JAGUARS SEASON

ON THE PROWL

Jaguars search for a new start to 2021 season

Meghan Williamson | Design and Layout Editor

As the clock hit zero at the last game of the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ record shifted from 1-14 to 1-15, and fans slowly turned off the television or walked out of the stadium hanging their heads.

After coaching two losing seasons in a row, Doug Marrone lost his position as head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The move was widely expected, and the franchise has expressed hopes for a new start in the coming seasons.

Who is the replacement for Marrone? Urban Meyer. According to ESPN, he’s one of the most successful college football coaches, and on Jan. 4, he was officially named the Jaguars’ head coach.

Meyer has previously coached at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. His game wins are 187-32 as a college coach, according to ESPN, and the Jaguars are “hopeful that he can bring that same success to the team,” Meyer said in an interview with the Florida Times-Union. For the first time ever, the team enters the offseason holding the number one overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, which will begin on Apr. 29 this year. The fact that the Jaguars have the number one overall pick in the NFL draft played “huge” in his decision to come to Jacksonville, Meyer said.

The team also dismissed its general manager David Caldwell on Nov. 29, 2020. His replacement was first named as an interim manager, but as of Jan. 21, Trent Baalke is now the team’s general manager. Baalke has worked with the NFL since 2005, and has been a professional football scout since 2004. “The Jags need to make significant changes after this year,” NFL journalist Carlos Sanchez wrote on blackandteal.com. “It wasn’t like they were a few plays away from being in the playoffs. The team is going through a major makeover, and it’s going to be difficult to get out of the cellar and start winning games if things stay the same.” The team continues to fill coaching staff positions, but due to a lengthy interview process, the announcement of new positions can be slow. Jaguars owner Shad Khan has brought forward plans for the development of Lot J, one of the parking lots near the stadium since 2018. The plans are to bring an entertainment district to the area that would include streetlevel restaurants and retail, two luxury mid-rise residential buildings, a luxury Four Seasons hotel and a surface parking lot with 700 spaces, according to Jaguars.com However, on Jan. 12, City Council failed to reach the 13-vote majority to approve the incentives deal for Khan’s $450 million Lot J development. Now that Khan is “pulling the plug” on Lot J, team President Mark Lamping says Khan wants to advance his $535 million plan to redevelop Metropolitan Park and the Shipyards, according to Jaguars.com

“Will we be able to get to the finish line on that? We’ll see,” Lamping said. “But we’re going to give it every sincere and legitimate effort that we can.” ISSUE 3 • SPORTS 23