Yahoo Finance Jaguars find first fall guy, fire GM Dave Caldwell
Dave Caldwell won’t even have a chance to draft the Jacksonville Jaguars’ next quarterback.
The Jaguars are 1-10, in the running for the first overall pick and Trevor Lawrence in next year’s draft, but Caldwell didn’t make it to the end of the season. Caldwell was fired after Sunday’s 27-25 Jaguars loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Statement from Owner Shad Khan regarding GM Dave Caldwell. pic.twitter.com/ZAHYyjTpaq
— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) November 29, 2020
Caldwell is not entirely at fault for the Jaguars’ mess, but he’s the first to go. Usually the coach and GM are joined at the hip, so it’s fair to wonder if Doug Marrone will be around to coach whoever the Jaguars draft in 2021. Marrone won’t be fired during this season, according to a report. Jaguars owner Shad Khan told Marrone and his staff they are safe for the rest of the season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Caldwell was the GM when Tom Coughlin was vice president of football operations, but Coughlin had final say in personnel matters. Coughlin was fired late in the 2019 season. It seems unfair to fire Caldwell when most of the damage to a once-promising roster was done under Coughlin.
No matter how much control Caldwell had over the roster, the Jaguars ruined a promising roster. There were many missteps, like indecision on Blake Bortles that led to the horrible decision to extend his contract and drafting Leonard Fournette with the fourth overall pick over quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Many key players like Calais Campbell, Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue were traded in the past year.
The Jaguars are a mess. Their only hope for the near future is getting a top pick, taking Lawrence or Ohio State’s Justin Field and hoping their new quarterback is a star.
Caldwell won’t be making that pick. The Jaguars could look a lot different from top to bottom before the 2021 season.
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