JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Jaguars broke up with head coach Doug Marrone on Monday, after the worst season in the franchise’s history.
Marrone has one more year left on his contract and will be paid until the 2021 season. The team fired general manager Dave Caldwell on November 29 and both openings should be in high demand as the Jaguars hold No. 1 in the overall standings and have four picks in the first two rounds and seven in the first four.
Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis at the end of the season was the Jaguars’ 15th in a row, two games weaker than the previous franchise record set in the 2012-2013 seasons. It was also the Jaguars’ 21st loss in 24 games, dating back to Week 8’s victory over the New York Jets in the 2019 season. Fifteen of those losses were double-digit.
Marrone has a 25-44 record in four seasons with the Jaguars, which includes a 12-36 mark since he won AFC South with a 10-6 record in 2017 and appeared in the AFC title game. This was the title of the franchise in the first division in 1999 and the first appearance in the playoffs in 2007.
Three seasons later they are one of the worst teams in the league. By the end of the season against the Colts, the Jaguars had already dropped a franchise record of 464 points and ranked 27th or worse in the NFL in the four major defensive statistics categories (yards per game, rushing, passing and scoring) . Offensively, the Jaguars ranked 27th or worse in meters per game, rushing and scoring and finishing 20th in passing, which is largely a product of falling behind the games and abandoning the race.
The Jaguars upset Indianapolis at the start of the season and then lost a close game to Tennessee in Nashville, where they struggled to keep games close for the past six seasons, to create some optimism that the team will be competitive and better than many thought .
Miami, Cincinnati and Houston got their first victories of the season against the Jaguars. For Elias, this makes the Jaguars the first team in NFL history to lose three straight games to teams without a win (except for those who open the season).
Marrone was named the Jaguars’ interim head coach on December 18, 2016, after owner Shad Khan fired Gus Bradley, who compiled a 14-48 record in nearly four seasons. Marrone, who has been Jaguars assistant head coach / offensive line coach since 2015, became head coach less than a month later.
Marrone served as coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2013 and 2014, following 15-17 – including Buffalo’s first winning season in 10 years in 2014 (9-7) – before giving up his contract after a change of ownership. He was hired as the Jaguars’ offensive line coach and assistant coach for offense before the 2015 season.
The Jaguars now join the Jets, Lions, Falcons and Texans as current teams with head coach openings.