Darrell Bevell got a month to audition for the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach role. Now, he will get even more time to show owner Shad Khan that he is the man for the job.
Bevell, who was hired last offseason by former head coach Urban Meyer as offensive coordinator, served as the Jaguars' interim head coach for the final four games of the 2021 season, going 1-3 in the process. And in the wake of a Week 18 upset win of the Colts, Bevell revealed during Monday's season-ending press conference that he will interview for the full-time role, a job he has said in the past he has interest in.
“[Jaguars General Manager] Trent [Baalke] came to me this morning and said that Shad had talked about it and they wanted to give me an opportunity," Bevell said on Monday.
"Being here and spending time this last season, I do think there’s things as evident. I think it does start with [Jaguars Owner] Shad [Khan]. There isn’t a guy who wants to win more than him and I think you see just some of the things he’s tried to do. I do think there needs to be some stability, some consistency, some continuity, particularly for a young quarterback as well, but I’ll get a chance hopefully in the near future to talk to him about it.”
Bevell remaining in the head coach role would bring exactly that kind of stability and consistency, especially for rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence entering his second season.
Bevell is a respected coach within the Jaguars' locker room and organization, with many on the team expressing support for him over the last month due to his calming presence and impact, a stark contrast from Meyer's tenure.
"Coach Bevell stood up and did a great job, man. We all just bought into what he needed us to do and get done. He did an awesome job with us," Jaguars right tackle Jawaan Taylor said on Monday.
Bevell so far is the only current Jaguars coach who has been connected to the team's opening. Other coaches who have either interviewed or are set to interview to be Meyer's replacement are Jim Caldwell, Doug Pederson, Bill O'Brien, Byron Leftwich, Todd Bowles, Kellen Moore, Matt Eberflus and Nathaniel Hackett.
Bevell's resume and qualifications for the Jaguars' job consist of several successful stops as an offensive coordinator before this year in Jacksonville. This season, the Jaguars' offense finished with the lowest scoring total in franchise history, though the Jaguars did end the season with the highest scoring output of the year in a 26-11 win over the Colts.
“It was a different experience than the Detroit experience. I tried to learn from the first opportunity that I had, and this opportunity was much different. There was a lot of things and a lot of challenges that we had during the season," Bevell said Monday.
"The first thing I wanted to do was to just try to get the ship steadied and get it headed in the right direction. I was really proud of the guys. They had to manage a lot. They were able to kind of stay focused and [I’m] really proud of how they finished the season.”
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