By The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on Monday that they have fired head coach Doug Pederson after a disappointing 2024 season.
The team will retain general manager Trent Baalke.
It is typical of teams to make coaching changes a day after the final day of the regular season, a day which is colloquially known as “Black Monday.”
“I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars,” team owner Shahid Khan said in a statement.
“Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife, Jeannie, when that occasion arrives. As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, 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. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.
“I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago. I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”
The Jaguars finished 4-13, despite Khan stating before the season that this current roster was the “best” he had seen during his ownership of the franchise.
Pederson was hired in 2022 and spent three years in Jacksonville. He leaves with a combined record of 22-29; his first two seasons ended 9-8 before suffering a downturn in results this year.
The Jags reached the playoffs in his first season at the helm, beating the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round and with quarterback Trevor Lawrence being voted to the Pro Bowl.
And while the Jaguars ended 2023 with the same record, a poor end to the year – Jacksonville lost five of its last six – meant the season ended on a sour note as they missed out on the playoffs. Khan later described 2023 as an “organizational failure.”
This year got off to a bad start, with the team opening 0-4, including a big 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. Lawrence – who the team gave a big-money extension in the offseason – missed substantial chunks of time, in particular the end of the season, due to injury as pressure mounted on Pederson.
Eventually, a 26-23 Week 18 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts marked the end of the Jags’ season and the awarding of the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Elsewhere, the New England Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo just hours after their Week 18 victory on Sunday.
The Jags join the Patriots, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints as franchises that will be looking for a new head coach.
