Jaguars' Khan: Coaching search won't be 'Aaron Rodgers 2.0'
The Jacksonville Jaguars won't give quarterback Trevor Lawrence the type of influence Aaron Rodgers is believed to have had with the New York Jets as they search for a new head coach.
"This isn't, let's be clear, a second coming of Aaron Rodgers 2.0," Jaguars owner Shad Khan told reporters Monday. "We're going to do the right thing for the team."
He added: "If Trevor doesn't get better, the other players don't get better, we're not going to win."
The Jets traded for Rodgers two years ago, and many of his Green Bay Packers teammates followed him to New York, including Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, and Randall Cobb. His former offensive coordinator in Green Bay, Nathaniel Hackett, has also been on the Jets' staff since 2023.
Khan fired head coach Doug Pederson on Monday after the latter spent three campaigns with the team. Pederson made the playoffs in his first year but collected a cumulative 22-29 record with just one playoff victory. Jacksonville went 4-13 this season, its worst record since going 1-15 in 2020.
The owner opted to retain general manager Trent Baalke, and the 60-year-old will help Khan search for a new sideline boss. It'll be the third head coach Baalke will hire since joining the organization in 2020.
Baalke owns a 25-43 mark as the Jaguars' general manager and has just one postseason win. Jacksonville was fourth in the NFL in cash spending in 2024 after signing Gabe Davis and Arik Armstead, among others, to sizeable long-term deals, according to Spotrac. Baalke also signed Lawrence to a five-year, $275-million extension in June.
Khan isn't worried that retaining Baalke will scare off potential head coaching candidates.
"I think we have a very compelling case of what we can offer the head coach," Khan said. "The players, where we stand on our draft, our salary cap, the city, the bricks and mortars, the facilities, our division. It's a very, very compelling case."
The Jaguars have 64 wins since Khan took over as owner in 2012. That represents the worst total in the league over that span, nine fewer than the 31st-ranked team.