Jacksonville faces one of its biggest decisions in franchise history this offseason. The team essentially wasted a year of development for Trevor Lawrence on a disastrous 13-game tenure from Urban Meyer, and now it heads back to the drawing board to try to finally get things right.
When in this situation, it can be helpful to listen to the advice of the players who were there for some of the best moments in Jaguars’ history, and former star running back Maurice Jones-Drew certainly has some thoughts as far as the direction the Jags need to go with this hire.
“I think it’s important that you kind of go the Rams’ route, and a lot of guys have done it,” Jones-Drew said on the Rich Eisen Show. “When you draft a quarterback first overall and all those things, you have to put as much quarterback knowledge around him. You want your head coach to have knowledge, you want, obviously, your offensive coordinator to have it, you want to have a quarterback that’s knowledgable and an older guy in the room.
“You want a guy that has won coaching quarterbacks or has played coaching quarterbacks, so whoever that guy may be, I’ve been a big advocate for Jim Caldwell, Doug Pederson, Byron Leftwich, those are guys I think Jacksonville should look at because they’ve been there.”
Jones-Drew went on to elaborate on Leftwich as a candidate. The current Buccaneers offensive coordinator was also a first-round pick quarterback for the Jags, who he played for from 2003-06, including Jones-Drew’s rookie year.
“To be honest, Byron Leftwich is a guy that when I was there was a quarterback drafted in the first round, he understands it,” he said. “He understands the pressures that many of us may not know, what it takes to play at a high level in that city, and then also a guy that can relate in that locker room and make everyone feel as if their voice is heard and that they’re needed.
“I think the Jags are doing a great job of doing that net, interviewing everyone and slowly figuring out what they want to do. There’s no rush in this, you want to make sure that you get it right this time.”
Another Jaguars legend who knows Leftwich even better is Fred Taylor. The two played together during the latter’s prime, and the Hall of Fame nominee was there for the entirety of Leftwich’s Jacksonville tenure.
Taylor had only positive things to say about Leftwich, who he thinks is prepared to handle a challenge like this.
I think he’s ready! As a player who sat directly next to the QBs in team meeting sessions, and shared the huddle with Byron, his smarts and sense of urgency, along with the ability to communicate should get him an opportunity here shortly. https://t.co/vc7JzYo2nc
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) January 19, 2022
Leftwich seems to be gaining a lot of momentum as a candidate, and he could be considered the current leader in the clubhouse to land the job. The Jags are certainly doing their due diligence by interviewing a large number of candidates, but Leftwich’s name can be expected to rise to the top. It could very well be his job to turn down.
