Jaguars Fire GM Trent Baalke To Clear Runway For Next Head Coach

The offseason started out well enough for Trent Baalke because, even though his Jacksonville Jaguars were terrible last season and coach Doug Pederson was fired soon afterward, he seemingly survived. But then things got sideways for the team's former general manager.

Baalke on Wednesday was fired by owner Shad Khan even as he was assisting in the head coach search.

The club owner released a statement about his decision:

Khan: Separation Best For Everyone

"Following several discussions with Trent Baalke this week, we both arrived at the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interests to respectfully separate, effective immediately," Khan said in the statement."

Khan named Ethan Waugh as his interim general manager, and he will help in the hiring process of a new head coach.

And that says a lot because it is not the presence of a general manager that hurt the Jaguars' search for a new coach. It was the presence of this general manager, per an NFL source.

The Jaguars, you see, missed out on Ben Johnson earlier this week and Liam Coen Wednesday when both decided they preferred to be elsewhere other than Jacksonville.

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 05: Trent Baalke, General Manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars, looks on during a press conference introducing Doug Pederson as the new Head Coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Stadium on February 05, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Misfire On Coen Hurt Baalke

Johnson took the job with the Chicago Bears. And that didn't immediately set off alarms in Jacksonville, because the Bears also were aggressive in pursuing the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.

The Jaguars, per a source, turned their attention to Coen – another young, offensive-minded coach who lifted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense to such heights this year that Baker Mayfield threw a career high 41 touchdown passes, and the offense was fourth in the NFL, averaging 29.5 points per game.

But here's the thing: Even as the Jaguars were coveting Coen, he decided the team wasn't right for him.

He passed on an opportunity to become an NFL head coach by pulling out of the Jaguars coaching search. He is returning to Tampa Bay as the offensive coordinator after getting a raise.

And while it is unclear what role Baalke's presence played in that decision, his presence and the timing of his dismissal coinciding with the whiffs on Johnson and Coen the last couple of days cannot be dismissed as coincidence.

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - JULY 26: Trent Baalke, general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Shad Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, look on during Training camp on July 26, 2022 at Episcopal High School in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Coast Now Clear For New Head Coach

So what is it about Baalke that set at least one candidate of the multiple men the Jaguars have interviewed to not wanting the job?

Well, he's gone through a lot of coaches – all of whom eventually got fired – while he survived amid bad seasons.

He's fired four head coaches in his last four seasons as a GM, including two in San Francisco.

The amazing thing here is that it was an open secret coach candidates might balk at the idea of coming into a situation where they might be the fifth victim of the Baalke legacy. Everybody seemingly knew except Khan, who kept Baalke until Wednesday.

So now the Jaguars' search for a coach continues without Baalke.

Don't be surprised that a team with a solid quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, an ownership the generally allows its football people to act, and an environment that no longer includes Baalke, will be able to soon land their new coach. 

It should definitely be easier now.