JACKSONVILLE – Toughness matters, and it will matter in the coming weeks.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Thursday morning spoke to the media for the first time since Doug Pederson was dismissed as head coach Monday, and his thoughts on the future focused on culture and strength.
"You want the right guy who's going to be the right leader and voice of your team," he said.
The Jaguars through Thursday have requested interviews with 10 head-coaching candidates:
- Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen
- Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores
- Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn
- Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham
- Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
- Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken
- Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore
- former New York Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh
- Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo
"You never know what's going to happen, how everything's going to unfold, but it seems like we're doing all the right things as far as talking to all the right people," said Lawrence, who finished the 2024 season on injured reserve and who recently underwent surgery to repair an AC joint sprain on his left – non-throwing – shoulder.
"All the big-name candidates that are out there. It seems like they're on the list."
Lawrence said the ideal head coach will make the Jaguars a "tough team that other teams don't want to play against."
"We need to get back to that, that's the most important piece," he said. "Whether it's an offensive coach or a defensive coach, just a guy who's going to instill that culture, that toughness."
The Jaguars in 2024 went 4-13 and lost an NFL-record 10 games by seven points or fewer, with Lawrence talking Thursday of a head coach that must "set that culture to be a tough team, mentally and physically – just withstand the ups and downs of the season."
"Two years ago, we did a great job of that," Lawrence said. "For whatever reason this year, we weren't able to do that."
The Jaguars, after winning the AFC South title in 2022, started the 2023 season 8-3 and have lost 18 of 23 games since.
Lawrence also on Thursday spoke positively of Pederson, the Jaguars' head coach for three of Lawrence's four professional seasons.
"I'm very grateful for coach and what he's done here and done for me," Lawrence said. "My rookie year was really tough and a lot of chaos and turmoil and just a really crazy situation and for him to come in and provide stability and to kind of revive our team a little bit and be that consistent and voice for us … I don't want that to be overshadowed by a tough and disappointing finish."
Lawrence described his reaction to Pederson's departure as a combination of disappointment and a realization that the NFL is a business.
"As a player, you understand that's part of the business, but you're also disappointed and you feel some responsibility because as a player, you have impact on the game," Lawrence said. "It's on us as well. It's unfortunate, is the best way to put it. You feel like you wish you could have done more, and you wish you would have won more games.
"If you asked any of us going into this season, no one would have thought Coach Pederson would have been fired at the end of the year. You see the way the year went, and it's just disappointing. It's a weird feeling, but you do understand it's part of the business. You just have to continue to get better, and for whatever reason this year, we didn't do that.
"There are a lot of a lot of things at play regarding that. It's not all just on one person."
Lawrence on Thursday also was asked if he wanted input on Pederson's replacement, saying, "My job is to prepare myself to play really well and to win games and be on the field."
"I don't want to ever cross any boundaries and try to do more than my job if that's not wanted or needed," he said. "Of course, I have opinions. I've been here now four years, I've had two coaches, I've seen good, bad, kind of everything in between, so I do have an opinion.
"I think that Mr. Khan (Jaguars Owner Shad Khan) and [General Manager] Trent [Baalke] really value my opinion. We'll have conversations and we've had conversations, but as far I'm not making the decision.
"I'm the quarterback here. I'm not the owner, I'm not the GM; I'm the quarterback. I know what my role is, but I also think that my opinion is important and I think that they value it."
