The Jacksonville Jaguars have refuted a report by ESPN claiming that the team informed Doug Marrone he will be fired after the season and that a decision likely won’t be made until the following week, per Ian Rapoport.
Statement from Jim Woodcock, #Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s spokesman: "Reports that Doug Marrone will be dismissed after Sunday’s game are 100 percent incorrect. Owner Shad Khan will meet with his football staff, which includes coaching and personnel, midweek next week.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 28, 2019
The Jaguars responded just 20 minutes after ESPN’s Diana Russini tweeted that Marrone had already been fired:
Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone has been informed that he will be dismissed following Sunday’s game vs. Colts, per sources. Jaguars will begin a search for a new head coach.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) December 28, 2019
ESPN’s Michael David Smith noted that waiting over a week to fire a head coach is unusual, as most owners don’t let coaching decisions “linger more than 24 hours after the end of the season.”
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network also chimed in, adding that “it sounds as if there’s a real chance he stays.” Although he added that the team’s only focus right now is Sunday’s season finale against the Indianapolis Colts.
If this is the end of the Doug Marrone era in Jacksonville, in which the Jags have gone 21-28 (with one game left to be played this season) through just over three seasons. Marrone was hired in Week 14 of the 2016 season, and found success almost immediately when the Jags won the AFC South behind one of the best defenses in the league and played in the AFC Championship Game in 2017, his first full season at the helm.
That would prove to be short-lived though. The Jaguars would go 5-11 in 2018 and currently sit at 5-10 one year later, the team traded their star player Jalen Ramsey after a public fallout between the two parties, and Vice President of football operations Tom Coughlin was fired not long after the organization was called out by the NFLPA in a scathing letter, claiming “25% of the grievances filed by NFL players have been filed by players in the entire league have been filed against the Jaguars. You as players may want to consider this when you have a chance to select your next club.”
While the expectations for Marrone have been high because of the success from 2017, it may be time for Shad Khan to truly consider moving on in less than a week and a half.
