Report: ‘Good chance’ Jaguars coach Doug Marrone returns in 2020

NFL insider says general manager Dave Caldwell also likely to return after firing of Tom Coughlin

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Though the season isn’t over yet for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a report Sunday shed light on what the team could expect next season.

On “NFL Game Day” Sunday morning, Ian Rapoport, national insider for the NFL Network and NFL.com, said there’s a “good chance” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell return in 2020, according to sources. Rapoport also said Tony Khan, Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s son, could take on an increased role.

“I’m very surprised,” Mark Brunell said Monday evening on “The Mark Brunell Show.”

The report comes in the wake of the firing of Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars executive vice president of football operations.

Coughlin was the first person in the organization to lose his job because of the performances both on and off the field. The breaking point came late Monday afternoon when the NFL Player’s Association essentially warned players to sign with the Jaguars at their own peril. Jacksonville had gone overboard in assessing fines to players under Coughlin. An arbitrator ruled in the NFLPA’s favor that excessive fines levied by the Jaguars went against the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

Rapoport said, “Marrone had to constantly put out fires with players frustrated over the Coughlin fines,” so Shad Khan wants to see how Marrone and Caldwell function without having to worry that. And if things go well in the Jaguars’ final two games, Rapoport believes both will be back next year.

It could be the franchise’s most significant change.

The Associated Press also reported there’s growing belief that Shad Khan plans to keep Marrone and Caldwell in 2020, wanting to see what they do can without Coughlin.