After another disappointing campaign with a 5-9 mark, the Jacksonville Jaguars fired the executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin on Wednesday. The move came as no surprise as the Jaguars failed to sustain their success after finishing 2017 with a 10-6 record and reaching the AFC Championship Game where they lost to the New England Patriots. Last season, the Jaguars ended their campaign with a 5-11 mark. The Jaguars entered the season with playoff aspirations after signing veteran quarterback Nick Foles to a four-year deal worth $88 million, with $51 million in guaranteed money.
But Foles suffered a collarbone injury in Week 1 and returned in Week 11, but he lost three of his starts, forcing the Jaguars to bring back backup Gardner Minshew as the starter. While team owner Shad Khan retained Doug Marrone as head coach as of now, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said that the Jaguars are already looking for replacements for both Marrone and Coughlin.
Jaguars owner also interested in ex-Patriots executive
The Khans have long had a fascination with The Patriot Way and have heard a strong buzz about their potential interest in Scott Pioli and Josh McDaniels for weeks
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 19, 2019Canfora said Khan is interested in hiring Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as head coach and former New England director of personnel Scott Pioli as Coughlin’s replacement, per Justin Leger of NBC Sports.
La Canfora said Khan is fascinated with The Patriot Way, and he’s hoping to discover if it will help change the Jaguars’ fortune. Recently, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported that McDaniels and Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio could pursue other jobs outside of New England in the offseason. Working as head coach is not new to McDaniels as he served the position with the Denver Broncos for almost two years from 2009 to 2010 before he was replaced after posting an 11-17 mark.
Last offseason, McDaniels verbally agreed to accept the head coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts but changed his mind at the last minute, returning to the Patriots as offensive coordinator.
Linebacker added to the injury report
For the first time this season, linebacker Jamie Collins made an appearance on the injury report Wednesday as he was limited in practice due to a shoulder injury, per Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com.
Based on the report, cornerback Jonathan Jones missed his second straight practice due to a groin injury while veteran wideout Julian Edelman was limited because of knee and shoulder issues. Also limited in Wednesday’s practice were linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (knee), cornerback Jason McCourty (groin) and defensive lineman Danny Shelton (shoulder). The Patriots are preparing for their important clash with the Buffalo Bills on Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots, who entered the week as a 7-point favorite, can notch their 11th straight AFC East crown with a win over the defensive-minded Bills.
