The Jacksonville Jaguars have parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke.
Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan had this to say about the decision:
“Following several discussions with Trent Baalke this week, we both arrived at the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interests to respectfully separate, effective immediately. Trent leaves us with my deepest appreciation for his efforts over the past five seasons. Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager and play an important role, with others, as we continue the process of interviewing candidates to serve as our new head coach. I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville and look forward to introducing a new head coach who will make that happen for our players and fans alike.”
After moving on from head coach Doug Pederson after the regular season, Khan made the peculiar decision to stick with Baalke.
Although on the surface moving on from Baalke at this time may seem like odd timing, I don’t think that’s the case whatsoever.
In the last few days, top head coaching candidate Ben Johnson chose to join the Chicago Bears, with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reporting that the “setup” in Jacksonville didn’t align with what Johnson was looking for.
Then on Wednesday, Liam Coen withdrew from the Jaguars’ head coaching search to stay in Tampa Bay. While Coen got a big pay raise relative to what coordinators are paid, it’s less money than a head coach makes and there are no guarantees that he will get an opportunity to be the Bucs’ next head coach.
These reports illustrated the current state of the Jaguars’ head coaching search and it’s fair to wonder if things would have played out differently had the team moved on from Baalke sooner.
During Baalke’s four year tenure as the team’s general manager, the Jaguars have a record of 25-43. Sandwiched in between a three win season in 2021 and a four win season in 2024, are two 9-8 seasons that include one playoff berth and one playoff win.
In addition to looking for a head coach, the Jaguars will now be on the search for a general manager as well.
(This article was updated to provide additional information.)
