A marriage that appeared “sneaky” back in September is starting to creep into the limelight.
“There is belief” that Bill Belichick will be joining the Jaguars, Mike Florio reported on “Football Night in America.”
The third winningest head coach in football history. A roster (at least on paper) brimming with potential. Who says no?
They’re on the precipice of change in Jacksonville, that much is clear.
The 2-9 Jaguars have the worst record in the league — just behind four 2-8 teams — and they’re coming off the worst loss in franchise history, an abysmal 52-6 blowout loss in Detroit.
Head coach Doug Pederson is all but gone as a season that started with playoff expectations is spiraling out of control.
“Before the season started, team owner Shahid Khan said, ‘This is the best team the Jaguars have ever assembled, let’s prove it by winning now,’” Florio said on Football Night in America. “So here we are.”
Belichick, the 72-year-old six-time Super Bowl winning head coach, has spent this season in a variety of broadcasting roles after being fired by the Patriots.
While the assemblage on field has shown their owner very little to believe in, as Florio reports, Khan hasn’t lost his faith in the man who assembled those pieces: Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke.
“I’ve talked to several people throughout the league, and there is a belief, in some circles, [that Baalke] could potentially survive into next year as part of a package deal that would reunite him with someone he worked with in 1998 and 1999 with the New York Jets,” Florio said.
“That coach is available. He’s won a few Super Bowls. His name is Bill Belichick.”
The math could add up on Florio’s suspenseful news break.
Belichick is serious about returning to the league and the roster in Jacksonville is seriously talented.
Then again, the connection between Baalke and Belichick is tenuous at best.
Baalke scouted for the Jets from 1998-2000, while Belichick served as the team’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1997-1999.
In the 25 years since, Baalke and Belichick have not crossed professional paths.
And so, when the Jaguars emerge from their bye week on Dec. 1, could their front office have a brand new look and feel?
“I can’t control that,” Pederson said Sunday. “Listen, I’ve been around this league a long time and if it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen. But, at the same time, I still have a job to do and that’s to get ready for a good division opponent here in two weeks.”
