With a 4-13 record in 2024, the Jacksonville Jaguars own the fifth pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Immediately after the season’s end, head coach Doug Pederson was fired after three seasons. However, general manager Trent Baalke retained his posistion.
Owner Shad Khan said that parting ways with a head coach and GM in the same offseason would be organizational “suicide.” On Wednesday, Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Liam Coen withdrew from the head coaching search in Jacksonville. Coen instead chose to stay with Tampa Bay as a coordinator. This angered Khan and GM Trent Baalke was fired hours later. Baalke was reportedly a reason why Coen did not want the job.
Trent Baalke is out as GM in Jacksonville after four seasons
There might not be a bigger fumble this cycle than how the #Jaguars handled this. Top coaching candidates were never going to Jacksonville with Trent Baalke still in place. Now, after all the top names have turned them down, the team (owner) finally realizes it. What a mess. https://t.co/7gIzAfDC4A
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 22, 2025
For weeks teams have been interviewing candidates for head coaching vacancies. The Patriots, Jets, and Bears have already found their next head coaches for the 2025 season. Jacksonville is one franchise that is still searching. Reports around the league said that Bucs OC Liam Coen was scheduled for a second in-person interview this week with the Jaguars. However, Coen withdrew from the head coaching search.
There was news around the NFL that top candidates for the job did not want to work with Trent Baalke. That’s why the Jaguars lost out on Ben Johnson and Liam Coen. Baalke has been the general manager of the Jaguars since 2021. His first big move was selecting Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick. However, he also hired Urab Meyer to be the head coach and that ended after just 13 games in 2021. After Meyer, Baalke hired Doug Pederson and Jacksonville had the #1 pick in back-to-back drafts.
In 2022, Baalke was criticized for selecting DE Travon Walker ahead of Aidan Hutchinson. Since Baalke took over as GM, only nine of his 38 picks are full-time starters. Losing out on a head coaching candidate because of Trent Baalke was the final straw for owner Shad Khan. He told the media that he is “deeply committed to building a winner” in Jacksonville. The team will need to hire a new head coach and general manager this offseason.
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