove.  Baalke has a reputation of being difficult to deal with.  That reputation is matched by BOB.  He clashed with a very capable GM in Smith.  He clashed mightily with DeAndre Hopkins which led to his trade.  He gives Baalke someone to point the finger at from a personality standpoint in the case of any clashes. 

Again, Bill O Brien is not my choice.  I think there's a lot to dislike about his hire.  But I could also see why Baalke would want BOB, and a little thought can make some of Baalke's possible draft thoughts obvious. My belief is at present, Baalke is eyeing Neal and Williams early and wants a coach who will be able to either endorse the decision or give compelling reasons why his mindset is wrong.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

#4 is the main reason that it concerns me. Baalke loves to scapegoat coaches. We'll end up going Urban Meyer -> Bill O'Brien -> Adam Gase or something like that, before Khan finally fires Baalke. Or we'll end up giving O'Brien control of the roster, despite his disaster in Houston, and then he will be a disaster for us here.

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Rumor has it that literally no coach (including Pederson) wants to work with Baalke. So it's essentially BOB and Baalke OR ANYONE ELSE AT ALL!

Seems like a no brainer to me

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Rumor has it that literally no coach (including Pederson) wants to work with Baalke. So it's essentially BOB and Baalke OR ANYONE ELSE AT ALL!

Seems like a no brainer to me

I wonder if any of the candidates have actually told Khan they don't want to work with Baalke.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Rumor has it that literally no coach (including Pederson) wants to work with Baalke. So it's essentially BOB and Baalke OR ANYONE ELSE AT ALL!

Seems like a no brainer to me

I wonder if any of the candidates have actually told Khan they don't want to work with Baalke.

That's the key part here.

Have they told everyone else except Khan that they don't want to work with Baalke. I don't know but I would imagine word travels fast and Khan knows this by now.

Lots of coaches and GMs getting the boot this morning (Zimmer, Nagy, Spielman) so hopefully we hear something soon.

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As always a very well thought out statement. Kudos to you sir for always bringing adult level convos and insights.

Now to your post directly. I think you are spot on in regards to Baalke trying to buy some cover as it were with a BOB hire. It indeed gives him time and probably mistakenly thinks it has the ability to redirect the ire of the fans away from him and towards BOB. It won't deflect one ounce of enmity away from him though. One last thing, Frenette posted on twitter on 1/3 to the fans just wait seven days. Cryptiv? Maybe but we shall see as it is now here.

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As always a very well thought out statement. Kudos to you sir for always bringing adult level convos and insights.

Now to your post directly. I think you are spot on in regards to Baalke trying to buy some cover as it were with a BOB hire. It indeed gives him time and probably mistakenly thinks it has the ability to redirect the ire of the fans away from him and towards BOB.  It won't deflect one ounce of enmity away from him though. One last thing, Frenette posted on twitter  on 1/3 to the fans just wait seven days. Cryptiv? Maybe but we shall see as it is now here.

Thank you.

UCF Jaguar raised an interesting possibility when he suggested that UM may have been purposely keeping the rookies off the field in a way to somehow spite Baalke.

A horrific as that sounds, I would hope that is the case rather than the alternative-that Baalke absolutely botched the 2021 draft.

If we MUST keep Baalke, I want some indicia he is capable of putting a better than merely competent cast around TL.

But I still don't know why Khan is so steadfast in his Baalke support.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

As always a very well thought out statement. Kudos to you sir for always bringing adult level convos and insights.

Now to your post directly. I think you are spot on in regards to Baalke trying to buy some cover as it were with a BOB hire. It indeed gives him time and probably mistakenly thinks it has the ability to redirect the ire of the fans away from him and towards BOB.  It won't deflect one ounce of enmity away from him though. One last thing, Frenette posted on twitter  on 1/3 to the fans just wait seven days. Cryptiv? Maybe but we shall see as it is now here.

Thank you.

UCF Jaguar raised an interesting possibility when he suggested that UM may have been purposely keeping the rookies off the field in a way to somehow spite Baalke.

A horrific as that sounds, I would hope that is the case rather than the alternative-that Baalke absolutely botched the 2021 draft.

If we MUST keep Baalke, I want some indicia he is capable of putting a better than merely competent cast around TL.

But I still don't know why Khan is so steadfast in his Baalke support.

Most likely because Baalke has his ear more than anyone in that building. Khan is a busy man and Baalke knows exactly what to hiss into his ear.

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I readily admit I have never spoken with Trent Baalke.  In fact, I have rarely even seen him interviewed, and the time or two I have ssen an interview with him, there is very little in terms of his overall philosophy that sticks out to me, so I do not pretend to myself or to you that I have direct knowledge of what he is thinking.  But I have to think Baalke has very specific goals and objectives to accomplish this offseason. 

• He has to get the coaching hire right
  
• He has to build around Trevor Lawrence
  
• He has to get the draft right with immediate impact players.
  
• He has to take some of the heat off of himself
  

With this in mind, what does this have to do with Bill O' Brien?

Given the way Bill O' Brien single handedly ran the Texans into the ground with some absolutely horrific trades, why would he want BOB?  Why is he advocating BOB be interviewed?  I know BOB would be a very unpopular choice with the Jaguars' fan base based on the reactions on the board.  To many fans, such a hire might be the final straw.   U know BOB is not my first or even second or thirdchoice.  I've been pushing for Pederson since he became available last year, so I promise you  this isn't some instance of paradigm attacking, devil's advocacy board stirring post from me.  But I present to you some possible reasons why Baalke is pushing for Bill O Brien, if the reports are true based on the considerations I have listed above.


1.  Bill O' Brien is, on some level, a defensible hire.  He's been a head coach on the NFL level.  He won several division titles.  He has won with less than stellar QBs and with Deshaun Watson, so it checks the box about being able to set a good culture and develop Trevor Lawrence, which brings me to my 2nd point.

2.  BOB is well versed in the Patriots scheme, having been an assistant coach under Belichick who has worked with Brady.  You could argue that his system is QB and WR friendly.  Presumably, he'd bring his best friend Doug Marrone to coach the offensive line.  Say what you will about Marrone, but there was a stretch when he was here earlier where he oversaw dramatic improvement along the offensive line, where the team gave up 70+ sacks before he got there, dropping that number to 55 his first year, then cutting it down to a low of 24 in 2017.  On top of that, he's coached most of the incumbents along the OL. 

3.  Part of the angst against Baalke is the near complete lack of rookie impact in the draft class outside of Trevor Lawrence.  It's not a stretch to suggest the near complete lack of rookie impact in this draft class contributed a great deal to the 3-14 record.  On too many levels to delineate, this team needs immediate impact from rookies.  This is where a Bill O' Brien hire possibly tips his draft hand.  Bill O' Brien is currently Alabama's offensive coordinator.  He has direct first hand knowledge of the football abilities of some guys who could be of interest to the Jaguars this draft-T Evan Neal, WRs Jameson Williams, John Metchie III, and TE Jaleel Billingsley.  All of these guys fit positions of major need for the Jaguars, and if O Brien is named coach, would possibly have great bearing on the Jaguars draft strategy.  IOne of the hardest things for a team to do is get a handle on the football and overall character of guys they never coached.  That would not be a problem with a BOB hire.  They worked with these prospects every day.  They are in a position to know if there are any off the field concerns, their work ethics, and practice habits.  They are in a position to know the strengths and weaknesses of these guys. They won't have to depend on the reliability of 3rd and 4th hand information from interviews with coaches and scouts with whom they may not be familiar.   While it may not be a stretch to say they ran Saban's schemes, it's also not a stretch to suggest BOB incorporated many of his own principles and philosophies into into the Alabama offense.  To the extent he has done so, their transition to the NFL would be made much easier if a BOB led Jaguars team drafted them.  I think with Bill O Brien, the Jaguars will employ one of two possible draft strategies in the first round.  If they stay at one, Neal is the target.  If they are able to trade back, Williams is the target.  If they double up at WR, they add Metchie in the middle rounds, especially given Baalke's thing for guys with torn ACLs.  If the Jaguars drafted those guys, they are more likely to have a positive immediate impact, which gives TL help and Baalke time.  Furthermore, they will have coached against Alabama's defense every day in practice, and Georgia's defense twice this season.  In case they decide to bolster the defense, they have extensive film study on many quality prospects already.

4.  I think if things go south, a BOB hire at least gives Baalke some cove.  Baalke has a reputation of being difficult to deal with.  That reputation is matched by BOB.  He clashed with a very capable GM in Smith.  He clashed mightily with DeAndre Hopkins which led to his trade.  He gives Baalke someone to point the finger at from a personality standpoint in the case of any clashes. 

Again, Bill O Brien is not my choice.  I think there's a lot to dislike about his hire.  But I could also see why Baalke would want BOB, and a little thought can make some of Baalke's possible draft thoughts obvious.  My belief is at present, Baalke is eyeing Neal and Williams early and wants a coach who will be able to either endorse the decision or give compelling reasons why his mindset is wrong.

I think number 4 is the only reason Baalke wants O'Brian.

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Honestly, I realize more and more that a price must be paid for being a fan of this team. I will have to accept another crap off season potentially and just swirl in more apathy.

It is likely that any hire by Khan will not work. He has an amazing track record of futility. Khan is really good at milking 2017 but sadly that year is moving further to the past. We are going to have to see the lack of free agents again and the fruit of futility play out. This is going to be a tough off season.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

Marrone would be back? has that ever happened before? a HC gets fired and then comes back to the same team in a lesser capacity?

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"Treyvon Wallet is elite run defender and better overall than Aidan Hutchinson" 11/11/23

I'm gonna say it now:
The worst choices the Jags can make are:
Bill O'Brien (I previously thought even Khan isn't dumb enough to do this)
or Darrell Bevel

And that's the choices it's going to come down to, isn't it?

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I'm gonna say it now:
The worst choices the Jags can make are:
Bill O'Brien (I previously thought even Khan isn't dumb enough to do this)
or Darrell Bevel

And that's the choices it's going to come down to, isn't it?

I'd take BOB over Bevell any day... I'd probably leave if one of them becomes the HC though.

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"Treyvon Wallet is elite run defender and better overall than Aidan Hutchinson" 11/11/23

Marrone would be back? has that ever happened before? a HC gets fired and then comes back to the same team in a lesser capacity?

I'm sure it has, only no examples readily  leap to mind at the moment.

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I'm gonna say it now:
The worst choices the Jags can make are:
Bill O'Brien (I previously thought even Khan isn't dumb enough to do this)
or Darrell Bevel

And that's the choices it's going to come down to, isn't it?

I'd take BOB over Bevell any day... I'd probably leave if one of them becomes the HC though.

I'd take BOB over Bevell any day.  Take him over McDaniels, for that matter.

But not over too many others.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

BoB over McDaniels? Big yikes.

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Well another rumor being floated out there is BOB to Carolina as their OC as Carolina tries to trade for Watson.

I hope that happens.

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I don't get why people love McDaniels so much.

Dude drafted Tebow in the first round.
What has he done without Brady? and without BB?
He did pretty good as the OC of the Rams...

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"Treyvon Wallet is elite run defender and better overall than Aidan Hutchinson" 11/11/23

Marrone would be back? has that ever happened before? a HC gets fired and then comes back to the same team in a lesser capacity?

Coughlin?   Fired as Head Coach and later came back to the Jags organization as Executive Vice President of the Hazing Department.

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Marrone would be back? has that ever happened before? a HC gets fired and then comes back to the same team in a lesser capacity?

I believe Dave Campo did in Dallas.

Edit: Wikipedia confirms yes he did.

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Marrone would be back? has that ever happened before? a HC gets fired and then comes back to the same team in a lesser capacity?

I believe Dave Campo did in Dallas.

He did!

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"Treyvon Wallet is elite run defender and better overall than Aidan Hutchinson" 11/11/23