The Jacksonville Jaguars turned heads when they traded up in the 2025 NFL Draft to select Travis Hunter with the second overall selection. Similarly, they sent shockwaves across the league when they released Gabe Davis despite his massive dead cap charge. But as impactful as both moves were, a local voice argues that neither defines the Jags' offseason.
Ryan "Hacker" Green of 1010 XL recently argued that the biggest Jaguars storyline in the offseason was the organization's decision to kick Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke to the curb, pointing out that Jacksonville's offseason would have looked different if the duo hadn't been dismissed. Here's the skinny.
"I would argue, as big as Travis Hunter was — might be the biggest draft they trade in the history of the Jaguars, probably is — as big as the higher of James Gladstone was, throw in Tony Boselli as the EVP, certainly don't want to leave him out. William Cohen is the new head coach. As big as all of those were, and they were all enormous. None of those things happen had Doug Peterson and Trent Baalke not been relieved of their duties, none of them."
Hacker continued, "How different would this season have been had Peterson and Baalke remained, and we thought bulky was going to remain for those 16 days right after Peterson was let go. 16 days of uncertainty, 16 days of scratching your head like, What on earth are they doing? And then to come out clean on the other side with Cohen, Gladstone Boselly, the free agent haul, the Travis Hunter trade, holy moly. Little choices in life. You could go left, you could go right, you could go backwards, you could go forwards. Little choices are domino effects for everything afterwards."
"And because Shad Khan relieved Doug Peterson of his duties, and because Shad saw the light 16 days later and got Trent Baalke out of here as a result of that, the Jaguars, to me, and probably to you, the collective us, I think we're all in agreement. Have had one of the craziest, mildest, perhaps most impactful off seasons in the history of the franchise. But my gracious, how different it would have looked had Trent Baalke and Doug Peterson still been here?"
Hacker isn't wrong. In fact, most fans will probably nod in approval, as the past regime didn't do enough the past two seasons to make you think they could turn things around in 2025.
Throughout the 2024 season, Pederson seemed irritated and detached instead of a head coach looking to steer the ship in the right direction. The fact that he threw players under the bus to defend his protegee Press Taylor didn't help matters. By the end of the year, it was clear that he was going to get the boot.
On the other hand, Baalke had a few hits during his stint as the general manager but not enough to turn Jacksonville into a perennial contender. Couple that with his combative personality and his lack of public accountability, and it's easy to see why he got the boot, even when signs pointed toward owner Shad Khan keeping him around.
Fortunately, Khan realized the Jags needed to clean house and change how the organization did things. And with Baalke and Pederson out of the way, the Jags could truly start a rebuild, their first one in a while.
Firing Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke paved the way for the Jaguars to rebuild
The pursuit of Liam Coen took a few surprising twists and turns, but the Jacksonville Jaguars ultimately managed to land their guy. They later showed they were truly committed to a fresh start when they picked James Gladstone over internal candidate Ethan Waugh as their general manager. Together, along with vice president of football operations Tony Boselli have wasted no time separating themselves from the past regime and leaving their mark.
In free agency, the team's brass managed to raise the roster's floor without having to overspend, like Trent Baalke routinely did during his four-year tenure in Jacksonville. Then in the draft, the Jags showed that they meant business when they made a bold trade to choose Travis Hunter.
The upgrades in free agency, along with the draft haul, give the Jaguars plenty of talented pieces to potentially compete in the AFC South next season, and it wouldn't have been possible had Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke stayed.
Think about it, the team morale would hit a new low, and Baalke would've probably overpaid a handful of free agents to fix some needs, but without addressing the larger scale roster.
If the Jaguars turn the corner, you can circle back to the moment the Jaguars fired Trent Baalke as the catalyst for the turnaround.
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