Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looked and sounded like a man short on answers after his team was walloped for the second time in three weeks, this time to the Chicago Bears and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in London.
The Jaguars dropped to 1-5 on the season. Their point differential through six weeks is a dismal minus-65. The offense can’t score. The defense can’t stop anyone. They’re among the most penalized teams in the NFL. Even worse, they’re not getting enough from their young talent, starting with former No. 1 overall draft picks Trevor Lawrence and Travon Walker.
The fall from playoff contender to NFL cellar has been sharp for Pederson and the Jaguars. Maybe this roster isn’t as good as it once looked, but the constant mistakes, turnovers, penalties and blown assignments ultimately come down to coaching. Entering Week 7, Jacksonville’s second straight in London, Pederson has undeniably the hottest seat in the NFL.
Pederson was asked after his team’s non-competitive, 35-16 loss to the Bears Sunday whether he has the backing of owner Shahid Khan. “I was just with him,” he told reporters, “and I do.”
But if not now, when will Pederson get fired in 2024?
The Jaguars play a 1-5 team with a rookie quarterback in Week 7. If Jacksonville loses to Drake Maye and the awful New England Patriots, getting swept in the London Games, that could easily be the final straw for Khan. Owners do not like losing overseas. Just ask former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh.
From Week 8 on, the Jaguars will face the Green Bay Packers (4-2), Philadelphia Eagles (3-2), Minnesota Vikings (5-0), Detroit Lions (4-1) and Houston Texans (5-1). All of those teams, outside of the idle Vikings, won in Week 6.
Even if the Jaguars start playing better football in the coming weeks, there’s no fighting their way out of this 1-5 start. They’re essentially throwing punches in the dark at this point, and it would behoove Khan to start laying the groundwork for his franchise’s next head coach sooner rather than later.
Here are seven of the top head coach candidates who could help the Jaguars in 2025:
Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator
Similar to Slowik, Johnson, 38, is among the elite young offensive minds in the league. He’s been loyal to Detroit, declining an interview with the Carolina Panthers to remain with head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions to chase some unfinished business in 2024. Detroit’s offense is one of the best in the NFL, and Jonson is doing it with Jared Goff at quarterback. His next success story could be helping another former No. 1 overall pick — Lawrence — take the next step in his career.
Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans offensive coordinator
Slowik checks multiple boxes. First of all, he’s young. At 37, he’d be the youngest head coach in Jaguars history by three years. He’s also gotten the most out of Houston’s young talent, helping quarterback C.J. Stroud achieve superstar status as a rookie, while quickly developing Nico Collins into one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers. Could he do the same with Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. in Jacksonville? He comes from the Shanahan family coaching tree, working under both Mike and, most recently, Kyle with the San Francisco 49ers.
Aaron Glenn, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator
Speaking of the Lions, Glenn feels primed for his first NFL head coaching job after helping to build a winning culture in Detroit. Unlike Johnson, Glenn actively sought opportunities during the 2024 hiring cycle. He met with four teams and got a second interview with the Washington Commanders before ultimately returning to the Lions. Glenn, 52, has the Lions allowing less than 20 points per game this season. His defenses are built on getting after the quarterback with some creative blitz packages, and he’s helped develop pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson into one of the best players in the NFL. Jacksonville could use some help in that area, especially with Walker.
If hired, Glenn would also be the first Black head coach in Jacksonville’s young franchise history.
Mike Vrabel, Cleveland Browns consultant
If Khan and the Jaguars want a change, they could go with the no-nonsense approach of Vrabel, the former three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker of Bill Belichick's New England Patriots. Many link Vrabel to the Belichick coaching tree, but that’s not actually the case. After retiring from the NFL, Vrabel started his coaching career as a linebackers coach with Ohio State before being hired as a defensive assistant with the Texans, and finally the head coach of the Tennessee Titans for six seasons. Vrabel’s trademark was squeezing every ounce of potential out of some subpar Titans rosters. Given the current state of Jacksonville’s defense, Vrabel could be an excellent fit as a coach who knows the AFC South well. He was 56-48, including playoffs, as the HC in Tennessee.
Bill Belichick, former New England Patriots head coach
Make no mistake, Belichick will coach in the NFL again. Passing Don Shula for No. 1 all-time in wins (he’s 14 shy) means more to him than he’ll ever admit.
The problem with Belichick is age — he’ll turn 73 in April — and baggage. Hiring Belichick means you’re OK with Josh McDaniels as your offensive coordinator, Matt Patricia as your defensive coordinator, and Joe Judge as your special teams coordinator, because all three are Belichick guys. It also means you’re OK with starting over at head coach in two-to-three years, or however long it takes Belichick to pass Shula and give up on his chase for a Super Bowl without Tom Brady.
Belichick only makes sense for a team who thinks they have a Super Bowl roster and are a head coach away (... paging Jerry Jones). Are the Jaguars that team? Khan may think so given the draft capital and cash spent on the roster in recent years, and there's no bigger name on the market than Belichick.
Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator
Now this is a coach from the Belichick coaching tree, and he’s among the best. He was surprisingly fired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins following the 2021 NFL season with a career 24-25 record, with owner Stephen Ross implying that organizational strife — later identified as tensions between Flores and general manager Chris Grier, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and others — led them to part ways with the coach they initially viewed as a culture-setter. Flores went on to file a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, alleging racial discrimination around the league. It’s unclear how NFL owners feel about giving Flores another shot, but it would behoove the Jaguars to look into him.
Times have changed for the better since Flores joined the Vikings in 2023. Minnesota has been thriving on defense, especially during the team’s 5-0 start to 2024. The Vikes have forced 13 turnovers (2nd in the NFL), amassed 20 sacks (2nd), and are allowing just 4.4 third-down conversions per game (tied for 13th). Flores is a tough, detail-oriented coach who could help fix the current sorry state of Jacksonville’s defense.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Brady, who grew up five hours from Jacksonville in Pembroke Pines, has made the most out of his second chance with the Buffalo Bills, after his first stint as an NFL offensive coordinator flamed out in Carolina. He took over as Bills OC in 2023 after head coach Sean McDermott fired Ken Dorsey. The Bills rebounded under Brady, making the playoffs last year after a 5-5 start before starting hot in 2024 with three straight wins. Brady is known for scheming and developing his offenses around his personnel, which he's showcased in Buffalo since the team traded No. 1 wide receiver Stefon Diggs. He also won a national championship with quarterback Joe Burrow as LSU’s passing game coordinator in 2019. At 35 years old, could Brady be the coach to unlock Lawrence's true potential? He's definitely a name to watch.
