Jaguars GM Trent Baalke part ways amid coaching search

The Jacksonville Jaguars and general manager Trent Baalke are parting ways after four seasons with Baalke in the role, the team announced Wednesday.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan said the team and Baalke made the decision after several discussions this week.

“Trent leaves us with my deepest appreciation for his efforts over the past five seasons,” Khan said in a statement. “Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager and play an important role along with others as we continue the process of interviewing candidates to serve as our new head coach.

“I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville and look forward to introducing a new head coach who will make it happen for our players and fans alike.”

This is the second time Baalke has been let go from his role as an NFL general manager. He served in the same capacity for the San Francisco 49ers for six seasons (2011-2016) before being fired along with coach Chip Kelly.

Baalke, 60, initially served as director of player personnel for the Jaguars in 2020 before being moved to interim GM later that November after the team fired David Caldwell. Jacksonville elevated Baalke to full-time status not long after.

Baalke made his first head coaching hire in Jacksonville, where Urban Meyer didn’t even last a full season. In December 2021, the Jags fired Meyer after going 2-11 in a period marked by controversy. Darrell Bevell became interim head coach for the final four games. Baalke hired Doug Pederson in February 2022, seemingly a turning point in the franchise with an AFC South title and Wild Card win in their first season together.

The last five coaches – Jim Tomsula, Kelly, Meyer, Bevell and Pederson – to work under Baalke compiled a combined record of 31-68.

As general manager, Baalke spent a combined $86 million per year in annual contract investments, his second year in control, trying to jumpstart the development of Trevor Lawrence. The impact of this talent infusion did not last. While the Jaguars jumped from 3-14 to 9-8 year over year and made the playoffs, it was short-lived. Jacksonville failed to improve their record in 2023 with another 9-8 record and has not appeared in the postseason since. Three years after the massive free agent haul, three players – tight end Evan Engram, wide receiver Christian Kirk and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun – are still with the team.

Between his years as director of player personnel and general manager, Jacksonville finished with three top-10 draft picks and two No. 1-choice. Baalke has had a poor record of finding talent in April. He took a big risk in the 2022 draft by selecting Travon Walker, a highly athletic edge rusher with little collegiate experience, first assembled in an edge-heavy draft class in which Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux both went in the top five. Considered a must-see quarterback of a generation, Lawrence has struggled to find consistent footing among the league’s elite signal callers. In the same draft, Jacksonville secured Lawrence, Baalke drafted running back Travis Etienne with a first-round pick.

Baalke has also failed to develop starting-caliber talent outside of the top of the draft. Pro Football Reference tracks how many seasons a player served as a team’s majority starter at their given position. Of the 31 picks Jacksonville has had in the fourth round or later under Baalke, only four of those players became majority starters for a single season, while only 16 have played in double-digit games.

(Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images)