Here’s who Shad Khan should hire

On January 16, 2025By Littum

With the Jacksonville Jaguars entering initial interviews with six of their 10 in-demand head coaching candidates starting Wednesday, all kinds of information is floating out there about perceived leaders in the clubhouse.

It’s not always accurate, mainly because there’s too much guesswork going on, educated and otherwise.

Remember three years ago when several so-called insiders — none of them with a national platform — insisted that Byron Leftwich would succeed the fired Urban Meyer before the Jaguars finally hired Doug Pederson?

Although it is only natural Jaguars fans are clamoring for some information during a coaching search, be careful what the rumor mill suggests when the interview process is barely out of the starting gate.

This Jaguar’s quest doesn’t look like anything that happened to New England Patriots, where the fix was largely in for Mike Vrabel — a proven accessible head coach with ties to the franchise — from the moment Jerod Mayo was fired.

Owner Shad Khan has no reason to rush this search. He has cast the widest net with the most impressive set of candidates than in his previous five coaching searches. If it takes another week or three weeks, just identify the coach who can bring sustained winning to a franchise that hasn’t had it since Tom Coughlin’s brilliant run in the late 1990s.

Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, who brought that element to both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2001) and Indianapolis Colts (2002-08) by leading them to a combined 11 playoff appearances in 13 seasons, says teams looking for a coach should be fixated on leadership rather than numbers.

“Don’t worry about the noise or the fans,” Dungy told me recently. “Just find a coach who you think is the right leader for your team.

“A lot of teams make the mistake of going after the offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach who puts up good stats, but is he the right leader? That’s what you have to find out during the search.”

Khan’s employment history suspects

Looking at Khan’s history with Jaguars coaching hires, it hasn’t been a good trend.

Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone, Meyer and Pederson all finished with losing records, making Khan only the second owner in NFL history — besides the 1967 expansion New Orleans Saints with John Mecom Jr. – who had that distinction with his first five coaches.

The Jaguars fan base has endured far too much loss in the Khan era. It wouldn’t take much for the next coach to have a winning percentage significantly above the .309 mark (67-250) for the Jaguars since 2012.

But which of these candidates with interviews scheduled would be the best choice for the Jaguars?

The wildly popular pick this coaching cycle is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, especially among Jaguars fans who seem to have developed a Ben-or-bust attitude around this search.

I’m not going to try to predict who will be Doug Pedersen’s successor because there’s no telling what Khan might do.

However, I think multiple candidates could be a good fit for what the organization needs to continue winning. Below is my pecking order of top-3 preferences, all of which could elevate the Jaguars to relevance:

1. Robert Saleh

Since the Patriots hired the coach who would have been an ideal leader for the Jaguars in Vrabel, the next best option in my opinion is Robert Saleh, the former New York Jets head coach who was fired after five games this season.

Despite Saleh’s 20-36 (.357) overall record, the Jaguars could use a heavy dose of his strong presence and leadership skills. That’s more critical than anything right now because this is a franchise that needs a strong hand and a legitimate identity that has been missing since Coughlin left in 2002.

Jack Del Rio brought a strong, defense-first mentality to the Jaguars the following year with Mike Smith as his coordinator, but things were never the same after Smith left in 2008 for a successful head coaching run with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Jaguars need stability, accountability and a powerful leader right now, as well as someone to jump-start a broken defense. My sense is that Saleh would bring these elements above any other candidate, although my no. 2 and 3 choices are not far behind.

Part of the reason Pederson’s tenure fizzled (18 losses in the last 23 games) is that he didn’t have enough of an iron fist to instill fear and passion in his players. So when things went awry, especially on defense, the Jaguars didn’t handle adversity well.

Saleh is the best candidate to fix that because he will learn from his Jets’ experience, where owner Woody Johnson panicked by firing Saleh, who never got more than five games to work with Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

As much as the Jaguars need a coach to develop QB Trevor Lawrence, let’s not forget they were the worst defense in the NFL in 2024. Saleh knows a thing or two about fixing a woeful unit.

During his four-year run as the San Francisco 49ers’ coordinator (2017-20), he took them from last in total defense before rising to the No. 2 within three years and a spot in the Super Bowl.

Defense rises under Saleh

After a terrible first season as head coach in New York, in which the Jets allowed a league-worst 29.6 points per game, he lifted them to a top-5 defense in 2022 and ’23. Who knows how the Jets’ last season might have gone after a 2-3 start if Saleh was allowed to finish it.

What I do know is that when Saleh coached the Jaguars’ linebackers (2014-16), he commanded the players’ respect. Despite not being retained by new coach Doug Marrone, he went to the Los Angeles Chargers in the same position on an interim basis before 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hired him two weeks later as his defensive coordinator.

Think about it: how many NFL coaches on a 3-13 team get promoted to defensive coordinator? Shanahan knew Saleh from their days with the Houston Texans and felt his leadership skills were what the 49ers defense needed.

Saleh confirmed that belief two years later by taking San Francisco and its defense to the Super Bowl, coming within 10 minutes of knocking off the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs.

“The key words are commanding presence, and (Saleh) has that,” said former Jaguars Pro Bowl linebacker Paul Posluszny, who played for Saleh for three seasons. “He had another level of understanding the game and communicating it to his players. He brings an energy and enthusiasm that is contagious.

“He has all the skills you want as a head coach. He loves football and he loves his players. You can feel that as players and there is so much power in that.”

It would be interesting to know if Khan felt the same vibe on Tuesday after his personal interview in Jacksonville with Saleh concluded?

Some will wonder about hiring Saleh because he is a defensive guy, not knowing who he would bring in as the offensive coordinator to develop Lawrence. That’s a fair point.

But if you think this hire is about finding the right leader, Saleh fits what the Jaguars need.

2. Ben Johnson

It is impossible not to fall in love with Detroit Lions‘ 38-year-old offensive coordinator whose unit has improved pretty dramatically every year since taking over midway through the 2021 season. It now puts up Star Wars-type numbers.

What the Lions and quarterback Jared Goff have done on offense under Johnson is insane. The numbers almost defy belief.

It’s no wonder the former North Carolina walk-on quarterback is the hot candidate when you look at the incremental jumps in every major category.

From 2021-24, the Lions’ total offense averages 322.6 yards (No. 22 ranking), 380.0 yards (No. 4), 394.8 yards (No. 3) and 410.5 yards (No. 2). Detroit’s rushing ranks go 19, 11, 5 and 6. The passing ranks start at 18, then 8, 2 and 2.

In the all-important points-per-game metric, the Lions were at 19.1 in 2021, followed by 26.6, 27.1 and now an NFL-leading 33.3 points.

Under Johnson, Goff’s career trajectory follows the same rise. His completion percentage (71.7), yards per attempts (8.7), touchdown passes (36) and QB rating (113.6) all reached career highs in 2024 by a significant margin.

The Lions are the very definition of a pyrotechnic offense, scoring a franchise-record 30 points in nine games, and their 40-plus in six games ties an NFL record.

Taking all those numbers in, even without Johnson having any head coaching experience or knowing much about his leadership skills or who he’s bringing in as defensive coordinator, how does Khan even imagine what he could do with Lawrence?

Goff was a good quarterback in his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams (91.5 rating, 107-55 touchdown interception ratio). In Johnson’s offense, those four-year numbers are 100.5 and 114-37.

Here’s what Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, who worked with Johnson on the Miami Dolphins staff (2012-15), said about his colleague to ESPN after the 2022 season: “I’ve tried to hire Ben many, many times. He’s going to be always promoted where I can’t get to him. He’s one of those guys you want on your staff because he’s brilliant.”

High praise, indeed.

But it’s hard to know how much that brilliance would translate into being an NFL head coach. Or in Lawrence’s words, being “the right guy who’s going to be the right leader and voice for your team and set that culture.”

This part is indisputable: No hiring of any candidate was likely to lift a disheartened Jaguars fan base more than Johnson.

Plus, with Johnson, you have the possibility that he might bring along Mark Brunell, the legendary Jaguars quarterback who currently serves as the Lions’ QB coach, to help run his offense and mentor Lawrence.

With interest from the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders, his candidacy could be difficult because Johnson may have more influence than any other candidate.

But if you’re a Jaguars fan, who wouldn’t want to see him on a headset calling plays for Trevor?

3. Aaron Glenn

My third pick was a coin flip between Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and three offensive coordinators: Joe Brady (Buffalo Bills), Liam Coen (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Todd Monken (Baltimore Ravens).

That’s not to say the other Jaguars candidates wouldn’t make good head coaches, but this is as much about gut instinct as it is resume.

Glenn, 52, might be the most intriguing of the 10 because no one would bring more NFL experience to the job. He has 15 seasons as a cornerback (205 games, 176 starts) and 11 seasons as a coach.

It’s no secret that players have tremendous respect for coaches who have been in the league as long as Glenn. So if this native Texan gets the opportunity to be a head coach, I could see him commanding a room with an authoritative demeanor.

His candidacy gained a lot of momentum this year because the Lions’ defense overcame a series of season-ending injuries, including to elite pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson.

Not that the numbers from Glenn’s defense are nearly as impressive as Johnson’s offense, but his value as a leader of men would likely be up there with anyone who hasn’t been a head coach.

Whether Detroit wins or makes its first Super Bowl could affect the timing of naming a Jaguars head coach, but it should have no bearing on who gets the job.

Glenn could also be in play for the New York Jets, where he spent his first eight seasons playing, and his last team, the New Orleans Saints. He also played five games for the Jaguars in 2007, intercepting his final career pass and returning it for a 28-yard touchdown.

Shad Khan has an entire top-10 list to go through to identify the real Jaguars leader. Saleh, Johnson and Glenn all have appealing credentials.

If he chooses from that trifecta, it’s hard for me to question any of those choices.

[email protected]: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette