We all knew it was coming. It is time for Pederson to clean out his office. The Jacksonville Jaguars announced early Monday morning that they have dismissed head coach Doug Pederson after an underwhelming 2024 campaign. Shockingly, the team will retain the services of general manager Trent Baalke.
It is a normal practice for underachieving teams to clean house and make coaching changes a day after the final Sunday of the regular season, a day which is known as “Black Monday.”
“I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars,” team owner Shahid Khan said in a statement.
“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. 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.
“I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago. I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”
The Jaguars finished a disappointing 4-13, despite Khan stating before the season that this current roster was the “best” he had seen during his ownership of the franchise.
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Pederson was brought on board in 2022 to replace Urban Meyer and spent three years in Jacksonville. He departs with a record of 22-29; his first two seasons ended 9-8 before suffering a collapse in results this year.
The Jaguars made the playoffs in his first season on the job, beating Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers 28-27 in a thriller in the Wild Card round and with quarterback Trevor Lawrence being voted to the Pro Bowl.
And while the Jaguars ended 2023 with the same record, a brutal end to the season with Jacksonville dropping five of their last six games, meant the season ended with a sour taste in their mouths as they failed to qualify for the playoffs. Khan later described 2023 as an “organizational failure.”
2024 got off to a rocky start, with the team opening behind a eight ball, coming up winless in the first four weeks (0-4), including an embarrassing 47-10 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. Lawrence, who the team gave a big-money extension in the offseason, missed significant chunks of time, especially at the end of the season, due to injury as pressure mounted on Pederson.
Eventually, a 26-23 Week 18 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts marked the end of the Jaguars’ season and the awarding of the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Jaguars join a list of four other teams, the Patriots, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints as franchises that will be looking for a new head coach.
