JACKSONVILLE – George Pellicer had a vision, and that vision is a lot of fun.
It's also really happening, which figures to make the 2024 season special for Jaguars fans who long have had their own vision of the team again wearing its earliest uniforms.
"It's pretty cool," Pellicer said.
Pellicer, Jaguars' head equipment manager and a member of their equipment staff since 1999, joined senior writer John Oehser for this week's O-Zone Podcast. The primary topic: The “Prowler Throwbacks” uniforms the team will wear for the first time this season.
The official throwback announcement that came Thursday morning at 9:04 a.m. marked the culmination of a long process for Pellicer, a Jaguars fan since their 1995 inception. Pellicer first discussed the throwbacks idea with Jaguars President Mark Lamping, then later met with Head Coach Doug Pederson, General Manager Trent Baalke and finally Owner Shad Khan.
"He said, 'Sure, if you think the fans will like it,''' Pellicer said of Khan.
The Prowler Throwbacks unveiled Thursday draw their name from the running Jaguar embroidered on the sleeves of the jerseys, which also feature a vintage three-color number. The pants feature a teal stripe with gold and black piping going along the length of the pants. The helmets will have the original Jaguars logo on the side used by the team in the inaugural season of 1995 until 2013.
"I found four pictures of [former Jaguars running back] Fred [Taylor] from different years and said, 'This is what I want; just copy this,'" Pellicer said with a laugh. "Nothing fancy about it. I don't want any changes. I just want it to be the exact same."
The original Prowler uniforms were worn from 1995 through 2008, with various changes – some subtle, others significant – during that time. One significant change: The numbers on the white jerseys were changed to black in 2004 after being teal from 1995-2003. The team also added black pants and an alternate black jersey to the original prowling Jaguars uniform in 2002.
Pellicer said the Prowlers are essentially the jerseys worn from 1998-2008 with subtle differences from the 1995-1997 versions.
"The font was different, the cut of the jersey was different," Pellicer said. "The Prowling cat was always on the sleeve. There weren't as many rules at the time. You could kind of tweak things on the fly. Now, if you want to make a change you have to do it years in advance and there are deadlines that you have to announce."
Pellicer said the NFL's adherence to such rules kept the throwbacks from debuting last season.
"The saddest part was we got it in motion [last offseason] and they said, 'You just missed the deadline,''' Pellicer said. "I've had the samples for the throwback uniforms sitting in my desk drawer for 18 months. People have been begging and saying on Twitter, 'We need uniforms.'
"I had the sample by March of '23. There was some going back and forth. I said, 'I want the exact it was then."
