The Jaguars made a significant change to their play-calling strategy right before last season, and it remains a hot topic as they head into 2024. As the season opener approaches, head coach Doug Pederson is still undecided on who will be calling plays for Jacksonville. In an interview with ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, Pederson mentioned he hasn’t made up his mind whether he or offensive coordinator Press Taylor will handle the play-calling duties for Week 1.
One thing Pederson did confirm is that Taylor will be on the sideline during games rather than in the press box. Last season, Pederson handed play-calling responsibilities to Taylor, but the decision is now under scrutiny. Earlier this offseason, team owner Shad Khan made his opinion clear when asked about Pederson’s job security. Khan expressed that if he were in Pederson’s position, he would prefer to call plays himself, though he didn’t explicitly say Pederson’s job was at risk.
If Pederson were indeed feeling pressure, it might seem unusual for him to delegate play-calling to Taylor again. It’s worth noting that disagreements between Pederson and the Eagles’ ownership over promoting Taylor to offensive coordinator were part of the reason Pederson was let go in Philadelphia.
Taylor’s first full season as the primary play-caller for the Jaguars had its ups and downs. Injuries to quarterback Trevor Lawrence hampered the team’s offensive performance, and the Jaguars slid from an 8-3 start to finishing the season 9-8, missing the playoffs. That slump affected Taylor’s standing, and while defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and much of his staff were let go, general manager Trent Baalke also took a hard look at the offense as things fell apart.
Jacksonville made some key offensive personnel changes in the offseason, bringing in wide receivers Gabriel Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. to replace Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones. The team also upgraded at center, signing Mitch Morse from the Bills. As for the play-calling decision, we’ll find out soon enough whether another big shift is on the horizon for the Jaguars.
