The city of Jacksonville was given much to celebrate as the city’s team, the Jaguars, just wrapped up a fantastic season. They finished 13-4 and won the AFC South, which was a huge rebound from the previous year, in which the Jags went 4-13. The Jags came out of nowhere with a rookie coaching staff that looks to be full of future big-name coaches.
There is a lot to be excited about. Let’s look at some of the best moments from the season and some of the best new arrivals in Jacksonville.
When reflecting on how far the Jags have come, it is amazing to see how fast things have turned around. One year ago, I looked at this season as just another year where the Jags would make mistake after mistake until they missed the playoffs and crushed the hopes of all fans yet again. However, this year they changed the expectations that everyone has for the team.
A first major moment from this year is the hiring of the coaching staff and front office. The Jags brought in James Gladstone to be the General Manager of the franchise in February. He was the Director of Scouting for the L.A. Rams previously and had much to do with the Rams’ success in the NFL Draft in recent years. His eye for talent was a big help in the Jags success this season. He led the Jaguars to acquire Jakobi Meyers and Greg Newsome II via trade. He also made the ultimate decision to trade up for Travis Hunter in the NFL draft. The most important of all of these moves was the acquisition of Jakobi Meyers, as he made an immediate impact as a Jaguar.
While Meyers had a big impact, many fans believe Gladstone made a mistake acquiring Newsome as he had almost no impact on the team and he was not worth bringing on to the team.
As far as the coaching staff is concerned, the Jags may have had the best case scenario. At the time, I was hoping the Jaguars would hire Ben Johnson, the Lions’ offensive coordinator, as the next head coach. However, he headed to the Bears, and the Jaguars decided to hire Liam Coen as a head coach.
In hindsight, Coen had one of the best first-year head coach seasons ever, and with his previous resume, it was easy to see why. As the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, he led the team to historic numbers. They finished top five in yards, scoring, passing yards, rushing yards, and rushing yards per attempt.
Coen came into Jacksonville, and he instantly revamped the offense. He helped Trevor reduce his turnovers and become the consistent star the Jaguars need to be successful. Coen also led the Jaguars to score the most points in franchise history and led the Jaguars to win their final 8 regular season games. Coen is also the first NFL coach to lead a franchise to 12+ wins that won 4 games the previous year. Liam Coen quickly erased all the doubts I had and proved that he belongs in the group of elite coaches.
Coen had great coordinators supporting him as well this year. Grant Udinski was a first-year OC under Liam Coen and helped direct the offense even though Coen called plays. Udinski received multiple head coaching offers but is staying in Jacksonville which is great news for Jags fans.
On the defensive side, Liam Coen was aided by Anthony Campanile, who was a first-time defensive coordinator after being the Green Bay Packers linebackers coach. As the Jaguars DC, he made an immediate impact, coaching middle linebacker Devin Lloyd to second-team All-Pro honors. The Jaguars allowed just 19.5 points per game this season and have made their defense a force to be reckoned with.
As far as the individual games of the season, a favorite has to be the Week 5 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Jags were 3-1 heading into the game and needed a win against the defending AFC Champions. Late in the game, Trevor Lawrence fell, got up, and ran for the game-winning touchdown. This truly showed me and many people in the sports world that the Jaguars were going to be a force this season and that there was finally something about a Jaguars season that could be celebrated.
Later on in the year, the Jaguars were facing the New York Jets. Trevor Lawrence threw for 5 touchdowns and ran for another. This was one of the games that led to his selection as an MVP finalist, and his performance showed everyone that he was going to lead the team.
Even though the Jags had a sad ending to their season when they were defeated by the Bills in a close game, it gives hope for future seasons that this is a new team and a new era for the biggest small-market team in the NFL.
