Jags turn to ‘mad scientists’ Gruden, McAdoo to help Minshew
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— Looking to revitalize one of the NFL’s most inept offenses, the Jacksonville Jaguars turned to the NFC East for the second consecutive year.
Doug Marrone hired two former head coaches who previously worked on opposite sidelines for bitter rivals, the New York Giants and Washington.
Ben McAdoo (Giants) is Jacksonville’s new quarterbacks coach and Jay Gruden (Washington) is the team’s offensive coordinator.
Together, they have been tasked with helping Gardner Minshew and one of the league’s youngest offenses take huge strides after missing months of on-field work during the offseason because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would’ve taken a job coaching a monkey how to do hopscotch if I had to,” said McAdoo, who was out of the league the past two years and living about an hour south of Jacksonville when Marrone called. “I just wanted to get back in.”
McAdoo initially interviewed for the OC job, but ended up in charge of Minshew. It seems as if it’s a good fit: McAdoo’s comedic style meshing with Minshew’s fun-loving, laid-back attitude. Throw in Gruden, and Minshew insists the meeting room is filled with laughter and creativity.
“We’ve got freaking mad scientists in there,” Minshew said. “It gets pretty fun.”
The Jaguars need it to work. They ranked 20th in the league in yards (341.8 a game) in 2019 and 26th in points scored (18.8).
Minshew flashed at times, finishing 6-6 in 12 starts after replacing Nick Foles in the opener. He threw for 3,271 yards, with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. Sacks (33), fumbles (13) and red-zone struggles
were his biggest issues.
Foles, meanwhile, flopped. Philadelphia’s Super Bowl 52 MVP signed a four-year deal that included more than $50 million guaranteed in 2019 — another NFC East product — but he broke his left collarbone on his first series and was benched three games into his return.
The Jaguars could have addressed QB in the draft and probably would have had owner Shad Khan fired Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell after a second straight last-place finish in the AFC South. But all three felt Minshew deserved a chance to see what
he can do with a better scheme and more weapons.
Jacksonville drafted receiver Laviska Shenault in the second round and signed 2015 Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert in free agency. The offense returns its entire starting line, running back Leonard Fournette and receivers DJ Chark, Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole.
Gruden and McAdoo, who had their most success as NFL coordinators, will try to get everyone in sync. Minshew is the centerpiece.
“He’s got a huge upside and we’re excited to tap into that,” Gruden said.