JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Brian from ROUND ROCK, TX

I think you described the head coach's job as "setting the tone" and being a leader. Is that right? How has he done? I think the tone was losing and the leadership was missing.

An NFL head coach's job absolutely is about setting the tone and being a leader of men – and I did describe it precisely as such recently. Those duties from this view are far more important than play-calling or even in-game situations. Head Coach Doug Pederson from this view is a very capable tone-setter and team leader, and I thought that shone through for his first season and a half with the Jaguars – in 2022 and early in 2023. The Jaguars during that stretch believed in themselves and seemed to be pulling in the same direction – and the result was a lot of winning. It was a good situation and a good feeling. But good NFL situations and good NFL feelings can be elusive. Results can go sideways and it can be hard to get back in the right direction. Things around the Jaguars got sideways late in the 2023 season when injuries limited quarterback Trevor Lawrence and sidelined wide receiver Christian Kirk. The team never seemed to get moving in one direction after that. Did Pederson lose the ability to set a tone and lead? That seems unlikely. I would say such things are difficult to restart after they have gone sideways. The thought here is that Pederson remains capable of getting it "unsideways." The thought also is that's a tall, difficult task if he is to undertake it.

Bradford D. from Orange Park, FL

So, I'm pretty sure what I have continued to read here on this column through this point in the season is that "[General Manager] Trent Baalke has had good drafts, Doug Pederson is a good head coach and Shad Khan is a fine owner." But we're 3-12 and "just not very good." I got that about right? I've never been great at math - and maybe this equation makes sense to you ... but working that answer out of it is WAY beyond my capabilities. I guess it just exemplifies how much of an IDIOT I am.

No one said you're an idiot, at least not that I remember. Sometimes the whole doesn't equal the sum of the parts. Life, math and the NFL are wacky and frustrating that way.

Art from Just shy of the ditch

HNY O! Hoping that 2025 brings a return to joy between the lines and even though I think Doug is a good one, sometimes it's just time to start anew. I would not be against having a Titans retread on the sidelines next year. Saw a Monday Night Football clip of the Packers general manager that showed the youngest team with 53 draftees on the roster? Hire that man!

OK.

Robert from Elkton

I read a quote from Armstead after last loss saying "… it's about how smart you play. These games are boiling down to mistakes that we're making that's not allowing us to win the game." IMO, huge mistake all year has been him playing defensive end. It has honestly been one of the most baffling "why in the h%$# are we still doing this" moves I have ever seen week after week in the NFL. Since he is most likely here next year, would you be surprised at any coach playing him primarily at defensive end? Would you do it?

I would play Jaguars veteran defensive end Arik Armstead more at defensive tackle because that's the position where he has excelled throughout his career. But there may be great reasons for playing him at defensive end that I don't understand. That's possible. I don't understand everything. Can he still play at a high level at any position at this point in his career? I don't know. I assume the current staff will continue playing him as they have this season because I assume that's what the current staff feels gives the Jaguars the best chance to win. I haven't the foggiest idea what another staff would do in this scenario.

Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA

Flint Michigan Megabowl?

What?

Joe from Jacksonville

Hope your Christmas was great, John – and a happy New Year. We're lucky to have you. First of all, I'm with you on the logo. Love the throwbacks, but the Jaguar is better. Secondly, as someone who has never cared about the Indianapolis Colts enough to pay attention other than at Jaguars games, you recently listed center Jeff Saturday and tight end Dallas Clark as players who would benefit the Jaguars. Really? As an outsider, I always imagined those two especially to have been direct beneficiaries of having Peyton Manning. Thoughts?

Your referencing a recent O-Zone question in which I listed players I have covered who would benefit this year's Jaguars. I listed Clark and Saturday, having covered them during the last decade. Everyone on the Colts during that era indeed benefitted from playing with quarterback Peyton Manning. That's the benefit of having an all-time elite quarterback. I wouldn't say Saturday or Clark are Pro Football Hall of Fame candidates. I would say they were damned good, and the Jaguars don't have enough damned good on the roster.

Sean from Oakleaf, FL

Fans hoping for a top five draft slot next year should be more excited about a last place AFC South 2025 schedule projected to add Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns to next year's schedule. The Jaguars leadership over the years have displayed no consistent prowess in turning draft picks in any round into good players.

OK.

Bryan from Lutz

Did you have the misfortune of watching the Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks game on Thursday night? Maybe firing coaches midseason isn't what us fans think it is. It's fairly impossible to spin it as a positive for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams at this point. Second thought: This Jaguars team gave up 35 points to that Bears team. Is that the Jags' worst defensive performance in the Pederson era? The Bills and Lions are at least elite on offense.

I did indeed watch the Bears-Seahawks game Thursday. The loss to the Bears in London earlier this season might have been the worst defensive performance in Pederson's tenure. There are a few that are up there. I would rather not revisit these in enough detail to provide a thorough ranking.

Brendan from Yulee

At what point do the Jags value a functioning football player over releasing an underperformer and taking the massive dead cap hit?

We'll soon find out.

Bob from Weaverville

There's no way the Jags keep Ryan Nielsen, right? What's your opinion?

The Jaguars' defense has been really rough in Ryan Nielsen's first season as coordinator, somewhat because of an inability to stop the run and somewhat because of bad secondary play, and there has been more scrutiny on the defense because of how players have rotated in unusual fashion. The thought here is pretty much all things football-related must be evaluated and considered following this season. That's the reality of a 3-12 season. Do Nielsen and the defensive staff stand out as more in need of evaluation than everything else? I think everything must be evaluated.

GP from Savannah, GA

Obviously, Jason has not heard of Mike Vrabel as a potential head coach and assistant GM Mike Borgonzi of Kansas City as a potential GM candidate

One fer those guys, I supposed.

Steven form Charlotte, NC

It seems the theme of this season in regards to your answers is that we don't have enough game-changing players as the reason for our ineptitude. However, you also frequently cite our previous seasons/records to indicate that we used to be good and that our coaching/general manager might not be as bad as we think. My question is, why did we have those type of players before but not now? I don't recall losing a lot of them in free agency.

The Jaguars from this view didn't have significantly more game-changing players in the last two seasons than they have this season. They were good enough to be 9-8 the past two seasons, but at no point have they seemed good enough to be an elite roster among the best in the league. The difference this season is close games haven't gone their way. The idea is to eventually get a roster that you win those games consistently and become a power team. To do that, you need more special players.

MrMakersMark, KY

Big O, I finally finished my Airing of Grievances from Festivus concerning the Jaguars. Yeah, it took three days. My bright spot this year was when I was visiting my hometown of Louisville and got 'Duuuval'd' in a store. It was nice to hear others outside of Jax still being fans. So Happy belated Festivus to you and yours. Now let's beat the Titans!

Let's go, Jaguars.