Jags’ new hire won’t get full power
Doug Pederson won’t have the power Urban Meyer had with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team and its fans can only hope that’s a good thing.
Owner Shad Khan
introduced Pederson as the Jaguars’ coach on Saturday and said the team has applied to the NFL to hire an executive vice president, a person who would report directly to Khan and oversee Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke.
It’s a much different structure from what the Jaguars employed the past two years. Khan’s only other EVP was two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin, who held the job for three seasons (2017-19) and was in place when Jacksonville last made the playoffs.
Khan went with a traditional coach-GM (Doug Marrone-Dave Caldwell) model in 2020 after Coughlin was fired and then hired Meyer to head a coach-centric model in 2021, a setup that ended in less-than-desirable fashion. Meyer was fired in December after 13 games, one of the most turbulent tenures in NFL history.
“One of the reasons we had the search was not only looking for the head coaching candidate but really to learn about other organizations,” Khan said. “I mean, that’s a byproduct of the coaching search.
“So some of the practices, some of the structure that works, we got a great insight into it. So strengthening the football operations, more staff, definitely, that’s part of our goal. We’ve had too flat an organization, and we want to add brainpower and more people to strengthen that.”
Khan plans to hire an EVP as well as an assistant general manager to work under Baalke, who came under fire in recent months after Khan opted to keep him instead of cleaning house. The Jags already interviewed former Minnesota GM Rick Spielman, who could end up filling either spot. Under NFL rules, Jacksonville must also interview two external minority candidates for the EVP job.
Baalke, 57, welcomed the reorganization.
“This question is asked in 32 buildings across the league: Who has power? Who’s the final decisionmaker?” he said. “Show me one building where you’re not collaborative and you’re winning. It just doesn’t happen in the National Football
League.”
Jacksonville hired Pederson on Thursday, coming to terms five weeks after the team first interviewed the former Philadelphia Eagles coach.
The 54-year-old Pederson was widely considered one of the top options. He made the playoffs three times in five seasons in Philadelphia and led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory following the 2017 season.
MICHAELS AT HOME
Al Michaels finally gets to call a Super Bowl in Los Angeles and will tie the late Pat Summerall for the most by a lead announcer on television.
The question everyone wants answered, though: Will this be Michaels’ final assignment for NBC?
Michaels has been the lead announcer on “Sunday Night Football” since its start in 2006, but his contract expires after next Sunday’s matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. The 77-year old hasn’t indicated his future plans, but said he does relish becoming a free agent for one of the few times in a career that has spanned more than 50 years.
“I don’t know what I'll be doing, but I do know I will have the opportunity to continue and I want to,” Michaels said earlier this week in an interview with The Associated Press. “I feel great, knock on wood, I’m blessed with very good health, and I love what I do.”
This is Michaels’ 11th Super Bowl, and his fifth for NBC.
The Hollywood Park stadium complex where the Super Bowl will be held is only 8 miles from Michaels’ home and marks a perfect bookend to the season. NBC’s first game of the season was the Rams hosting the Chicago Bears.