Earlier this week, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the team was monitoring Hurricane Ian and was prepared to leave early for a Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, if necessary.
On Wednesday, he said the team would rather not make an early departure because of what it would mean for the ones who the coaches and players would leave behind.
“It’s really the families,” Pederson said Wednesday. “If we leave, the families are still here kind of fending for themselves, and as husbands and dads, we want to make sure they’re well taken care of, and the organization can help take care of the families.
“Then just monitoring the storm, too, seeing where the impacts are going to be, and I would say if it was more of a direct hit, and things were going to be a little bit worse, we would probably consider leaving, but I think other than some wind and some rain, I think Friday we’re going to be okay, and just stay here.”
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida as a Category 4 on Tuesday and is expected to weaken as it moves slowly over Florida before heading up the Atlantic Coast and hitting parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
The Jaguars currently plan to practice Thursday and Friday in Jacksonville before leaving for Philadelphia on Saturday.
