There's no way to sugarcoat it. Trent Baalke was a controversial figure during his stint as the general manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sure, he had his fair share of hits, but not nearly enough to overcome his many misses. Couple that with the fact that he was seemingly to work with, and nobody batted an eye when the Jags fired him to court head coach Liam Coen. In retrospect, the ousting was was big reason for the team's impressive turnaround.
Granted, it hasn't been easy. Baalke's replacement, James Gladstone, had his work cut out when he took over the front office. However, he was unfazed by the challenge and has wasted no time replenishing a roster that was devoid of both playmakers and depth since taking over.
Along the way, Gladstone exposed the many flaws that Baalke made during his four-year stint at the helm.
Trent Baalke failed to turn the Jaguars into a perennial playoff team
Trent Baalke knew how to identify talent. However, he failed to build a well-rounded roster. To put it another way, he was good at finding individual pieces, but said pieces didn't always mesh well together.
That's why the Jaguars had players who excelled at an individual level (cornerback Tyson Campbell, running back Tank Bigsby, or safety Andre Cisco), but only made the playoffs once during Baalke's tenure at general manager. Sure, there were others who were special. Linebacker Devin Lloyd, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and running back Travis Etienne.
However, the roster lacked cohesion under Baalke, and the bottom half of the depth chart was devoid of players who could step up in case others got hurt. James Gladstone is bucking that trend.
It's still early, and he's been on the job for less than a year, but Gladstone's first rookie class is having an immediate impact. Even late-round picks such as running back LeQuint Allen and center Jonah Monheim are contributing early on. Under Baalke, you rarely saw any of their Day 3 selections earn a role.
Not surprisingly, the Jags have cut ties with many of the players Baalke drafted the past three years: Center Luke Fortner, running back Keilan Robinson, offensive tackle Javon Foster, defensive end Myles Cole, and linebacker Chad Muma are all gone.
The Jaguars have gotten rid of bad contracts (Gabe Davis, Tyson Campbell)
But aside from increasing the team's floor (and ceiling), James Gladstone is clearing up the financial mess Trent Baalke left. Right off the bat, he got rid of underachieving veterans Christian Kirk and Evan Engram. His reasoning? To address the larger scale roster. And seven months after the fact, the decision looked great. But the first-year general manager was only getting started.
Wide receiver Gabe Davis was next. And Gladstone continued with safety Darnell Savage. More recently, he traded cornerback Tyson Campbell. What did these players have in common aside from the fact that the past regime brougth them in? They all had big cap charges. Their release left the team with short-term constraints, but left plenty of flexibility in future years.
Simply, if Gladstone thinks your production doesn't match your salary, he'll get rid of you.
James Gladstone's Jaguars aren't afraid to take a wild swing
Another thing that stands out about James Gladstone is just how aggressive he is in taking care of needs. On the other hand, Trent Baalke would routinely lack a sense of urgency to either bolster a position or lock up a cornerstone player. That's not the case with the new regime.
Gladstone will make phone calls and get deals done if he thinks he can improve the roster. Dating back to free agency in March, he's made nine trades, including Tyson Campbell.
And while Liam Coen is a huge reason the Jaguars are off to a great start to 2025, James Gladstone's aggressive effort to clean up his predecessor's mistakes has also played a big role.