JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Jaguars fans are buzzing about the team’s new head coach.
Many Jaguars fans say they are glad the coaching search is over and they are excited to see what Doug Pederson can do for the team. Other fans say they are not holding their breath.
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“I think he’s going to be a great coach here for us. I think with the team that we have and the picks that we have this year and the cap space that we have, I think we’re going to have a good year,” said Jaguars fan Stephen Polland. “I think Jacksonville has a great fanbase considering the years that we suffered and things of that nature, I think that we’re heading in the right direction.”
The Jaguars announced late Thursday evening the hiring of Pederson, former head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pederson spent five seasons as Philadelphia’s coach and went 42-37-1 with the Eagles in the regular season. He won one NFC East title and reached the playoffs three times, including a Super Bowl 52 win over the New England Patriots.
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Pederson was fired after the 2020 season and a 4-11-1 record. He didn’t coach last year, which made him Jacksonville’s first head coaching interview. He got a second interview Tuesday and landed the job two days later.
“Glad they chose him, I thought he was out of the picture. He had a great record at Philly until 2020 (COVID season No. 1), when he went 4-11,” Towmissile said in response to a News4JAX questionnaire.
Marvin Fisher wrote: “Doug was my pick once the coaching search began. I looked at what he did as a first time HC and had success in a very short period of time.”
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News4JAX on Friday spoke with mother and son Suman and Neil Mayer, both of whom are die-hard Jaguars fans. They feel Pederson was the right choice and are looking forward to the upcoming season and attending games.
“It’s nice to have a proven Super Bowl winner. It’s nice to have some new energy in town. I know there’s a lot of uncertainty after [Urban Meyer’s] departure, so, hopefully, he can replicate some of his success from up north,” Neil Mayer said. “I think it will be a winning season. I think Trevor [Lawrence] is going to develop quite a bit. Hopefully the year after that we’ll make a significant playoff run.”
Suman Mayer said: “I think I will go to the games with them more now that we know that there is some stability here, so excited.”
It took more than a month for the Jaguars to find a replacement for Urban Meyer, who was fired in December following a series of blunders and a 2-11 record.
Former Jaguars fan of the year Danika Mitchell said she’s staying cautiously optimistic about Pederson’s hiring.
“I don’t think there’s the euphoria of what it would have been if this coaching announcement had been hired like a month ago,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell is interested to see how Pederson will work with the Jaguars front office. One of the issues that remained in the coaching search was owner Shad Khan’s decision to retain general manager Trent Baalke instead of starting anew.
“Will he be able to work within the structure that the Jaguars currently have or is there something else coming that will make it better?” Mitchell said.
Khan sent a statement saying Pederson has proven leadership and experience as a head coach and he hopes he can replicate that here in Jacksonville.