The Jacksonville Jaguars came into The National Football League like a blur.In four of the team’s first five seasons in The NFL, The Jaguars were a playoff team which included two trips to The AFC Championship Game. Since then The Jaguars have seen a decline in their play which has resulted in them earning the second overall pick at April’s NFL Draft which will be the highest that the franchise has picked since 1995 when they drafted offensive tackle Tony Boselli. The Jaguars have gone through a major overhaul since 2011. Longtime Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver sold the team to Shahid Khan. The Jags have a new general manager in Dave Caldwell who is busy looking for a new head head coach after Mike Mularkey was fired. The next head coach that The Jaguars employ will be the team’s fourth since 2011. With Los Angeles, California looking for an NFL team, this offseason will be vital for The Jaguars future in Northern Florida.
EverBank Field can hold up to 76,867 fans for a football game, but The Jaguars haven’t come near that number in recent years. With most of the upper deck consistently having tarp over it, The Jaguars have become The Oakland Athletics of The NFL. Last season The Jaguars were 20th in home attendance which was an increase from the previous year as they were 25th. The Jaguars benefited from having home games against The New England Patriots and Chicago Bears last season who both have large fan bases as both teams come from big media markets.
What made The Jaguars successful in the late-90’s was that they had a winning philosophy. Former Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin instilled discipline while he built the team’s foundation from the expansion draft in 1995 with quarterback Mark Brunell and wide receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. Since Coughlin was fired following the 2002 season, the Jaguars have had eight different starting quarterbacks. With a new general manager in Caldwell he must set out to find a head coach as the two men will decide on a quarterback. With names in the mix ranging from Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden to St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, it will be interesting to see what direction that the team will go in as far as the quarterback position.
The three current quarterbacks on The Jaguars roster are Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, and John Parker Wilson. Gabbert was the team’s first round pick in 2011 and he has only won five games as a starter. Henne was 1-5 as a starter last season while Wilson has yet to take a snap in The NFL. The crop of quarterbacks in The NFL Draft is thin while San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is expected to garner interest as a free-agent as Jacksonville could take a run at him.
The Jaguars were 29th in total offense last season as three-time Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew was a non-factor. After holding out from training camp, Jones-Drew was injured for the majority of the season as he only gained 414 yards rushing after he led The NFL in the category in 2011 with 1,606 yards.
Whoever takes over as The Jaguars head coach will inherit a defense that ranked 30th last season and the unit is lacking playmakers. The Jaguars do not have any current players on this team defensively that have made The Pro Bowl.
At this point The Jaguars could be better served by looking to trade the second overall pick in the draft in order to move down and stockpile picks for this year and next year. The Jaguars are not a year away from being a good team and the term re-building has gone to the wayside in favor of building. Khan appears to be a no-nonsense type of guy so it will be interesting to see if he will be patient or if he will attempt to make moves that will provide a quick spark for the franchise. New York Jets quarterback and Jacksonville native Tim Tebow could be released and you wonder if The Jags will take a run on the former Heisman Trophy winner from The University of Florida? It hasn’t helped The Jaguars case that The Indianapolis Colts had such a quick turnaround as they made the playoffs in 2012 following a 2-14 record in 2011. The Houston Texans have won The AFC South the past two seasons and they appear not ready to relinquish the throne.
The Jaguars have not qualified for the playoffs since 2007 which is currently the fifth longest playoff drought in The NFL. To sell their fan base it is time for this organization to make it happen in the draft. With Southern California desperate for a team, the time is now. April’s NFL Draft could potentially make or break The Jaguars in Jacksonville.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
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