Keenan McCardell was hired as the wide receivers coach on January 20, 2017 and is entering his third season overseeing the group. A two-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion, McCardell spent six seasons (1996-2001) with the Jaguars totaling 499 receptions for 6,393 yards and 30 TDs, which ranks second in all three categories in team history.
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 his first 100-plus yard game (Sept. 30 vs. NYJ) of his career and hauled in a career-long 61-yard TD in Week 2 against New England. In addition, the former 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 yards, including Donte Moncrief, who posted 100-plus receiving yards in Week 4 versus the New York Jets and set his career-long with an 80-yard TD reception on Nov. 11 at Indianapolis.
Despite having five receivers being placed on injured/reserve during the 2017 season, including Pro Bowl WR Allen Robinson, McCardell’s unit helped QB Blake Bortles achieve a career-high completion percentage. Leeled 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 most among all rookie receivers in 2017. Cole set the franchise record for receiving yards by an undrafted rookie WR, while his 748 receiving yards were the eighth-most in NFL history by an undrafted rookie WR.
McCardell’s previous stop before Jacksonville was coaching 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 Maryland, McCardell spent two seasons (2010-11) with the Redskins. In 2011, Washington 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 completions 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 ranks 13th all-time in NFL history, while his 11,373 yards is 23rd-most all time. McCardell played for five NFL franchises in his 17-year career mostly notably with the Jacksonville 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 UNLV. 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. He also coached the West’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.
COACHING BACKGROUND: Jaguars Wide Receivers Coach 2017-19, University of Maryland Wide Receivers Coach 2014-16, Redskins Wide Receivers Coach 2010-11
