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The Jacksonville Jaguars' top candidate for the head coaching position, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, reportedly wants GM Trent Baalke fired.
It looked as though Leftwich was set to be Jacksonville’s next head coach, but this is what is supposedly keeping that a reality.
Leftwich is very interested in coaching quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the entire Jaguars roster, but he reportedly wants Baalke out. The Tampa Bay coordinator wants current Arizona Cardinals Vice President of Pro Scouting Adrian Wilson to be the new Jaguars GM.
This is not a huge shocker as it has been known from the start that Jacksonville would not have a complete list of head coaching candidates.
The biggest reason is team owner Shad Khan would not (at least so far) restructure the front office by letting Baalke out of his contract. Given this report, it looks as though we are seeing the drama unfold with Leftwich not wanting to work with Baalke.
Leftwich would reportedly prefer to be paired with Wilson, a former NFL safety in the league. He was drafted seventh overall by Jacksonville in the 2003 NFL Draft, while Wilson was drafted in the third-round of the 2001 draft by the Arizona Cardinals.
Leftwich spent four seasons as the team’s quarterback, throwing for 9,042 passing yards, 51 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.
He also played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a season each with the Atlanta Falcons and the Buccaneers.
The biggest question now is what will Khan do: fire Baalke or move on from Leftwich?
Who will the Jaguars choose?
This boils down to either Khan firing Baalke or going after Wilson as his successor to team up with Leftwich. In his first year as Jacksonville GM, Baalke went 3-14 and the roster is far from complete.
Drafting Lawrence was a step in the right direction, but is Baalke capable of improving the roster beyond what has been acquired thus far?
On the other hand, should a first-time head-coaching candidate be allowed to dictate who they prefer in the front office? There have been head coaches who have worked with GMs who simply didn’t mesh, impacting a team’s success long-term.
Leftwich feels he can mesh with Wilson and help turn the team around. The question is, how will this drama play out in Jacksonville?
