Keenan McCardell was hired as the wide receivers coach on January 20, 2017 and is in his third season overseeing the group. A two-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion, McCardell played six seasons (1996-2001) with the Jaguars totaling 499 receptions, 6,393 yards and 30 TDs, which all rank second in team history to this day.
After WR Marqise Lee suffered a season-ending knee injury during the 2018 preseason, McCardell called upon his unit’s youngest members to fill the void. WR Dede Westbrook set career highs and led the team with 66 receptions, 717 receiving yards and five TDs. In his second season, Westbrook posted the first 100-yard game of his career on Sept. 30 vs. the New York Jets and hauled in a career-long 61-yard TD on Sept. 16 against New England. In addition, the former college Biletnikoff Award winner joined Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill as the only two players in the NFL to record at least 500 receiving yards and one punt return TD in 2018. Westbrook was one of three players in franchise history to accomplish the feat in a single season, joining Mike Thomas (2010) and Bobby Shaw (2002). In addition to Westbrook, McCardell helped two other members of the WR group to 400-plus yard seasons, including Donte Moncrief, who posted 100-plus receiving yards on Sept. 30 vs. the New York Jets and set his career-long with an 80-yard TD reception on Nov. 11 at Indianapolis.
Despite having five receivers placed on injured/reserve during the 2017 season, including Pro Bowl WR Allen Robinson from Opening Day, McCardell’s unit helped QB Blake Bortles achieve a career-high completion percentage. Lee led the group with 56 receptions for 702 yards and three TDs. McCardell oversaw the development of two rookies, Keelan Cole and Westbrook. Cole, who went undrafted, registered 42 receptions for a team-high 748 yards, which was third among all rookie receivers in 2017. Cole set the franchise record for receiving yards by an undrafted rookie WR, while his 748 receiving yards ranked eighth in NFL history by an undrafted rookie WR.
Prior to joining Jacksonville’s staff, McCardell coached the wide receivers at the University of Maryland from 2014-15.
While at Maryland, McCardell oversaw the development of current Vikings WR Stefon Diggs, who led Maryland with 62 receptions and ranked fourth in the Big Ten averaging 79.2 yards per game. Diggs also recorded four 100-yard receiving performances to earn second-team all-conference honors from the league’s coaches and honorable mention all-conference honors from the media.
Prior to coaching at Maryland, McCardell spent two seasons (2010-11) with the Redskins. In 2011, Washington’s receivers totaled 346 receptions, the second-highest total in franchise history at the time and eclipsed the 4,000-yard plateau for the sixth time in franchise history (4,058). In 2010, McCardell presided over a receiving corps that helped the Redskins set a then-franchise record for receptions in a season (349). McCardell’s unit provided one of the league’s most consistent big play threats, as the team led the league with nine completions of at least 50 yards.
As a player, McCardell played in 209 career games with 168 starts, and amassed 883 receptions for 11,373 yards and 63 touchdowns. His 883 receptions rank 13th in NFL history, while his 11,373 yards is 23rd all time. McCardell played for five NFL franchises in his 17-year career, mostly notably with the Jaguars from 1996-2001.
McCardell ranks second all-time in receptions (499) and receiving yards (6,393) in Jaguars history including a career-best 94 receptions for 1,207 yards during the 2000 season. McCardell earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 1996 after totaling a team-best 85 receptions for 1,129 yards and three touchdowns.
McCardell entered the league in 1991 after being drafted by the Redskins in the 12th round of the NFL Draft out of Nevada-Las Vegas. He spent his rookie season on Injured Reserve for a club that would win Super Bowl XXVI.
Upon finishing his playing career, McCardell began coaching by completing a Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship with the New York Giants during the team’s 2009 training camp under then-Head Coach Tom Coughlin. He also coached the West team’s wide receivers in the 2010 East-West Shrine Game.
McCardell worked in broadcasting as a studio analyst for Comcast SportsNet for the Redskins’ kickoff show in 2008 and served as a college football analyst for the Mountain West Network in 2009.
McCardell and his wife, Nicole, have four children: daughters Keandra, Nia and Nakeeya’, and son Keenan II.
