The Jacksonville Jaguars seemed on track for a full rebuild after firing Urban Meyer just 13 games into his first year as the organization’s head coach. However, it sounds like Jags owner Shad Khan will stop just short of a clean sweep of the franchise’s leadership.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jacksonville will retain general manager Trent Baalke next season. He’ll return to the Jaguars for his second season in the position and his third with the organization.
Baalke will reportedly work in tandem with Khan to search for a new head coach.
“Jaguars GM Trent Baalke will be retained and will be involved with owner Shad Khan in the search for a new HC. Baalke will continue to report to Khan and work in sync with the new head coach, who will also have a direct reporting line to Khan,” Rapoport wrote on Twitter Monday.
#Jaguars GM Trent Baalke will be retained and will be involved with owner Shad Khan in the search for a new HC. Baalke will continue to report to Khan and work in sync with the new head coach, who will also have a direct reporting line to Khan. https://t.co/mQRZMyend9
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 28, 2021
Many fans and NFL media members expected Khan to hit the reset button after a season to forget. After news of Baalke’s return broke, many took to social media to question the decision to keep the general manager in Jacksonville.
What is the success rate of forced partnerships with a new and legacy head coach and GM pairing? Gotta be minuscule. https://t.co/Ey7FnCTnfD
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) December 28, 2021
Love a good half measure https://t.co/RyHl0DktJx
— Chaps (@UncleChaps) December 28, 2021
They gon hate this one https://t.co/NTv8l4mneh
— Rev. Eric Dunn (@ericvdunn) December 28, 2021
Urban Meyer was so bad that he managed to make Baalke look like a GM to keep🤣 https://t.co/XVNeSsbVZX
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) December 28, 2021
Baalke joined the Jaguars as the organization’s director of player personnel at the tail-end of Doug Marrone’s tenure in 2020. He was promoted to interim general manager in the middle of last year’s campaign and then took the full-time job this past offseason.
Unfortunately, his first full year as the Jags general manager quickly went off the rails. Hiring Meyer turned out to be a step backwards for Jacksonville and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, so Baalke will have to find a way to recover and put the organization back on track.
The Jaguars situation isn’t completely hopeless. Jacksonville has ample young talent on the roster, plenty of cap space and could get the No. 1 overall pick for a second year in a row.
However, Baalke will need to prove to Khan that he can accomplish something with those perks if he hopes to keep his job past 2022.
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