Latest On Jaguars DEs Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue
Count Jaguars owner Shad Khan among those who’d like to see the team’s top defensive ends return to Jacksonville next season. Khan told Jaguars.com’s Ashlyn Sullivan that the organization wants to retain both Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue (via John Oehser of the team website).
“Both of those players – Yannick and Calais – I had chats with them after the season,” Khan said. “I would love for them to be back and I’m very hopeful they’ll be back.”
We heard back in January that the Jaguars’ front office had made Ngakoue a priority, and rightfully so. The 24-year-old had another standout season in 2019, finishing with 41 tackles, eight sacks, six passes defended, and four forced fumbles. The former third-rounder will hit unrestricted free agency this spring, but Oehser is confident he won’t be going anywhere; if the two sides can’t agree to an extension, there’s a good chance the Jaguars slap Ngakoue with the franchise tag.
Campbell is a different story, as the veteran has a cap hit of $17.5MM in 2020. The team could save upwards of $15MM if they moved on from the 33-year-old, but there’s a better chance that the two sides will work on an extension that lowers that cap hit. Campbell hasn’t missed a game since joining the Jaguars, and he finished the 2019 campaign having compiled 6.5 sacks. The lineman is also well-respected, and he was the team’s first ever recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
“I think he’s a fabulous guy and I think his contributions … everybody understands, knows, respects,” Khan said.
Jaguars Add Ben McAdoo To Coaching Staff
Ben McAdoo is back in the NFL. ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports (via Twitter) that the Jaguars are hiring the 42-year-old as their quarterbacks coach.
McAdoo climbed up the NFL coaching ranks during his stints with the Saints, 49ers, and Packers. He caught on with the Giants in 2014 as their offensive coordinator, improving the squad from the 28th-highest-scoring offense to the sixth-highest-scoring offense. Ownership and the front office turned to their OC after Tom Coughlin stepped down, making McAdoo their 17th head coach in franchise history.
The Giants went 11-5 during McAdoo’s first season as the helm, although the team lost to the Packers in that year’s Wild Card Game. New York stumbled to a 2-10 record to start the 2017 campaign, and the organization ended up firing both their head coach and general manager Jerry Reese before the end of the year.
Since that time, McAdoo has seemingly been out of football altogether. The coach has worked with the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning throughout his career, and he’ll be tasked with guiding Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville.
Jaguars President: Khan Wants To Keep Team In Jacksonville
The most frequent team sent to London since the NFL began holding games there annually, the Jaguars have doubled down on their overseas commitment. They are set to play two London games in 2020, stirring understandable speculation about their future in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars are set to become the first team to play multiple home games overseas; they will do so in back-to-back weeks. Both games will occur at Wembley Stadium, a venue Khan was in talks to buy before backing out of the pursuit.
This could be interpreted as the NFL testing the waters for a long-rumored London team, and Jags owner Shad Khan has connections to England sports as owner of the English Premier League’s Fulham F.C. But Khan, per Jags president Mark Lamping during a Sirius XM Radio interview (via Pro Football Talk), is “committed to keeping the (Jaguars) in northeast Florida.”
“The most important thing (Khan) wants to do is bring a Super Bowl to Duval County, and obviously we have a lot of work to do on that front,” Lamping said. “But the other thing he wants to do is ensure that there’s NFL football in northeast Florida for many generations to come.
“… London supplements what we’re doing in Jacksonville. It certainly doesn’t replace it.”
NFL inroads to a possible London team have stalled, to some degree. But the Jags, who have played a game in London each season since 2013, have long been the top candidate to relocate — if, in fact, the NFL opts to relocate a team to England rather than launch a UK expansion team — to the point that Khan as secured a right-of-first-refusal arrangement regarding an NFL London move.
Lamping, however, insists the Jaguars doubling up on their London schedule has no connection to a potential relocation.
“This isn’t about next season or the next few seasons in Jacksonville, but really about the next 10 years, 25 years and beyond,” Lamping said in a team announcement. “There is no better time than now to capitalize on the opportunity to play two home games in London, where we will continue to develop our loyal and growing fanbase there and throughout the UK, during a period in which I will be focused heavily on creating a new downtown (Jacksonville) experience that we want, need and must have here.”
Jaguars To Hire Trent Baalke
Trent Baalke will resurface in Jacksonville. More than three years after the 49ers fired him from the GM post he held for much of the 2010s, Baalke will join the Jaguars as their director of player personnel, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The Jaguars are replacing Chris Polian with Baalke, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Polian had been with the Jags since Dave Caldwell came aboard as GM in 2013. This will be Baalke’s first role with a non-49ers team in 16 years.
Baalke, 55, worked his way up the ladder in San Francisco, going from regional scout to GM. His tenure produced notable clashes with Jim Harbaugh and ended with the 49ers becoming the first team to have back-to-back one-and-done HCs in nearly 40 years, but Baalke did team with Harbaugh to lift the 49ers to their most consistently strong stretch since the 1990s. The 49ers trekked to three straight NFC championship games from 2011-13 and came close to winning Super Bowl XLVII.
In 2017, Baalke joined the league office as a football operations consultant. This represents a key opportunity for the former 49ers, Jets and Redskins staffer. Baalke began his career with the Jets in the late 1990s before being a Redskins scout for four seasons in the early 2000s.
Polian was once linked to the 49ers’ GM job in 2017. That job went to John Lynch, who has played a key role in resurrecting a franchise that had endured a steep freefall in Baalke’s final years. Baalke hires Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly went a combined 7-25 between the 2015-16 seasons. A second-generation NFLer, Chris Polian had served under father Bill Polian in Indianapolis during the latter’s tenure there. Chris Polian re-emerged in Jacksonville and rose from pro personnel director to player personnel director during his lengthy tenure.
This hire comes shortly after Shad Khan surprised some by announcing Caldwell and Doug Marrone would return for another season, despite the Jags having fallen far since the 2017 AFC title game. Caldwell figures to enter the 2020 season on the hot set, but Baalke will attempt to help this regime right the ship.
2020 Draft Order
Super Bowl LIV is in the books, which means the order for the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft is set. By virtue of their 31-20 win Sunday night, the Chiefs will have the final pick in the first round. The 49ers dropping to 5-2 in Super Bowls will result in the NFC champions approaching the podium at No. 31.
Here is the full first-round order:
1. Bengals (2-14)
2. Redskins (3-13)
3. Lions (3-12-1)
4. Giants (4-12)
5 Dolphins (5-11)
6. Chargers (5-11)
7. Panthers (5-11)
8. Cardinals (5-10-1)
9. Jaguars (6-10)
10. Browns (6-10)
11. Jets (7-9)
12. Raiders (7-9)
13. Colts (7-9)
14. Buccaneers (7-9)
15. Broncos (7-9)
16. Falcons (7-9)
17. Cowboys (8-8)
18. Dolphins (via Steelers 8-8)
19. Raiders (via Bears 8-8)
20. Jaguars (via Rams 9-7)
21. Eagles (9-7)
22. Bills (10-6)
23. Patriots (12-4)
24. Saints (13-3)
25. Vikings (10-6)
26. Dolphins (via Texans 10-6)
27. Seahawks (11-5)
28. Ravens (14-2)
29. Titans (9-7)
30. Packers (13-3)
31. 49ers (13-3)
32. Chiefs (12-4)
Jaguars Hire Jay Gruden As OC
Jay Gruden‘s interview with the Jaguars ended up leading to a job offer. The former Redskins head coach has been hired as Jacksonville’s new offensive coordinator, the team announced. Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reported yesterday (via Twitter) that this was the expected outcome.
Gruden joined ex-Giants HC Ben McAdoo and ex-Rams HC and Cowboys OC Scott Linehan in interviewing for this post. The Redskins set several passing records during Gruden’s years with Kirk Cousins and were in first place in the NFC East when Alex Smith went down with the severe leg injury that harpooned Washington’s 2018 season. The Redskins ranked 10th in scoring in their 2015 playoff season and were third in total offense a year later.
Despite Marrone entering his fourth season as the Jags’ full-time head coach, this has not been a stable position in recent years. The Jags fired Nathaniel Hackett late in the 2018 season and will make John DeFilippo a one-and-done in the OC role. With Marrone avoiding the ouster many expected, Gruden’s work with Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew will be critical to this regime staying in place. Gruden also figures to be auditioning for a future HC job.
The Redskins fired Gruden after an 0-5 start to his sixth season. He clashed with ownership and since-fired team president Bruce Allen on the drafting of Dwayne Haskins but has a history in helping young quarterbacks. Gruden was in his first year as Cincinnati’s OC when the team traded Carson Palmer and pivoted to rookie Andy Dalton. The Bengals made the playoffs from 2011-13 and were a top-10 scoring offense in the ’12 and ’13 campaigns. Minshew, who is set to compete with Foles this offseason, will be his next project.
Jaguars To Interview Jay Gruden For OC
The Jaguars are being thorough in their search for a new offensive coordinator. In addition to Ben McAdoo and Scott Linehan, Jacksonville will interview former Redskins head coach Jay Gruden for its OC vacancy, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweets.
Gruden, of course, was the first head coach fired this season, with Washington handing him his walking papers in early October. In 5+ seasons with the Redskins, Gruden compiled a 35-50-1 record and led the club to just one playoff appearance, but it was his prior work as the Bengals’ OC that got him the Washington gig in the first place.
Gruden, who was a successful quarterback at Louisville and in the Arena Football League, served as Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator from 2011-13. Although his offenses were in the middle of the pack in terms of overall efficiency during that time, the Bengals did improve in points-per-game over each of those three seasons, and in 2013, the team was in the top-10 in points scored and yards-per-game. Quarterback Andy Dalton also set career-highs in passing TDs and passing yards that season, which ended with an AFC North title.
The Jags recently fired John DeFilippo after one season as OC, and his replacement will be tasked with improving an offense that ranked 26th in points scored in 2019. The new OC will also be a major factor in developing quarterback Gardner Minshew.
There were rumors that Gruden may be headed to Las Vegas to join his brother Jon on the Raiders’ staff, and that may still be in play. But one away or another, he wants to be back in the NFL in 2020, as he told Garafolo’s NFL Network colleague, Ian Rapoport, that he is “itching to do something” and would “like to have an office to go to.”
Jaguars Interview McAdoo, Linehan
The Jaguars interviewed former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo for their offensive coordinator vacancy, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). McAdoo, who did not coach in 2019, is looking to reboot his career after a dismal run in New York. 
The Giants fired McAdoo late in the 2017 season, ending a three-plus-year run with the team as offensive coordinator and head coach. The Giants threw him under the bus following the Eli Manning benching debacle and most fans were happy to see him go – the Giants went 13-15 under his watch. Prior to all of that, McAdoo served as the tight ends and quarterbacks coach of the Packers.
The Jaguars have been searching for a new OC ever since firing John DeFilippo, who was one-and-done in Jacksonville. The Panthers are also considering McAdoo for a spot on Matt Rhule‘s maiden staff.
The Jaguars are also slated to speak to former Cowboys OC Scott Linehan this weekend – presumably for the same post. Linehan will also speak with the Panthers and Giants, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (on Twitter).
Linehan, 56, got the heave-ho from the Cowboys in January of last year. Like McAdoo, he was out of the NFL for the 2019 season.
Updated 2020 NFL Draft Order
The stage has been set for the conference championships. The Titans, Chiefs, 49ers, and Packers are moving on to the semifinals, while the Texans, Seahawks, Ravens, and Vikings will begin planning for the offseason ahead. Unfortunately for the Texans, their first round pick belongs to the Dolphins.
Here’s an updated look at the 2020 NFL Draft order from Nos. 1-28:
1. Bengals (2-14)
2. Redskins (3-13)
3. Lions (3-12-1)
4. Giants (4-12)
5 Dolphins (5-11)
6. Chargers (5-11)
7. Panthers (5-11)
8. Cardinals (5-10-1)
9. Jaguars (6-10)
10. Browns (6-10)
11. Jets (7-9)
12. Raiders (7-9)
13. Colts (7-9)
14. Buccaneers (7-9)
15. Broncos (7-9)
16. Falcons (7-9)
17. Cowboys (8-8)
18. Dolphins (via Steelers 8-8)
19. Raiders (via Bears 8-8)
20. Jaguars (via Rams 9-7)
21. Eagles (9-7)
22. Bills (10-6)
23. Patriots (12-4)
24. Saints (13-3)
25. Vikings (10-6)
26. Dolphins (via Texans 10-6)
27. Seahawks (11-5)
28. Ravens (14-2)
Jaguars Part Ways With John DeFilippo
The Jaguars announced that they have parted ways with offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. This marks yet another short-lived stint for DeFilippo – all three of his OC stints have lasted one season, or less.
DeFilippo served just one year as the Browns’ OC in 2015 and was fired as the Vikings’ OC after Week 14 in the 2018 season. Although the Jaguars say this divorce was mutual, it was likely a decision made by the team.
In 2019, the Jaguars finished 26th in points scored and with an overall record of 6-10. Losing Nick Foles to a broken collarbone in Week 1 was an obvious blow to DeFilippo’s plans, but Garner Minshew stepped up in his absence and, for a while, looked the part of a quality NFL starter. Unfortunately, they were unable to ride Minshew Mania into sustained success, and the Jaguars are now looking to move in a new direction.
The Jaguars’ next OC will be tasked with developing Minshew and getting the most out of running back Leonard Fournette, who turned in a healthy season and a solid 4.3 yards-per-carry average. On the flipside, there might not be much room to add offensive firepower. The Jaguars currently have a projected $208MM cap figure, which means they’ll have to shed veteran contracts in order to have any breathing room in March.