Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Tyler Nettuno

Reports: Jaguars continue to work toward hiring Rick Spielman to front office

On Tuesday, news broke that the Jacksonville Jaguars had interviewed former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman for a high-level front-office position. Now, the rumors that the team wants to add Spielman seem to be picking up steam.

On Good Morning Football on Thursday, NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo said that the Jaguars are continuing to work to bring him in.

“My understanding… is that there’s progress being made, there’s deals being worked on. Nothing official,” Garofolo said. “We’ve seen this Jaguars’ search for a head coach take a couple turns here and there, so I’m not going to say it’s happening until it officially happens, but Rick Spielman potentially joining the Jacksonville front office.

“This is a guy that is highly respected around the league. I know there’s concerns about Trent Baalke amongst head coaching candidates, so this would be a plus in the minds of many candidates.”

Although he was fired by the Vikings, Spielman is still well thought of around the NFL and is credited with several strong draft selections. If the Jags choose to bring him in, possibly in some sort of executive vice president role, Garofolo thinks it could signal the direction the team is heading as far as head coach goes.

“By the way, if Spielman had remained in Minnesota, the expectation was Doug Pederson was going to be high on the Vikings’ list,” Garofolo said. “Pederson interviewed a second time with the Jaguars this week. You see where I’m going with this? Potentially, the pieces coming together in Jacksonville.”

Garofolo isn’t the only one with the scoop on Spielman, either. CBS Sports NFL reporter Jonathan Jones also reported that Spielman to the Jags is picking up steam, and per Jones, Spielman would be in a role above Baalke, who many fans want to be shown the door.

This has been a disastrous coaching search and a rough start to a crucial offseason for the Jaguars. While many wouldn’t be happy with Baalke retained in any capacity, we may at least be nearing a conclusion to the drama in the coming days if things materialize with Spielman and Pederson, who won a Super Bowl as the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2017 season.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.