JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
David from Orlando, FL
Wait? The Jaguars aren't going to the combine? Help me understand how NOT doing something that everyone in the league feels is important helps you get better.
The Jaguars' top decision-makers indeed will not attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Ind., this week – and while I previously explained the reasoning in this space, it's an unusual enough move to merit reexplanation. Key decision-makers and evaluators such as General Manager James Gladstone, Head Coach Liam Coen and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli will not attend. Coaches and other personnel officials that used to attend also will not attend. The reason for this is an organizational philosophy that combine on-field workouts and team interviews with players are not important enough to the evaluation process to merit attendance. The belief is that on-field workouts and in-person interviews can cloud judgment with unimportant information and non-factual bias – thereby overwhelming what really matters in the evaluation process, which is what the player does on the field and other intangibles. The Jaguars still will be represented. Team physicians will attend. Scouts will gather information. Why is the rest of the league doing it when the Jaguars don't do it? I can't speak to that. I do know that this Jaguars regime isn't going to do something just because everyone else is doing it – and I know that just because a bunch of NFL people like an idea damned sure doesn't make the idea a good one.
Bob from Bobsville
What really matters? John, the success of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold this season prompts this. Why are some organizations successful and some seemingly always struggling? These two guys exemplify this. Everyone says you need a franchise quarterback to win, yet for multiple years neither of these guys seemed to be on that path at all. My uninformed opinion is they are now succeeding because of the organization and team they are with. We joke it's always coaching, but where would Trevor be today if Liam wasn't coaching. Talent is obviously important, but how many games did the Jags win this year due to Liam and the coaches and culture he brought? I tend to think it starts with ownership, which could look like a putdown of Jaguars Owner Shad Khan, but I realize that isn't fair. As an owner, you have to learn what works and doesn't. Unfortunately, you need to give coaches and general managers several years or more to see if they are good. It could take three or four times to find the secret sauce, by which time you have had ten-plus bad seasons. Soo, what do you think are keys?
If there was a magic formula that always worked for NFL success, every team would follow that formula. You need a quarterback. You need a coach who can lead. You need decision-makers who can establish culture and make decisions for the right reasons. You need ownership that can support it all. All these things sound easy. It's not. The good news for the Jaguars is they're doing a lot of things for the right reasons and they're giving themselves chance to be good for the long-term. Stay tuned.
Sam from Orlando, FL
Somebody that used to write for this site? His name was Vic Ketchman, pal.
Damned right.
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O'/King Of All Funk, I am bouncing off the walls with pride as I have been selected as the *Jacksonville Jaguars Fan of The Year*. The Jags will fly me to Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft to announce a draft pick on stage. I am absolutely thrilled that I will be a tiny, tiny, part of the history football team I love. It will be an honor and a privilege. Thank you, Mr. Khan, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jaguars UK. You have absolutely no idea how much this means to me.
This makes me happy. Good things happen to good people, though in my case, the opposite is true. Good fer Pedal Bin. Enjoy.
Aaron from Jacksonville
I recently saw your big plays story. What was the biggest play, the one that the season doesn't happen without?
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee or Scooby Sense – tells me you're referencing one of a series of stories earlier this offseason detailing key Jaguars plays from the 2025 season. What perhaps stood out the most to me when compiling the series was that a lot of the "big plays" were from earlier in the season when the Jaguars needed huge plays at big moments to win game. Linebacker Devin Lloyd's 99-yard interception return for a touchdown in a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Lawrence's trip-and-get-up touchdown late in the same game. Wide receiver Parker Washington's punt return for a touchdown in a victory over the San Francisco 49ers. As the season continued, and as the Jaguars won eight consecutive games to clinch the AFC South, the storylines weren't as much about huge plays in big moments as solid performances in convincing victories. This was even true in the biggest victory of that stretch, a 34-20 victory over the AFC West Champion Denver Broncos. As for what was the biggest play of the Jaguars' season … I'll still maybe go with Lawrence's touchdown pass to Washington against the Arizona Cardinals. That play at the very least symbolized a change in Lawrence's approach and mindset – without which it's hard to imagine the Jaguars winning eight consecutive games.
Harold from Ponte Vedra, FL
There has to be a better way.
You would think.
Bruce from Saint Simon's Island, GA
O, So true, and very "Riggins." Perhaps his most famous non-football moment! I still prefer the fourth-down touchdown run against the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl, which I witnessed with my wife. By the way, my wife also asked me what happened to the girlfriend who recommended the possibility of a sports career.
John Riggins was my favorite NFL player growing up and until I began covering the NFL for a living. This was true not just because he was the star player on my then-favorite team, but because he was one of the most unique personalities ever to play the game. As for the former girlfriend, she will remain unidentified in this space. She smartly got out of journalism long ago. Me not being smart enough to follow suit isn't on her.
Troy from Dover, PA
What is your prediction on whether Arik Armstead is on the team next year?
I confess I don't have a great feel for Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead's status next season. He mattered to this team in 2025 and provided some decent penetration on the interior of the defensive line. The Jaguars could save $14.48 million against the 2026 salary-cap if they release him with a "post-June 1" designation. But remember: That just means you're spreading the cap hit to 2027 money on the 2026 cap. Stay tuned.
Daniel from Johnston, IA
Your answer about Lloyd and Etienne likely not being re-signed at any number got me thinking. I don't disagree, but it feels like sometimes the team just makes a choice to not even try. I've never really disagreed when the Jags have let players go, except I remember wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. signing with the Detroit Lions for a relative pittance. I was surprised the team didn't try to re-sign him. (I know, his career wasn't amazing and who knows how it would have gone if they had, but with that one in particular it felt like they could have and it wouldn't have broken the bank in anyway?)
My recent answer(s) regarding Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd and running back Travis Etienne Jr. not being re-signed shouldn't suggest that there is no number at which the team wouldn't re-sign them. The Jaguars like both players and of course there is some theoretical contract at which the team could re-sign both players. Remember, though: The people running these teams and the agents representing players know this business. They spend their lives immersed in these issues, with team officials always concerned about how players and contracts fit into the overall long- and short-term team structure – and players' representatives always aware of general market value and leaguewide perception/interest in their player. They know far more about the details and realities of these things far more than even the most knowledgeable analyst. When teams choose "not to try," it's usually because they're ready to go another direction or know the chances aren't realistic enough to pursue. This is not to say teams never make mistakes, but just because it looks like a team didn't try to re-sign a player doesn't mean they didn't like a player. It's just that sometimes it's so clearly not going to happen that it's not worth starting the official conversation.
Gary from St. Augustine, FL
Even when the game-winning goal went in, you still sucked.
U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.
