After a tumultuous offseason in which the Jacksonville Jaguars very nearly botched their head coach hire, the team appears to have found some stability. The Jaguars have landed on their feet as the team finally filled its general manager position by hiring James Gladstone.
Both Gladstone and new head coach Liam Coen have ties to the Los Angeles Rams organization and Sean McVay. Coen spent a total of four years with the team, with a one-year break in 2021 when he left for Kentucky. He last worked for the Rams in 2022 when he took on the role of offensive coordinator.
Gladstone, meanwhile, spent his entire nine-year career with Los Angeles, rising through the ranks from senior assistant to the general manager to director of scouting strategy. The 34-year-old executive is now the youngest general manager in the NFL. And, he believes, his experience in LA has prepared him for the challenge of running the Jaguars.
“I see a lot of parallels to really my time with the Los Angeles Rams and the current moment in time here with the Jacksonville Jaguars, in particular dating back to the inflection point in 2017 when the Los Angeles Rams were coming off a four-win season, hired a dynamic and resilient head coach and were able to follow that up with a successful season and successful seasons since. So really gonna tap into all those years of experience and the different sort of modes of operation and models that we deployed while applying here,” Gladstone explained when discussing how his time with the Rams can impact the Jaguars, via Nick Shook of NFL.com.
The Jaguars hope to follow in the Rams’ footsteps
McVay took over a struggling Rams team in 2017 and immediately led LA to an 11-5 record, a division crown and the team’s first playoff appearance in 12 years. McVay has gone on to lead the Rams to the playoffs in six of his eight seasons in Los Angeles. The team has made two Super Bowl appearances and won one title in McVay’s tenure.
There are certainly parallels between the 2017 Rams and the Jaguars’ current situation. Jacksonville has reached the playoffs just twice in the last 17 seasons. Like the 2017 Rams with Jared Goff, the Jaguars have a former first overall draft pick at quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. And questions surround Lawrence’s ability to lead the team to a championship in much the same way Goff’s potential was debated.
The Jaguars believe they’ve found their franchise coach in Coen after an unprecedented process that included broken promises and deceit. Now Jacksonville hopes Gladstone is the right pick for GM after the team was ruthlessly mocked for waiting so long to fire Trent Baalke.
A number of questions remain unanswered as the Jaguars enter the 2025 season. But, fortunately for owner Shad Khan, after bottoming out in 2024, there’s probably only one direction for the team to go. Right Duval?
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