Jaguars’ Doug Pederson Publicly Goes To Bat for Press Taylor — Is He Right?

According to a team source who was granted anonymity, there was internal skepticism among some within the organization about the decision to let Taylor handle full-time play-calling responsibilities, specifically because of how well the team performed on offense a year ago. Taylor is respected throughout the organization for his knowledge, but Pederson was hired largely because of his gifts as a play-caller and quarterback whisperer. 

Taylor performed in the role during the second-half of many games last year, especially during the Jaguars' late-season run. But the thought of some internally was that Pederson's play-calling is how he made his mark and what ultimately often gave the Jaguars an advantage on Sundays. While Pederson and Taylor are in lock-step, it was a genuine question of if Taylor could recreate Pederson's magic on game day.

The loss of former passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was also something that some internally perceived as a potential red flag for the offense. Cooter was replaced by Nick Holz, who worked closely with Taylor in 2023. Cooter was seen as an invaluable part of the offensive staff in 2022, the team source said, and losing his voice on the offensive staff was more significant than fans thought, especially since he had an outside opinion from Pederson and Taylor. 

The Jaguars' players spoke with confidence throughout the year in regard to Taylor's play-calling and scheme throughout the season, with several offensive players praising Taylor for his ability to communicate, form game plans and cater to players' strengths. The Jaguars' game plan vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 7 was seen as particularly impressive, with Taylor helping protect both the offensive line and an injured Trevor Lawrence. 

But there was one constant throughout the season that came to a head toward the end of the year: the running game. According to the team source, some within the organization grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of traction in the running game throughout the season, questioning if the team could fix it in-season. 

Ultimately though, the biggest issues for the offense came down to two things: turnovers in the passing game and the offensive line. 

Pederson pointed to Trevor Lawrence's turnover problems on Sunday, though the team source noted that several of Lawrence's interceptions in 2023 were due to mistakes from the skill room.

“I think it’s number one. I think it’s the biggest thing that he has to focus on moving forward," Pederson said on Monday when asked about the importance of Lawrence eliminating turnovers. 

"We just can’t have this amount of turnovers, how we turn the ball over, where we turn the ball over, it doesn’t matter. We got to protect the football, that’s the number one thing. I think we’re going to probably end up No. 29, 30, 31 somewhere down there in giveaways. That also doesn’t take into consideration the turnover on downs, too. Those are giveaways as well. For the quarterback, the person that touches the ball every snap, we got to make sure the emphasis is taking care of the ball.”

As for the offensive line, Pederson noted injuries as the primary issue in 2023, with Walker Little, Cam Robinson, and Ezra Cleveland all missing time at different points in the season. 

“I don’t think so. I just think we need to stay healthy. Again, when guys are playing together for three games, it’s not long enough because then we’re making another switch," Pederson said. 

"He gets hurt, then they’re playing together for three or four more games, then Cam [OL Cam Robinson] is out for four games with an injury or something. The consistency and the continuity, that’s what really drives the offensive line. We’ve talked about it in here too, as a staff, we got to get back to what we feel are the best plays for us as an offense and our backs. Sometimes, we get away from that and we start searching for things to try to generate that run game a little bit. Sometimes, just go back to basics sometimes, things we’ve been good at in the past. That’s the one thing that we have the most reps on typically.”

Is Pederson right about Taylor? The future will give us an answer, but it could be the question that defines his coaching tenure.