Why Winning Close Games Is Critical to Jaguars’ Turnaround

Thirteen of Jacksonville’s 17 games last year were decided by eight points or fewer, tied for the most in the NFL. The startling number, however, was the Jaguars’ 3-10 record in those games – two more losses than any other team in 2024.

Shad Khan is hoping his coaching change will reverse those fortunes. Now, as training camp kicks off this week, new head coach Liam Coen has set his foundation.

“I think you’re always pleased and you’re always wanting a little bit more,” Coen said last month, reflecting on Jacksonville’s offseason program. “That’s the beauty of this time. You’re trying to establish a foundation of fundamentals, techniques, alignment, assignment, right?

“We’re not really judging as much, ‘Did he make the play or not?’ It’s, ‘Hey, can we break the huddle?’ Or, ‘Can we get a call in and go execute?’ I think you’re fairly pleased with where you’re at right now.”

The Jaguars were fairly pleased with where they were midway through the 2023 season, before the wheels fell off.

So, give Doug Pederson credit. In the wake of Urban Meyer's PTSD, Pederson got immediate results from both Trevor Lawrence and the rest of his team in 2022, leading Jacksonville to only its second playoff berth in 15 years. The coach also posted consecutive winning records (9-8 in both 2022 and 23), the franchise’s first such streak since 2004-05. He also guided Jacksonville to 15 wins over a 20-game stretch from 2022-23.

But this week begins a new chapter, and whether Jacksonville can win the close games it couldn’t win last year will go a long way toward telling the rebound story. Coen told his team before the break that the work doesn’t stop.

“We’ve got to come back in the best possible physical shape that we can be in coming into training camp,” he said in June, “not use training camp to get in shape. That’s got to be something that we’re hitting the ground running and able to just go once we get in here. They’ve got a lot of studying to do.

“They’ve got a lot of material to continue to cover so that, again, we’re not starting back at Square 1 when we come back. We will, in fact, go back to Install 1, but Install 1 may be a little heavier than Install 1 this spring. So, ultimately, they’ve got some work to do this summer, and that was the message.”

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