JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Michael from Orange Park, FL
Are you actually going to list the head-coaching candidates every day until the Jaguars win the Super Bowl? Asking for a friend.
No. I plan to list the candidates for the Jaguars' vacant head-coaching position in the day's first O-Zone answer for as long as the information remains pertinent. Because the Jaguars remain in Round 1 of the search, here's the pertinent information. Candidates already interviewed as of Saturday morning: Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, former New York Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. They also are still expected to interview Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. I expect a "second interview" or two could happen next week, with in-person interviews able to begin Monday. But coaches whose teams are still in the playoffs – Moore, Monken, Johnson, Glenn and Spagnuolo – can't interview in-person until after their current team loses or after the conference title games. No coach can agree to a contract or sign a contract as a head coach until his current team is eliminated. Those latter two factors are why this process might not officially end for several weeks. That doesn't mean I'll keep listing candidates for the next several weeks. Or maybe it will. Welcome to Saturday. Enjoy the games.
Kim from New Smyrna Beach, FL
With season-ticket prices soaring, I can't find the inspiration/anticipation to review for yet another year. What say you, O?
I say this isn't my area. A decision to be a season-ticket member without question is expensive. Whether someone should do this depends on circumstances unknown to yours truly. It's up to the Jaguars to make people want to make this decision. That's their task and it typically must be done by having more on-field success than the Jaguars managed in 2024.
Steve from San Marco, FL
It seems like just a few short years ago many or most NFL teams hiring a new head coach announced their decision within a day, or at most within a week. I get being thorough but what has changed?
The NFL changed rules in this area to have precisely this effect. One way the league did this was to mandate that no in-person interviews can take place until following the divisional round of the playoffs, which this year means January 20. The league also altered the Rooney Rule, mandating that teams must interview two diverse candidates in person before hiring a head coach. The hope was that the process would be more thorough – and eliminate the mad rush that often led to coaches in the postseason being largely left out of the process.
Kei from Kitakyushu, Japan
And also as a general question: I know Shad loves the money aspect of the London/Wembley games — but is the part of his calculus that he could turn this into a distinguishing "tradition" for the franchise, akin to the Detroit Lions hosting a Thanksgiving game every season?
A bit, perhaps.
Sean from Saint Johns City
Do you, in general, have an opinion on hiring a head coach with head coaching experience versus a hot young coordinator?
I typically don't think of head coaches in generalities because head coaches don't – or shouldn't, at least – get hired on general traits. They get hired when an NFL owner sees them as the right fit for the right team at the right time. And it can be dangerous for an owner to enter a process seeking a specific trait – i.e., an "offensive guy" or a head coach with "experience." Also: Experience as a head coach isn't a terrific indicator of future success. While coaches with head-coaching experience such as Andy Reid and Bill Belichick have produced wildly successful tenures in Kansas City and New England, it's fair to wonder if those tenures were more about their quarterbacks than their past experience. I do personally like experience over youth when hiring a head coach because I like the idea of a coach who knows what's important and what's not – and an experienced coach tends to understand that area. But that's not necessarily a prerequisite to success.
Tony from Johns Creek, GA
O, I wish Khan would throw money at Ozzie Newsome to be the Jags VP.
Ozzie Newsome is one of the top personnel executives in NFL history. He's also 68 and the executive vice president of the Baltimore Ravens. He's unlikely to be changing franchises.
Howard from Homestead, FL
Can you explain the dogpile rule? I'm referring to the opening kickoff of the Green Bay Packers-Philadelphia Eagles game in which video showed a Packers player on the ground with the ball on his hands before he was dogpiled. The refs, however, awarded the ball to the Eagles because one of their players emerged from the dogpile with the ball. I'm genuinely confused. Why does the winner of the dog pile tug-of-war automatically get possession? It always plays out that way.
If officials can clearly determine possession before a "dogpile" occurs, possession is ruled to the possession player. If officials can't clearly determine possession in that situation, they are left to determine it best they can. That often means awarding it to the player who emerges with the ball. Is this ideal? Probably not, though it at least provides a clear-cut decision.
Will from Middleburg, FL
Is the rest of the coaching staff still employed? If so, is it because Jaguars Shad Khan is doing them a solid by continuing to pay them until a new head coach is hired and chooses his staff?
Jaguars assistants from last season are still employed because most NFL coaches work under multi-year deals. It is common practice for assistants to remain under contract after a head coach is fired until a new head coach is hired and that new head coach can determine if he wants to retain any assistants from the previous staff. It has nothing to do with doing anyone "a solid."
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King of All Funk, you say the identity of the team usually depends on having an elite quarterback (that is still work in progress), or a suffocating defense (hmmm, not really) or a dominant offensive line (definitely not when a yard or two is needed on third or fourth down). Guess our identity at present is that of a Puntastic Special Teams. We cannot score or get a stop when needed, but we can kick the ball away really, really well. Guess that's why we went 4-13.
Fair.
Thomas from Charlottesville, VA
I have not seen any expansion of the situation that caused defensive end Josh Hines-Allen to miss the last game. Was the personal issue so grave that he could not play? Or was it that he was not in a position to succeed this year and was tired of the coaching? Can you shed more light on the situation?
Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen missed the 2024 regular-season finale for a personal reason. The idea of saying something is a "personal reason" is to keep it personal. Yes, the situation was such that he wouldn't play. It was not because of coaching. It was not because of how the Jaguars were faring.
Mike from Daytona Beach, FL
You recently mentioned that Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence would like to have a head coach that wants the Jags to be a tough team that other teams do not want to play. I believe that starts by prioritizing some physically dominant, athletic and nasty players for the interior offensive line in the draft. Having such "slobberknockers" is a virtual necessity to consistently control the line of scrimmage on running plays, protect the quarterback from up-the-middle pressure on passing plays, and generally wear down and demoralize the defense. These unique players must normally be drafted on days one or two. So how have the Jags done?
Not quite good enough.
Eric from JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL
I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting Ben Johnson as the main candidate. That being said, I think I'm going to be pretty happy with a number of the options we have. If they announced Coen, Saleh, or Glenn, I think all are a win! Are there better candidates this round than normal or just glass is half full thinking?
Most candidates in most coaching cycles look good. There are usually many, many reasons for optimism when a head coach takes a position. When regular-season games start, we get an idea if those reasons for optimism have any merit whatsoever. It's a bit like that old Mike Tyson line about everybody having a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
Don from Norfolk, VA
"It's the little things that bring this guy joy." I got a good laugh on that one. Thanks.
I am the king of all funk.
