Jacksonville Jaguars widen net for Urban Meyer's replacement
On Monday it was reported the Jacksonville Jaguars would interview Jim Caldwell and Doug Pederson for their head coaching vacancy. The theory was obvious: to replace their lightning rod NFL rookie, the Jags would follow the Rule of the Opposite and hire the anti-Urban Meyer, non-controversial coaches with loads of NFL experience, including Super Bowl berths as head coaches.
Tuesday's news reports are filed into a different school of thought: We're a bad team, we've got time, so why not? With a head start on the competition and 13 non-winning seasons in 14 tries, the club can afford to cast a widen their net to speak to coordinators from winning teams. Really, it can't afford not to.
The club has requested interviews with both Tampa Bay Buccaneers coordinators and both Dallas Cowboys coordinators, according to Adam Schefter.
The Bucs are, obviously, the defending Super Bowl champions. The Cowboys are 11-4 this season and currently sit in second place in the NFC.
Interestingly, both teams' coordinators mirror each other. The Bucs' defense is coordinated by Todd Bowles, a former NFL player and Jets head coach who's been in the league since 2000. The Cowboys' defense is led by Dan Quinn, who brought the Atlanta Falcons oh-so-close to their lone Super Bowl victory in the 2016 season, and is currently in the midst of one of the best turnaround jobs in the league this season. The Cowboys finished 28th in scoring defense in 2020; right now they're seventh in scoring and first in takeaways.
Both teams' offenses are led by legendary college quarterbacks who are making more of a mark in the NFL as coaches than players. Leftwich spent 10 seasons in the league, though he started more than six games in only three of them. The 41-year-old is in just his third season as an NFL coordinator, though he'd come with the ringing endorsement of one Tom Brady.
Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, 33, is in his third season running the offense and his fourth as a coach, following a 5-year NFL career.
Dallas leads the NFL in total offense and scoring, while Tampa Bay ranks second.
Former Colts & Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is expected to interview Jeremy Fowler shares and Tom Pelissero tweets that Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett has been asked to interview as well.
Jacksonville has also been linked to Indianapolis Colts special teams coordinator Matt Eberfuls, Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
