The Jacksonville Jaguars have been struggling to find an identity as they fired Urban Meyer as their head coach less than a full season into his contract. The team has some up-and-coming talent with quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne. Today, we will dive into some of the leading candidates to become the next head coach for the Jags and figure out which one is the best fit.
Make sure to check out some NFL stats in order to make the best decisions for your wagers.
Byron Leftwich (+400)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to turn around their offense quickly as Jameis Winston threw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 2019, and in 2020 Tom Brady joined the fray and helped them win the Super Bowl. Leftwich once was the first-round draft selection of Jacksonville in 2003 as the seventh overs pick.
Since his playing career was done, he was the quarterback coach in Arizona from 2017-2018, the interim offensive coordinator for them in 2018, and the offensive coordinator of the Buccaneers since 2019. As the NFL continues to step up and focus more on the offensive side and developing a young quarterback, this seems to be the obvious choice, but we will still dive into other options as well.
Kellen Moore (+500)
The offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys has the second-best odds to become the next head coach for the Jaguars, but I do not see this as a realistic pairing. He was also a former quarterback but played the second half of his playing career with the Cowboys before being the quarterback coach in 2018 and the offensive coordinator of Dallas since 2019.
Moore feels groomed to be the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys whenever they decide to part with Mike McCarthy. Why would he leave where he is essentially the head coach as he is calling plays for the offense for America’s team?
Darrell Bevell (+550)
One of the easier choices that Shad Khan and the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars front office could easily do is drop the interim title off of Bevell and make him the next head coach of the franchise. He has been in the coaching world since 1996 and in the NFL coaching since 2000 when he was the assistant quarterback coach for the Packers 2000-2002, the quarterback coach for the Packers from 2003-2005, offensive coordinator for the Vikings from 2006-2010, the Seahawks offensive coordinator from 2011-2017, Lions offensive coordinator from 2019-2020, and the offensive coordinator and eventually the interim coach of these Jaguars this season.
Darrell Bevell has been a member of a Super Bowl-winning staff and seen incredible quarterbacks and helped them improve with the likes of Brett Favre, Russell Wilson, and Matt Stafford. He also already has a rapport with Trevor Lawrence, and this way, you do not need to teach another offensive strategy to him in his second season as an NFL player. Having the experience of doing so is key and should highly be considered.
Who Will Be The Next Head Coach?
If I was to predict, I think Darrell Bevell will remain the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2021-22 season. Why would Byron Leftwich and Kellen Moore leave their respective teams with incredible chances of being extremely competitive outside of just the position?
I think the fact that Trevor Lawrence is going to have to learn his second offense in two years is going to play a major role in the decision. There is still time for people to emerge, but Jacksonville seems to have their answer in Bevell.