Jacksonville Jaguars should look to Chiefs sidelines for next head coach

Doug Pederson's seat is so hot that the prudent thing to do, even while writing this short essay, is to check the latest NFL headlines to make sure he hasn't already been fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags laid an egg in London in Week 6 against the Chicago Bears, and that's approximately a half-dozen or so such performances that currently has Pederson and the Jags at the bottom of the AFC South standings. Considering that the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts haven't exactly been franchises on fire, that's a very troubling sentiment coming out of eastern Florida.

No one in Chiefs Kingdom wants to see the continuity ruined on this coaching staff but if the Jags want to reverse course...

Pederson is in his third season in Jacksonville, and in his very first year, he appeared to be the answer as an established veteran coach with a drama-free track record who could right the ship after the turbulence of the Urban Meyer experiment. Meyer's last place finish followed three other consecutive last-place finishes under Doug Marrone, so when the Jags finished in first place in the South in 2022, it seemed Trevor Lawrence and company might finally reach their ceiling.

On Sunday, any helium left in that balloon was let out as the Jags fell to 1-5 overall. Somehow, Lawrence has regressed under Pederson's watch and a lot of money spent hasn't resulted in any more wins. Pederson's first season record of 9-8 was a nice evening out but the same record in 2023 highlighted a lack of growth for players and franchise. To go 1-5 out of the gate in 2024 is not only appalling but it appears as if the foundation is somehow worse than before.

While Jacksonville owner Shad Khan said he still had Pederson's back, public pressure can change things quickly and a 19-point loss overseas isn't going to help matters. That could lead Jacksonville to make a change—in which case they'd have a beat on everyone else making similar changes down the road.

What makes this important to Chiefs Kingdom is that it feels like NFL teams have to come calling this offseason, right? Year after year after year, the Chiefs either win the Super Bowl or appear in it and yet their opponents have allowed them to maintain the strangest continuity of leadership in NFL history. Has any NFL team ever accomplished so much yet given up so little in terms of leadership turnover? It's insane.

Imagine a restaurant getting glowing reviews but no one wants to eat there. Imagine a band writing numerous hit songs but no one requests to hear them live. Such scenarios are ridiculous, but it feels impossible for current Chiefs coordinators to find their way forward into new opportunities—despite their tremendous run of success.

That might not be the case anymore for Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. For years, the credit for the Chiefs' success has gone to Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes or some combination thereof. These days, however, it's the defense that's carrying the Chiefs and that's been true going back to the 2023 campaign. If K.C. wins this season, it willl feel like two of the last three championships came, in large part, from Spag's leadership and influence.

Does that mean, then, that Spags just might get his first chance at being a head coach in several years? Normally we're averse to the level of coaching recycling in the NFL, but Spags has become so celebrated as a coordinator these days with a body of work that might just have him Canton-bound that it would serve the Jags well to at least consider the possibility.

Yes, it's true that defensive hires are less sexy (and successful in most case) as head coaches, but Spags feels like a special case for some team out there to claim and give him another chance. Chiefs Kingdom would hate to see him go, but even that right there says so much about the need for some team to inquire about making him a head coach once more.