JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
JT from Fort Worth, TX
Now that the Jags have hired John DeFilippo as the offensive coordinator I'm curious to see if Nick Foles will follow him to the Jags. I'm not the biggest Foles fan, but it seems logical depending on how his relationship was with him in Philly.
Welcome to the latest, greatest Question of the Day among Jaguars observers: Will the hiring of John DeFilippo as offensive coordinator help the Jaguars lure Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles to Jacksonville? It's a logical question. DeFilippo, hired Wednesday, spent much of last season as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator and spent 2016-2017 as Eagles quarterbacks coach. But while DeFilippo and Foles worked together in Philadelphia, that won't be close to the most important factor in Foles' decision. Foles, who could be released by the Eagles for salary-cap reasons or who could buy his way out of his Eagles contract for $2 million, almost certainly will be swayed most by money and a team's willingness to commit to him as the long-term starting quarterback. Relationships with coaches are nice. Money and job security are nicer.
Crash from Section 148
DeFilippo!
Hey, one for DeFilippo! With exclamation points!!!!!
Crash from Section 148
DeFilippo! Foles?
We'll see!!
Mark from Oceanway
Any chance that part of the reason DeFilippo was brought in was to hopefully attract and work with Foles?
No. It just doesn't add up. First, we don't know for sure the Jaguars' level of interest in Foles. And even if the Jaguars do covet Foles, there's no guarantee that they will get him in free agency. Can they afford it? Does he want to come here? And if they hired DeFilippo for that reason and didn't get Foles, then they would be stuck without the quarterback they hired and with a coordinator they hired for the wrong reasons.
Paul from Jacksonville
I remember when I had the youthful energy to get worked up about position coach hires. Now, my attitude tends more toward, "Wake me when the games matter again."
Text me when they wake you. I'll probably be up, but you know … just to be safe.
David from Oviedo, FL
O: I, for one, appreciate everything Shad Khan has done for the team and city. He can't do any more to bring a winning team to Jacksonville, short of strapping on a helmet. Some fans think biting the hand that feeds them is a good idea. What I say to them is take a deep breath and walk away from the keyboard. At the end of the day, we should all be thankful that the city of Jacksonville still has a NFL team and our lives shine a litter brighter because of it.
This continues a recent topic in the O-Zone – with some fans apparently believing that Jaguars Owner Shad Khan having interest in other sports and businesses somehow is the reason the team has struggled on the field during much of his tenure as owner. One thing to remember here: It's possible to appreciate what Khan has done for the team – and for Jacksonville – and still be upset with the team not winning. Khan understands this, and believe me: He cares very much about winning. And neither he nor anyone else one around the Jaguars believes that fans should blindly ignore losing and praise Khan for keeping the team in Jacksonville. Still, it's also silly to blindly rage at Khan having business interests and interests in other sports – and to think that those interests hurt the on-field product. It's not how it works. Besides, what's Khan supposed to do? Take time off from running his other businesses to huddle with Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin about a lineman from Appalachian State? Would that help? Really?
Jonathan from Jacksonville
NFL owners and presidents run the business side of the operations. You're right with that spin, but who hired TC and who will fire TC if next year is another mediocre year? No matter how you spin it, Tom is right. The buck stops on Khan's desk.
Thank you for stating the obvious. Of course, the "buck stops with Khan." He's the first one to say that. It just doesn't mean Khan's other businesses have the first thing to do with the Jaguars struggling on the field.
Daniel from Urbandale, IA
O, can't we just hire Hackett back? "Look we made a mistake, we thought it was you, turns out it was not you. Please, please, please come back!"
Former Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett now is the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, so … no.
Tim from Peoria, IL
O, what's your take on Teddy Bridgewater? I see names like Joe Flacco, Foles and Ryan Tannehill mentioned as options next season, but why not any love for Teddy?
The Jaguars multiple times have shown little interest in Bridgewater, and I don't know if that will change. Durability is an issue – as is the fact that Bridgewater simply hasn't played a lot in the NFL.
Daniel from NJ
O-man, it appears based on the questions you receive that YOU are in fact somehow responsible for our record last year. Can you let us know how you managed to do that?
I am the king of all funk.
Jim from Jagsonville
What is the benefit of bringing on quarterback Alex McGough at this time? Why not wait until closer to draft/free agency time? What drawbacks or benefits do we get for making this deal so early?
The Jaguars signed McGough on Tuesday. The benefit of signing him is now as opposed to waiting is if you sign him he can't sign with someone else.
Dave from The Office
So, you just lie of your own accord? That or you think every fan is as stupid as Skip to buy your drivel.
I'm bored. You're done.
Louie from Wichita, KS
Do you think the Jags will tank the next two seasons to get a good quarterback in the draft or pick up a veteran quarterback to fill the spot and try to push for the playoffs with the roster you have now? Also, Blake Bortles has vastly underperformed the last couple seasons what is the next move with him?
Why would a team tank for two seasons to get a quarterback? It literally makes no sense on any level. Either way, the Jaguars won't tank even one season; remember, players and coaches have absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose by doing so. As far as Blake Bortles is concerned, I believe he will be released sometime before free agency begins in mid-March. That's speculation and is in no way written in stone, but that's my guess. By the way, he didn't "underperform "in 2017. He had the best season of his career and quarterbacked in the AFC Championship Game.
Kelvin from Atlanta, GA
Folks need to pump the brakes on Foles a little and think about it: The Jags don't have the weapons the Eagles have and therefore could be getting the Bucs' version of Foles. We don't want to overpay anyone for mediocrity again.
Foles never played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but if you're going to buy a quarterback in free agency you're probably doing to overpay and not get quite what you expect. The odds favor it. I think Foles is a possibility here, and I think he would be an improvement. But you're still going to overpay to get him.
Eric from Columbus, IN
So former Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett overachieved (sixth-ranked offense when healthy) with an offense with few pieces. DiFilippo underachieved (17th-best offense is his career best) with an offense with many pieces. That's ... interesting?
Cue the music, Mr. Dee Jay! #musicalchairs
Taylor from Columbia, MD
Two questions if you don't mind? One, on Monday you wrote that Todd Wash coordinated Top 10 defenses the past three years, but recently when discussing a new hire you wrote that statistics mean little when evaluating coaches. Is that contradictory or am I missing an element to one of the questions? Also, would you say there were any positives to be gleaned from the past 12 months in Jaguar land? It seems to me we lost a good offensive coordinator, missed in free agency, irresponsibly paid Blake Bortles, have only one player from the 2018 draft that performed up to expectations, and lost 11 games.
I did recently cite the Jaguars' defensive rankings the past three seasons when discussing Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash, and it's true that I generally stay away from statistics when discussing coaches. Numbers, after all, can be very misleading when discussing coaches – and they aren't at all a good indicator of whether someone is a good coordinator. In Wash's case, though, the Jaguars' defense more often than not passed the eye test during his tenure. As far as positives to be gleaned in Jaguars Land …. no, it wasn't a good 12 months. We'll see what the next 12 bring.