The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking for a new leader for their defense.
The Jaguars are looking for a new defensive coordinator after firing former coordinator Mike Caldwell on Monday night. The Jaguars also fired seven other defensive assistants, leaving only three of Pederson's 11 defensive staff members left.
The Jaguars finished the 2023 season ranked No. 17 in points per game, No. 22 in yards per game, No. 13 in EPA/Play allowed and No. 12 in Success Rate allowed.
While the Jaguars' defense started off hot in the first-half of the season, ranking top five in EPA/Play and defensive DVOA and leading the league in turnovers, they fell apart over the second half of the defense. Missed tackles, communication issues and more proved to be too much for Caldwell's unit, leading to the search for a new voice.
So far, the Jaguars have been connected to seven different coaches for their coordinator role. Two such coaches have been blocked from interviewing with them -- Panthers coordinator Ejiro Evero and Falcons coordinator Ryan Nielsen -- while they have also been connected to Wink Martindale, Chris Harris, Shane Bowen, Chris Hewitt, and Marquand Manuel.
So, what do we make of the search so far?
Which trends have been present in the search so far
There figures to to be a few priorities for the Jaguars as they look for their next coach. Working on the tackling and communication issues would logically be at the top of the list for most teams, with Hewitt, Bowen, Harris, and Nielsen having the best recent resumes in the tackling department.
But beyond the surface of the Jaguars' basic needs, there are a few other trends that have surfaced in the search. One is the fact that most of these coaches have coordinator experience. Martindale has been a coordinator for seven seasons with three different teams, Evero and Manuel have two years of experience under their belt, Nielsen was a coordinator in 2023, and Bowen has called plays for the Titans for the last four years. The only two coaches on this list without coordinator experience are Hewitt and Harris, but each has passing game coordinator experience and have led entire secondaries.
The Jaguars have also seemingly looked at several defensive-back oriented coaches. Caldwell had linebacker experience and likely viewed the game mostly from a defensive front lens, while Manuel, Harris, Hewitt, and Evero all have defensive back backgrounds. Martindale has a linebacker background, while Bowen has coached 3-4 outside linebackers and Nielsen has coached defensive line.
Lastly, there is a healthy mix of schemes from all candidates. Some come from defenses with aggressive blitzing tendencies, some come from teams who specialize in multiple fronts, and then there is Manuel, who has the Seattle Seahawks defensive background. The question of 4-3 vs. 3-4 isn't as important as some think, but the Jaguars have looked at each scheme in their search.
A few interesting names they haven't been tied to yet
The Jaguars have cast a wide net for their coordinator search so far, but there are a couple of interesting names they haven't been tied to yet. There is no sure thing that the Jaguars won't talk to them, but they are still names worth looking at:
Leslie Frazier: It makes sense why the Jaguars haven't been tied to Leslie Frazier yet considering he has taken a head coach interview with the Los Angeles Chargers. Once the head coach cycle has some more clarity, maybe there is traction there with a coach who also has Andy Reid ties.
Al Harris: A coach who spent time with Pederson in Kansas City under Andy Reid and has been the defensive backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys over the last four years.
Ken Flajole: The Chiefs' outside linebackers coach, Ken Flajole was the Eagles linebackers coach under Doug Pederson and has coordinator experience.
Dino Vasso: A coach who spent nearly a decade on the same staff as Doug Pederson, Dino Vasso was the assistant defensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2020 and is currently the Texans' cornerbacks coach.
Not many of the coaches have direct Pederson connections
Pederson had a reputation in Philadelphia of not going far outside his coaching circle for assistants, but that is something he has mostly steered away from in Jacksonville outside of a few notable names like Press Taylor. And when looking at the list of candidates the Jagaurs have talked to so far, it doesn't seem like this is a big requirement for Pederson in 2024 either.
So far, the only coach on the list who has shared a staff with Pederson is Manuel, who was Pederson's defensive backs coach with the Eagles in 2020. Otherwise, the Jaguars and Pederson have looked at quite a few coaches who haven't had Eagles or Chiefs ties to Pederson, which is a good sign for his willingness to go outside the box.
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