JACKSONVILLE – Doug Pederson's focus is on the future, and he likes what the future holds.
"What I care about is moving forward," he said.
Pederson, hired as the Jaguars' head coach on February 4, took another step in that direction this week by finalizing the 2022 coaching staff – a group that includes offensive coordinator Press Taylor and defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell.
The trio met with the media Friday at TIAA Bank Field, with Pederson discussing among other topics a roster that won three games this past season.
"I see talent, honestly," Pederson said. "Is it perfect? No. You see flashes. You see the offense taking strides throughout the course of the year. You see the defense making those strides. Now, it's about, 'We've got to be consistent every week.' There has to be consistency. There has to be ownership with that.
"We're going to add talent. We're going to add competition. We're going to bring value to the roster. Every team does that. We're no exception to that. But I see talent here."
Taylor, 34, spent last season as a senior offensive assistant for the Indianapolis Colts. Caldwell, 50, served as linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the last three seasons.
"That's the key for any head coach, to have the great coordinators," Pederson said. "That element really kind of fell into place for me with Press, Mike and [special teams coordinator] Heath Farwell."
Pederson added, "For me, it took two weeks to fill out my staff. Because I wanted to take my time and interview as many guys as possible for all of these positions. And here we are today."
Caldwell, who played linebacker 11 NFL seasons, has been an NFL assistant the past 14 seasons. He and Pederson said the Jaguars expect to be aggressive under Caldwell – who coached the last 10 seasons under former New York Jets Head Coach and current Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
"Those are the conversations Mike and I have had," Pederson said. "We want to maintain the aggressiveness."
Taylor, a 10-year NFL coaching veteran, will – like Caldwell – enter his first season as a coordinator. He spent 2013-2020 with the Philadelphia Eagles. Pederson was the Eagles' head coach from 2016-2020, and Taylor held various positions – including passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach – with the Eagles during that span.
"You always have the coaches you keep your eye on," Pederson said of Taylor. "He was always one of those guys for me that you kept your eye on. I knew that one day he was going to be an offensive coordinator. I felt in my heart that he could be."
Pederson, Caldwell and Taylor are the third coaches for the Jaguars in as many seasons in their respective positions. They will oversee units that have struggled, with Caldwell coordinating a defense that ranked 28th in the NFL in points allowed and 20th in yards allowed in 2021 while ranking last in the NFL with nine takeaways. Taylor will coordinate an offense that ranked last in the NFL in points and 27th in yards last season while ranking 29th in the NFL with 29 giveaways.
"I'm trying to turn this into a winning program, a winning organization," Pederson said. "Do you learn from the past? Of course. Do you study it? Of course. At the same time, my focus has always been a forward-thinking approach to everything we do.
"It's not an overnight fix. It's going to be a fix that we've got to do one player at a time, one coach at a time, and get it turned around."
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Pederson on Friday addressed what he liked about offensive line coach Phil Rauscher: "The way his guys have played for him. There has been a lot of stability and consistency with his offensive lines. He's a great teacher. He's a great communicator. He's a detail guy. That's who I am when it comes to the Xs and Os and being fundamentally sound. Those are the things that drew me to him." An eight-year NFL coaching veteran, Rauscher served last season as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line coach.
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Pederson said he plans to name an assistant head coach from the Jaguars' current staff. "I'm not going to hire another guy," Pederson said. "But I will name an assistant head coach pretty quickly here as we go. Now that I have everybody in place, it gives me time to get a feel for the guys and the direction I want to go in that position." Pederson also called the strength-and-conditioning staff "kind of a work in progress right now. We're going to take a look at that department. Obviously, we want the best for the players moving forward, so we're going to take a look at that in the next few weeks."
