Daily Press

Jags fire GM after 10th loss in row

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The Jacksonvil­le Jaguars fired general manager Dave Caldwell on Sunday after their 10th consecutiv­e loss, sending a clear message that the small-market franchise is headed in a new direction.

It was a move many thought owner Shad Khan should have made at the end of last season. But Khan gave Caldwell another chance to make the Jaguars a playoff contender for just the second time in his eight-year tenure.

Caldwell came up well short of the owner's winning expectatio­ns, making Khan's decision an easy and somewhat expected one.

Khan will keep coach Doug Marrone and his staff in place to finish out the season and likely let the next GM decide his fate. It would be stunning to see Marrone return in 2021.

“I've met with Dave Caldwell to express my appreciati­on for his service to the Jacksonvil­le Jaguars as our general manager,” Khan said in a statement that followed the team's 27-25 loss to the Browns. “Dave was exceptiona­lly committed and determined to bring a winner to Jacksonvil­le, but unfortunat­ely his efforts were not rewarded with the results our fans deserve and our organizati­on expects.

“Our football operation needs new leadership, and we will have it with a new general manager in 2021.”

The Jaguars are 39-87 since Khan gave Caldwell his first GM job in 2013, falling a few plays shy of the franchise's first Super Bowl in 2018 and miring mostly in mediocrity since. The Jaguars (1-10) have dropped 16 of their last 19 games, including 11 by double digits.

Auto racing: Formula One champ Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball. The 34-year-old French driver slid off the track at high speed on the first lap, and his Haas car burst into flames after being sliced in two by a barrier. Grosjean clambered out with the fire roaring behind him and his race helmet singed. He was conscious and stable and then taken by helicopter to a military hospital. F1 said Grosjean was having treatment for burns on the back of both hands, but he didn't have any fractures. Hamilton, who secured his title at the Turkish GP on Nov. 15, earned his record-extending 95th win.

Basketball: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will finally enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2021. The NBA announced Saturday that the delayed Hall of Fame weekend — it was to have taken place in Springfiel­d, Massachuse­tts, in August before being pushed back because of the coronaviru­s pandemic — will be held May 13-15. Bryant, Duncan and Garnett were the headliners of the class that was announced in April.

Soccer: Argentine police searched the Buenos Aires home and office of Leopoldo Luque, one of Diego Maradona's doctors, on Sunday, taking away medical records as part of investigat­ions into the death Wednesday of the 60-year-old soccer great. ... Gustavo Bou scored two goals and Carles Gil added a penalty-kick score and an assist to lift the New England Revolution over 10-man Orlando City and into the MLS Eastern Conference final.

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