Published on January 6, 2025 at 4:12 pm
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Updated at 4:12 p.m. Monday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired Head Coach Doug Pederson after a disappointing 4-13 season.
Owner Shad Khan released a statement Monday morning saying it was “time to summon new leadership.”
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Pederson was fired a day after the Jaguars lost 26-23 in overtime to the Indianapolis Colts.
“As the season progressed, obviously, we weren’t doing well,” Khan told reporters Monday afternoon. “We were close yesterday, but not close enough to win the game. … I just came to the conclusion that what we were doing was not working and a change in direction was needed.”
In his earlier statement, Khan said both he and Pederson had hoped for a better season, but “I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded.”
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Pederson coached the Jaguars for three seasons. He guided the team to back-to-back winning seasons, and Khan said at the beginning of this season that the team was the best the Jaguars had fielded.
But the Jaguars started the year with four straight losses and never got on track. The team lost 10 games by one score and finished third in the AFC South division.
In his statement, Khan said, “I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago.”
Khan retained General Manager Trent Baalke. He said he would work with Baalke and others “to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”
Baalke said his job status was out of his hands.
“I certainly respect the decision that’s been made,” Baalke told reporters. “And, I don’t take the job lightly. The real fact, and the bottom line is, we weren’t productive on the field. We didn’t win enough games. And, I don’t shy away from that. I’m just as responsible as anybody else. All we can do now is roll up our sleeves and go to work.”
Khan says he kept Baalke on partly because of the football administration that has been built since Baalke was hired as interim general manager in 2020, then promoted to the full-time position ahead of the 2021 season.
“I think if you look at the body of work,” Khan told reporters. “Certainly, over the last five years, you look at the building blocks of players we have (and who) we’re building the team around. You look at our salary cap, you look at the number of draft picks we have now, and also making sure that our key players are getting paid, all of that has happened. And, we haven’t mortgaged our future.”
Khan cited the selection of the Jaguar’s 2024 first round draft pick, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and the 2023 first round draft pick, offensive tackle Anton Harrison, as examples of Baalke’s draft record.
The Jaguars will have the fifth overall selection in April’s 2025 NFL Draft.
Randy comes to Jacksonville from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where as metro editor, he led investigative coverage of the Parkland school shooting that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has spent more than 40 years in reporting and editing positions in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Florida.
