After a disappointing season finale on Sunday, Jacksonville Jaguars made the difficult choice of letting go 10 of its coaching staff on Monday. Jaguars head coach, Doug Pederson, released a statement describing the measure as a “necessary” change to reach the team’s goals.
“Since our season’s end, I have made the difficult decision to relieve several members of the coaching staff – on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball — of their duties,” the statement read. “I want to thank each of these coaches for their tireless efforts these last two seasons. Ultimately, I felt change was necessary to allow our football team to reach the goals for which we are capable.”
Assistant offensive line coach Todd Washington’s contract expired and he will not return, as well.
According to Sports Illustrated, the coaches leaving the Jaguars include Mike Caldwell, Brentson Buckner, Sean Cullina, Tony Gilbert, Cody Grimm, Tee Mitchell, Bob Sutton, Deshea Townsend, and Bernie Parmalee. Additionally, Todd Washington won’t be returning to the team due to his contract expiring.
Sunday’s 28-20 loss against the Tennessee Titans dropped the Jaguars from playoffs and exemplified the many problems that Peterson noted about the team’s defense this season, mainly tackling. To make matters worse, the Jaguars hold the 11th worst mark in the NFL, at 342.8 yards per game in 2023.
Bleacher Report noted that following these firings, Pederson “will likely” search for candidates that can solve those defense issues to prevent them from happening again.