The Jaguars on Monday fired Pederson, the team nnounced, just one day after a 26-23 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts wrapped up a 4-13 campaign. Pederson posted a 22-29 overall record with the organization.
General manager Trent Baalke will remain with the organization.
I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars,’ Khan said in a statement. ‘Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife Jeannie when that occasion arrives. As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.’
After Sunday’s loss, Pederson said he was ‘optimistic and hopeful’ that he would return next season.
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‘I’ll find out this week,’ Pederson said. ‘It’s hard to speculate right now. Emotions are running. I hope I’m still here, honestly. I feel like we have the makings of being a good football team. ‘
Jacksonville’s woes served as an extension of the struggles the franchise endured to end the 2023 season, when it dropped five of its final six games to fall out of the playoff picture despite its 8-3 start. Khan made clear in the offseason his lofty expectations for this year’s group, saying it was ‘the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever’ and that he expected to ‘prove it by winning now.’
But things quickly fell apart for Jacksonville. In Week 1, the team saw its 14-point lead over the Miami Dolphins erased in a 20-17 loss sealed by a last-second 52-yard field goal. Following an 18-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns to drop to 0-2, star quarterback Trevor Lawrence declared ‘we suck right now.’
Said Pederson after a 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3: ‘We’re not a very good football team and we’ve got to get it fixed.’
With the team standing at 1-4, Khan stood behind both Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke, backing both in an exclusive interview with the Florida Times-Union and USA TODAY Network.
‘I still believe in them,’ Khan said. ‘I believe in the players, I believe in the coaching staff. I believe in Trent [Baalke]. Obviously, the results are disappointing for all of them, just as well as me or any other Jaguar fan, but, the key thing one has to understand [is] we have evolved and really got to a level. I think we’ve got the players, we’ve got the coaching, we’ve got the facilities.’
The Jaguars also were responsible for the largest losing deficit in franchise history with a 52-6 defeat to the Detroit Lions in Week 11. The Lions, who scored touchdowns on each of their first seven drives, also achieved an all-time organizational best with 645 yards.
While many speculated that Pederson could lose his job after that contest, the Jaguars emerged from their bye without a coaching change.
Pederson, 56, was hired in 2022 to help the Jaguars quickly pivot from Urban Meyer’s disastrous lone season as coach, during which he went 2-11 before being fired. Having led the Philadelphia Eagles to the organization’s lone Super Bowl title as a head coach in 2017, Pederson was hailed by Khan as someone who could ‘replicate that magic’ for another franchise seeking its first title.
The former NFL quarterback and protege of Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid was also tasked with taking over the development of Lawrence, the franchise centerpiece. The No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft was selected to the Pro Bowl in Pederson’s first season, in which he threw for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions while leading the Jaguars to their first division title since 2017. But after signing a five-year, $275 million contract extension in June that briefly tied him for the title of the NFL’s highest-paid player, Lawrence made only 10 starts in an uneven season and dealt with a sprained AC joint before landing on injured reserve with a concussion.
The defense, meanwhile, ranked 31st in yards allowed per game (389.9) despite bringing in new coordinator Ryan Nielsen this offseason.
At the trade deadline, the Jaguars opted to trade left tackle Cam Robinson, who had been the franchise’s longest-tenured player, to the Minnesota Vikings for a conditional Day 3 draft pick.
This story has been updated with new information.