Robert Saleh became the first NFL head coach to be fired during the 2024 season, after New York Jets owner Woody Johnson unceremoniously made the move following his team’s Week 5 loss in London.
According to a pair of NFL analysts for ESPN, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan could have taken a similar course with coach Doug Pederson after his team blew a late 14-point lead to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Jaguars prevailed, 37-34, on Cam Little’s 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining. That kick likely saved Pederson’s job, for now, according to insider Dan Graziano:
“I believe the Colts' annual loss in Jacksonville came at a good time for Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, whose seat isn't chilly by any means,” he wrote Wednesday on current NFL coaches on the hot seat. “The Jaguars had high hopes for this season, and if the losing starts up again next week and continues, that's the spot to watch for me.”
NFL insider Jeremy Fowler also weighed in on the topic:
It's tough to overstate the importance of Pederson's first win of the season. Heading to London with an 0-5 record would have caused more tension. Showing signs of life was huge for the Jacksonville staff. Flying home from London after an ugly loss is an uneasy proposition, too, with Saleh becoming the third coach fired after a loss on a London trip, joining Dennis Allen (Raiders in 2014) and Joe Philbin (Dolphins in 2015) before him. But at least Pederson now has breathing room after a divisional win.
Starting 0-5 would have been brutal for a Jaguars team that was battling for a top AFC playoff seed as recent as November 2023. But as we just witnessed with Johnson and the Jets — NFL owners don’t like losing overseas, and the long flight home from London often leads to pointed conversations.
The Jaguars are about to play their annual London Games in Weeks 6 and 7. They're currently slated to face a pair of rookie quarterbacks in Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears, and Drake Maye of the New England Patriots.
Split those games, or worse, and the writing could be on the wall by the time Jacksonville returns home to Duval County on Oct. 21.
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