Even after a disappointing campaign in 2018, the Jaguars have decided to bring back their head coach and general manager for another year.
Despite a wildly disappointing season that saw the Jacksonville Jaguars finish 5-11, the team has decided that it doesn’t want to make any changes at the helm.
After Jacksonville dropped its season finale 20-3 to its AFC South rival Houston Texans, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that owner Shad Khan planned to bring back head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell for the 2019 season. Evidently, the Jags still believe in what they are doing, and they want to give it another chance.
Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan announced that HC Doug Marrone and GM Dave Caldwell will return for 2019 season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 30, 2018
A year ago, this didn’t even seem like an issue. Quarterback Blake Bortles found his 15 minutes of NFL fame, got hot for a few weeks, and led the Jaguars to a playoff upset in Pittsburgh and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game. It was there that Jacksonville’s amazing 2017 season came to a halt, losing to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots after coming just a few minutes short of reaching the Super Bowl.
The Jaguars then came into the 2018 campaign with championship expectations, as well as a defense that was highly sought after by many fantasy football owners. Following an average start, the Jags went into a downward spiral as Bortles ran out of magic and reverted back to his previous self, even getting benched in favor of Cody Kessler.
With the team’s decision to keep Marrone, it shows they are more interested in making a change at quarterback and keeping the current system in place. Considering how good Marrone had the Jaguars playing last season, it makes sense why they wouldn’t want to go with a complete overhaul.
However, if they truly intend to move on from Bortles, they will need to work quickly to find a replacement at quarterback, and they will need a bounce back season in 2019 for Marrone and Caldwell to secure their job safety.