JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

The real JT from Plano, TX

I'm enjoying the amount of attention our new "all-rookie" leadership team is drawing from the media dopes that help feed my need for DUUUVAL content to make it through the offseason. It's almost a little like the movie Draft Day's joke on Jacksonville, dummy rookie GM Jeff Carson getting fooled by everyone. I hope instead that our actual rookie general manager proves out to be the wunderkind that 904 hopes him to be and shocks the world with skill, strategy and wisdom. I love everything I hear from Coach, GM and Tony when he said, "The only thing that matters is what happens in the grass" in the fall. One fer fresh new minds.

The Jaguars indeed were a huge story in what I call the "media portion" of NFL Scouting Combine this week – with Head Coach Liam Coen, General Manager James Gladstone and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli essentially making their public debut. It was positive timing for the Jaguars, because the trio unsurprisingly proved outstanding at articulating the franchise's vision moving forward. Their message of alignment, players over plays, egoless direction and "the only thing that matters is what happens on the grass" indeed has set the tone for the coming months. We can expect more of the same message throughout the offseason. That's when NFL news is about speculation, words and projection. We don't know what the real games will bring. What we have now are the words and the messages – and for now, the words and the messages are good.

Anita from Springfield

"They're our players until they're not" is a common refrain, but the way the leadership has talked it feels like wide receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram will be back – especially with quarterback Trevor Lawrence's comfort. Does that feel right? And does this in any way mean we might keep safety Andre Cisco, a player I still believe in? Or is his pending free agency likely to price him out of here?

Kirk in particular was a common topic for Coen and Gladstone this week at the combine, with both understandably sort of talking around the topic. It's understandable they did this because there's nothing much yet to say publicly about Kirk's situation – because the Jaguars are still in the relatively early stages of working through deciding whether to retain him. How does this feel? Very uncertain. I don't get the sense this is remotely decided. There are positives to keeping Kirk, particularly his relationship with Lawrence and Lawrence's comfort with Kirk. The concerns are that Kirk hasn't finished either of the last two seasons healthy and his salary-cap figure is very close to prohibitive. I hate to say "stay tuned" on these matters because I know the thirst for answers, but decisions are still getting discussed and decided. We'll know more in the coming weeks – on Cisco, Engram and others. So … stay tuned.

Frank from Jacksonville

Did you get a Super Bowl ring while working for the Indianapolis Colts?

Yes.

Brendan from The Moral High Ground

How's the interior line and defensive tackle depth in the draft? Is it possible we trade back a few for a top interior offensive line prospect and address defensive tackle later since Arik Armstead is getting a do over?

The 2025 NFL Draft is considered strong and deep at both interior offensive line and defensive tackle. I don't expect the Jaguars to necessarily enter the draft with the idea of targeting offensive linemen, though do I expect they could be enticed to trade down a spot or two if they believe the same player they covet at No. 5 overall still will be available at No. 6 or 7. I don't expect interior offensive line to be the Jaguars' first selection in the '25 draft.

Steve from Nashville, TN

Is new Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll part of the youth movement (at a young 73 years old)?

Age is a number.

DMiz from Jagsonville

KOAF, per your statement, "My team is on the floor." You reference "my" team as in YOUR team. I guess you are a fan after all. ; )

When I write "my team is on the floor" in O-Zone answers, I'm referencing the late Gene Hackman's line from Hoosiers when he told an inquiring referee that he wasn't going to change his decision to play four players and leave a healthy player on the bench. The answer is meant to say "I'm not changing my answer" and doesn't not reference the Jaguars nor indicate whether or not I am a fan.

Gary from St. Augustine, FL

Even at the scouting combine, you still suck.

There it is.

Tom from Burnsville, NC

Dude. I explained it before but once again you went with " I can't in good consciousness." I feel sorry for your grandpa rolling over in his grave AGAIN.

Yep. You're correct. And another short streak of perfection apparently has gone by the wayside. It was a good run.

Rick from Jacksonville

Rapaport and Schultz sparring it out? Were you there to break it up? What did you do?

NFL Insiders Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network and Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports apparently "had words" and a bit more at a Starbucks in Indianapolis this week over something one or the other tweeted about something or the other. I was not there, so I did nothing. What would I have done had I been there? Chuckled. What else in the world would have been appropriate?

Rob from Pittsburgh, PA

I think Cisco should get one-year, prove-it deal. I feel like defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's defense last year wasn't good. If you were in charge, would you re-sign him on a prove-it deal?

A couple of thoughts here. One is that the decision to sign a player to a one-year, prove-it deal isn't quite so one-sided as your question suggests – and part of the equation is whether the player is interested in such a deal. Because he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, Cisco may be seeking a long-term deal. And it's very possible he will want to test his ability to get such a deal on the market. Another thought: While Jaguars and observers are quite familiar with Cisco, the decision-makers and coaches have no real ties to him – with General Manager Trent Baalke and the previous coaching staff no longer with the organization. Either way, Cisco didn't play particularly well in 2023. I agree with your thought that the defense and circumstance was a factor, but I still don't know that there will be much of a push to retain Cisco. We'll see.

Ray from Jax

John: You have expressed optimism about the direction of the team under the new leadership. However, I recall similar optimism from you about the last group - Super Bowl-winning coach and general manager from a successful franchise. Not being critical; everyone can be wrong occasionally. So what do you believe went wrong? Was the first season just a lucky final eight games in which the ball bounced the right direction?

I did express optimism in the last regime. I thought it was soundly built and I very much liked Doug Pederson as a head coach. I thought Pederson did good job for the most part, particularly in re-instilling confidence and helping lift the franchise out of the abyss that was the 2021 season. I also thought General Manager Trent Baalke did a decent job lifting the overall roster from the abyss that was the talent of the roster in 2020. The weirdest part about the last regime was it worked – for a while. The Jaguars went 13-3 over a 16-game regular-season span in 2022-2023 and were playing smart, winning football. Then, Lawrence and Kirk got hurt in what became a franchise-turning loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. I thought the franchise didn't respond very well the following offseason, changing defensive coaching staffs and moving to become more expensive and older in free agency. But I honestly don't know exactly what went wrong and a lot of people in the organization didn't, either. It was a rather incredible unraveling. But it often doesn't take much in this league to unravel a good thing.

Hank from Town Center Jax

Hello Zone, I had to take a second look. Is that James Gladstone the Jags hired or Justin Timberlake?

It was Joaquin Phoenix.

Brian from Round Rock, Texas

Now that we know the media runs this team, does this mean a draft full of receivers? They always want receivers ... the more receivers the better. We should probably get some old ones in free agency too, right?

I once lived near a park. There was a guy who occasionally would drink a can of something hidden in a brown bag and yell ugly words at swing set. I wonder what happened to that guy.