The Jacksonville Jaguars have not exactly been the standard of consistency and success over the last 15 or so years. They have had more firings and hirings than a college town fast food joint, plenty of off-field drama, and not enough wins.
But the Jaguars aren't the only franchise that has fallen on hard times in recent years. And it is time for them to stop being treated as such.
The latest such example of the Jaguars being used as fodder for the NFL's talking heads involved the recent drama surrounding Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaking on the 'Dan Patrick Show', former NFL veteran and Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth involved the Jaguars in his evaluation of the Dallas Cowboys.
"This is so standard for Jerry Jones. Bottom line is this is the way they operate as a business but this is also the reason that things have gone awry, why you haven't won a divisional playoff round game since 1995 because if you do it to these guys it creates a locker room full of, in my opinion, independent contractors," Schlereth said. "It's just the Dallas Cowboy way. I said it on my podcast... They are the Jacksonville Jaguars with better marketing."
Simply put, what makes the Cowboys better than the Jaguars in recent years? It isn't playoff success or stability at head coach. And the Jaguars have had some issues with player relationships in recent years, but nothing like the issues the Cowboys and Jones are having with Micah Parsons.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan has never been the clear villain of the franchise like Jones is. And, unlike Jones, Khan has made hires to improve the cultutre in Jacksonville as opposed to doing a media tour where he goes against his players.
“It starts with communication. It starts with the alignment and communication at every level. Building, first and foremost, the best staff we can build because, like I mentioned, it's about these guys. So how do we put the best coaches in place to help these players reach their full abilities?" Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said at his introductory press conference in January.
"Now, with the front office, how do we continue to build there and get this thing fully in alignment so that then when we go into the offseason program, we're all on the same page, we all understand the vision and the goal? When I walked into the Los Angeles Rams building in 2018, I had never felt anything like that before in my life. It was a different introduction to coaching, and you saw a building, every single person that was in that building and a part of that thing was in alignment. I think that's the key.”
The Jaguars need to be better on the field, but off the field, they deserve more respect.
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