JACKSONVILLE – Todd Wash doesn't know for certain the future.
But if that future holds something different than his past, the Jaguars' defensive coordinator made this much clear: Jacksonville means a lot to him, and he has enjoyed his time here.
"Jacksonville is a very special place," Wash said Wednesday as the Jaguars (1-14) prepared to play the Indianapolis Colts (10-5) in the 2020 regular-season finale at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Sunday at 4:25 p.m.
"Both my daughters graduated from here and my son has started high school here. It's always going to be a special place if that happens."
Wash, a Jaguars assistant since 2013 and their defensive coordinator since 2016, was asked a lot about his future on his weekly videoconference Wednesday. Considering the Jaguars' 14-game losing streak, the topic was perhaps unavoidable, and Wash addressed future possibilities with perspective.
"I've never been fired before, to be honest with you," he said. "If it happens, it will be the first time it ever has happened, so I'm sure that will be a little bit of a strange situation to go through. …
"It's part of our business. There's no doubt. There are critics everywhere – if you're doing well or if you're bad. You take it all in stride and you just move on."
Wash said the Jaguars changed a lot in the defensive scheme throughout the 2020 season, with the team blitzing extensively and using far more pre-snap looks than previously in his tenure.
"We did some different things," Wash said. "I know I'm going to take that moving forward – what we can do, add and take away from our package. I think that's important. I know for sure I'm going to take away the relationships we built with our team, our coaching staff. It was a tough year, not just because of COVID[-19]. But obviously the wins and losses.
"We have a really tight, tight group. That's something I will always remember about this season and take with me when we're done."
The Jaguars in the first three seasons of Wash's tenure ranked sixth, second and fifth in total defense, slipping to 24th in 2019. They are ranked 32nd in the NFL this season, a season in which multiple injuries on the defensive line and in the secondary have contributed to the Jaguars playing a largely young, inexperienced roster defensively.
"I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for anything," Wash said. "Our season went as it went. I like the players we have. We were young, but there are other young teams in the NFL. I didn't do a good enough job to put these guys in position.
"Regardless of who's on our roster and how old they are, I need to do a better job. I didn't get it done."
NOTABLE I
Marrone, like Wash, on Wednesday addressed the possibility of change following Sunday's game: "I've always approached this game the same way: I've approached it in an approach of doing the best. I think that obviously there'll be change. I'm not informed of anything like that, but obviously there's going to be a lot of change going on. But my whole focus is [to] try to get this win. I don't know how I'll feel after the game. Honestly after the game, I might look at it differently, but right now I'm putting everything into trying to get this win and ending the season with a win. That's where all my emotion and everything is generated."
NOTABLE II
Rookie running back James Robinson as expected missed practice Wednesday with an ankle injury; Marrone said Wednesday morning the undrafted free agent is expected to miss Sunday's game with the injury he sustained in a loss December 20 against Baltimore. Also missing practice Wednesday was wide receiver Collin Johnson, who Marrone said is expected to miss a second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. missed practice with a shin injury and Marrone on Wednesday called Chark's status for Sunday uncertain. Linebacker Dakota Allen (ankle) and running back Nathan Cottrell (hip) practiced limited Wednesday.
