JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Big day, Zone. Right? Could there be better news?

I'll assume you're referencing Tuesday's news that offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile have agreed to terms to return to the Jaguars in 2026 after interviewing for NFL head-coaching vacancies in recent weeks. Udinski, 30, interviewed with the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills. Campanile, 43, interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins. Their return indeed is very important – mostly because players believe in them and trust them. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence improved dramatically in 2025 and said late in the season that Udinski helped him a lot. Defensive players loved playing for Campanile on a similar level. You saw real improvement from the offense and defense in their first seasons with the organization. I expect either Campanile and/or Udinski will get a head-coaching position elsewhere next offseason. It seems almost inevitable. For the 2026 Jaguars, Tuesday was a good day.

Carol from Saint Johns, FL

Wow. To Get (And Actually Truly Want) Both Coordinators Back Means It Is Just A Wonderful Time To Be A Jaguar Fan! I love we will have them both back for at least one more year as I'm sure the players also will appreciate this! Thanks, Liam, for hiring both of them!

One fer Campanile. One fer Udinski. One fer Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen. One fer Capitalized Words. One fer Exclamation Points!!! One for everything.

Yeti Daddy from Somewhere and Yet Nowhere

Ok, "O." Now that it appears we are keeping our coordinators, let's talk about team structure. It is interesting that other teams like Atlanta are in a fashion copying our model by having Matt Ryan take a similar position Tony Bocelli has with the Jaguars. Is this a new trend? Are we trend setters? Are other teams going to ask their senior writers to look at you?

NFL leadership teams are structured in multiple ways – perhaps not in as many ways as there are teams, but close. The differences are often subtle, but there indeed are differences. I don't know that having someone in a similar position to Jaguars Executive Vice President Tony Boselli – a.k.a., Tony Bocelli – is a "have to" for NFL teams to succeed these days. Is that person a good leader? Does he operate with common sense? Can he set a vision and tone for the organization? Having leaders with those traits means far more than specific organizational structure. It's about people. Always. As far other teams having their senior writer look to me … they can look, I suppose. But they may not like what they see.

Anita from Springfield

Sometimes you'll see injured players on the sidelines with their team, but I feel like that's the exception. Why is that? Wouldn't it make sense to stay with and close to your teammates and continue to lead and help somehow? (Related: how much was Travis on the sidelines vs in the stands at games?)

I have no statistics on how often we see injured players on the sidelines, though I confess to be a bit relieved to find an "un-statistical-ed" area that the good and well-intentioned people at Pro Football Focus haven't analyzed down to a joyless, lifeless number. Players sometimes choose to be on the sidelines during games, and it often is determined that it's best that players don't travel or be on the sidelines when they are rehabilitating injuries. I didn't keep track of how much rookie wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter was on the sidelines following his knee injury this past season, but the extent to which a player who's not playing can actually help varies and is somewhat debatable.

James from Titusville, NJ

What will the stadium capacity reduction next year look like? How many seats will be available while construction is happening? Will this affect the Jags' home-field advantage? I'm already not looking forward to what the 2027 season is going to look like outside of Jacksonville. It will suck if the Jags' performances deteriorate because every home game feels like a road game, but that's a 2027 problem. How will 2026 look?

EverBank Stadium is expected to have a capacity around 43,000 in 2026, with seats only in the lower bowl. I don't expect that to affect the home-field advantage significantly. As for how playing 17 games away from Jacksonville will affect the Jaguars in 2027 … stay tuned.

Fred from Naples, FL

In reading between the lines from the postseason media availability with Coen and Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone, it looks like it's a foregone conclusion that linebacker Devin Lloyd will not return, but it seems like a possibility that running back Travis Etienne Jr. could return (transition tag?) and that they really want to find a way to keep cornerback Buster Brown.

You're in the ballpark.

Boxcutter from Mass

This might not be the popular opinion. ETN can go "chase the bag." As he should. He's no Fred Taylor, or MJD anyways. You think the young men upstairs are on the "hunt" for one of those?

I expect Etienne and his representatives to try to maximize his earnings moving forward. He plays a position with a relatively short "shelf life" in a sport with a relatively short "shelf life." I think the Jaguars' personnel people would love to find a running back on the level of former Jaguars running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. I think all NFL personnel people would love that.

James from Titusville, NJ

Aside from making defensive pass interference calls 15-yard penalties within the last two minutes of each half, I think it would be cool to make field goals worth four points instead of three. Doing so would make the field goals-versus-go-for-it decision much more on even ground. Both proposals would be immediately rebuffed, but it's still fun to dream. For the sake of argument, how good or bad would these changes be for the game in your opinion?

I don't expect either change to happen because both would reduce scoring and I can't see the NFL making any change to reduce scoring. I'm warming to some concept involving reducing pass interference penalties to 15 yards, but I would rather see officials lean on the call less. I wouldn't be big on field goals being worth four points. I'm not sure anyone wants to see games turned into kicking contests.

Jami from Claxton, GA

I feel comfortable thinking I know the duties and responsibilities of the head coach and the general manager. What are those for the EVP for Football Operations?

Boselli upon his February 2025 hiring: "My job is not to be out front; my job is to help Liam Coen, his staff and the new GM to have success. That's all I want to do. That's all I care about. It's focused on Liam. I'm going to make sure Liam and that staff he has and the players he brings in have the ultimate success."

Chris from Mandarin

Regarding defensive pass interference, I think a good compromise would be to have fouls that occur in the end zone from outside the red zone to be placed first and goal at the 10-yard line rather than at the 1-yard line.

This is an interesting concept and discussion point, though I can't imagine the conversation ever approaching a place where such a change would become NFL reality.

Jim from Middleburg, FL

Hi, John. The recent comment from Round Rock, TX was not nearly as interesting as your answer! That's a hoot. Your answer was basically yes, no, or maybe. You have been taking lessons from Senator Kennedy!

Being more interesting from comments from Round Rock, TX … well, let's just say it's a relatively "low bar."

Stephen

As I rewatch some of the games this past season, the defense carried the Jaguars early in the season. In the middle of the season, the offense started clicking but the defense seemed to stall a bit. What do you think would be some reasons for this?

Injuries in the secondary and lack of interior pass rush certainly didn't help the Jaguars' defense as the season continued. And I don't know that the Jaguars' defense actually stalled all that much late in the season. The Jaguars had a few rough games defensively in the final 10 weeks of the season – at Denver and Arizona in the regular season and in the AFC Wild Card Playoff loss to Buffalo Bills – but the defense mostly played well during that stretch. The Jaguars had some defensive lapses late in the season. A few of those lapses really hurt in the postseason. The Jaguars will work to minimize those moving forward.

JAY from THE BURG FL.

Great team. Great coach. Let's run it back, JAGS! When it comes to risk of going for it on fourth down, how often do you score if you get it? How often do they score if you don't?

Here we go, Jaguars.