The Jacksonville Jaguars are among the handful of franchises forced to hit the reset button after a bad 2024 season. The Jags finished 4–13 and fired head coach Doug Pederson on Monday (keeping GM Trent Baalke despite all the negatives that come with that decision). Eyes now turn towards the offseason and who will be selected to get Jacksonville back to the playoffs.
Soon after making the call to send Pederson on his way, owner Shad Khan met with reporters to discuss hiring a fourth coach in the last five seasons. He was asked directly if star quarterback Trevor Lawrence would have any input on who was brought in. Khan said he talked to Lawrence, just as he talks to all his players, before taking an unexpected shot at Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
"Let's be clear: this isn't the second coming of Aaron Rodgers 2.0," Khan said to reporters about Lawrence's involvement in the head coaching search.
Khan is referencing the perception held that Rodgers is quite involved in the Jets' decision-making and was a driving force behind hiring offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and trading for superstar wideout Davante Adams, two figures Rodgers had worked with during his time in Green Bay. Nobody outside of the Jets' building knows how much of that is true, but clearly, Khan believes he played a big role and has no interest in letting the same thing happen to his franchise.
Considering the Jaguars' history of struggles under Khan he probably shouldn't dismiss the input of others out of hand no matter who they are. And taking a random shot at the Jets, who despite the circus finished with more wins than Jacksonville, doesn't come across great.
If anything, an entertaining end-of-season press conference from the owner.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jaguars Owner Takes Shot at Aaron Rodgers While Discussing Trevor Lawrence, HC Search.
