In 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars finished the regular season 10-6 and were very close to going to the Super Bowl. In the AFC title game against the Patriots, the Jaguars had a lead late in the fourth quarter, but Tom Brady worked his magic, and Jacksonville would lose 24-20.
After that season, the Jaguars have struggled. Jacksonville has missed the playoffs the last two seasons and have a record of 11-21.
Because of Jacksonville’s struggles, many thought that the Jaguars would fire head coach Doug Marrone, but that was not the case as Jaguars owner Shad Khan decided to part ways with Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Tom Coughlin.
On Tuesday at a press conference, Khan explained why he felt it was in the team’s best interest to keep Marrone and GM Dave Caldwell.
“The key question that I have to ask myself, ‘Is this the time to start over from where we were just two years ago?’ A game away from the Super Bowl. I know things change greatly year to year, but we’ve been closer more recently than many teams in the league. My feeling is that we can return to that place and go much faster to where we want to be if we can keep some things intact for 2020.
“We have a really good core of young players from our recent drafts. We have excellent draft capital. The message as the whole football organization as I met with them after our season was over, is the time to win is now. We have everything really in place with some of the changes to expect a good season. The results are going to speak for themselves a year from now, and we will all know if this is the right approach I took, and I will take full responsibility for it.”
This is Marrone’s last chance to turn things around for the Jaguars, and as we have seen in recent years, things can turn around very fast in the NFL, so if the Jaguars can have a good draft and bring in the right free agents, maybe things can turn around for this team in 2020. If not, Marrone and Caldwell are probably looking for new jobs.
Jaguars rookie QB Gardner Minshew was a revelation in 2019. The sixth-round pick in this year’s draft came in for an injured Nick Foles in Week 1 and went 4-4 as a starter before being replaced by Foles in Week 11. Minshew would replace an ineffective Foles during the Jaguars’ loss to Tampa Bay in Week 13 and would finish the season for Jacksonville, which included Sunday’s 38-20 victory over the Colts in the season finale. The 23-year-old Minshew would finish the season 6-6 as a starter.
Among rookies quarterbacks, Minshew was second in passing yards(3271), second in touchdown passes(21), and first in wins(6). He played well and Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell, who, along with head coach Doug Marrone will return in 2020, is very high on Minshew.
“I give Gardner [Minshew II] a ton of credit for what he did, where he came from, how he handled his business,” Caldwell said. “He got thrust in there Week 1. It’s hard enough for a starting quarterback or a first-round quarterback to take all the reps [and play]. This is a young man that didn’t get very many reps in the preseason, and he ends up having to go in the Kansas City game and the rest of it.
“He won more games than any other rookie quarterback and statistically, in less games, put himself in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year. I think everybody in this room would agree with that. So, I think he did a really nice job.”
According to Caldwell, Minshew will have a role with the team next season, but Caldwell did not say what it might be at this point.
“As far as the plans moving forward, I think there’s a lot of self-evaluation, like Coach [Doug] Marrone said, in where we’re at, and that will be a decision made by Coach Marrone, and his staff, in collaboration with Shad [Khan] and decide on that,” Caldwell said. “But I don’t think any decision has been made today as to what that’s going to look like, but we feel good about Gardner and moving forward with him.”
Jacksonville has to figure out what they want to do with Nick Foles, who they gave a four-year, $88 million contract last offseason. The 30-year-old Foles is expected to make $22 million in 2020. According to bigcatcountry.com, If the Jaguars just straight-up release Foles, they will have to eat $33.8 million in dead money in 2020.
In the end, it’s cheaper to keep Foles. Ideally, the Jaguars would love to be able to trade him, but you wonder who will take his contract. Maybe you have an open competition between Foles and Minshew and see what happens.
Jacksonville has some time to think about all of these things, but right now, Minshew might have the upper hand as they enter the offseason.
In somewhat of a surprising move, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan has decided to retain head coach Doug Marrone and GM Dave Caldwell. According to Khan, both will report to him, and Jacksonville will not hire an Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the 2020 season. A position that was recently held by Tom Coughlin, who the Jaguars fired earlier this month.
Here is the complete statement from Jaguars owner Shad Khan on the return of Marrone and Caldwell:
“I have met on several occasions over the past few days with Dave Caldwell, Doug Marrone and their staffs to fully understand their plans to reverse our course and compete for a postseason berth in 2020. In addition, I held numerous one-on-one meetings with players on Monday and thoroughly appreciated their candor and thoughtful views – some expected, some not – on the season behind us and where we go from here.
“While our discussions will remain confidential, the decision I am making to keep our staff intact for 2020 has nothing to do with our victory on Sunday and everything to do with my positive meetings with Dave, Doug, the coordinators and our players, as well as my belief that this is not the time to consider an overhaul of our organization.
“The 2019 season was unacceptable and I’ve made my dissatisfaction clear. While many unusual circumstances influenced our season, none can fully explain or defend our second-half collapse with first place in the division within reach on Week 9. At the same time, there were positive developments and contributions that should not be overlooked.
“We came out of our AFC Championship Game season of 2017 by making a four-year commitment to the collective leadership of our football operations. Only two seasons have passed and one change from that leadership team has already been made. I want to see what we produce under a new organizational structure in 2020. Goals have been established. Accountability will be paramount.
“As part of our new framework, the position of Executive Vice President of Football Operations will not be filled in 2020. Dave and Doug will each continue to report directly to me, as they have since mid-December. Our work begins immediately. We have a lot of draft capital in our favor to help us achieve our goals for 2020, and beyond.
“Finally, I was struck and impressed, but not surprised, by the strong showing of our fans Sunday at TIAA Bank Field. The euphoria and passion was genuine and appreciated by everyone with our team, and that goes double for me. My sincere thanks to everyone. It was a moment that underlines the fact that nothing beats having a winning football team. It’s my obligation to deliver one to Jacksonville in 2020.”
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan had seen enough. On Wednesday, which was days after the NFLPA warned players about joining the Jaguars because of excessive fans levied by the team, Khan decided to fire Executive Vice President of football operations, Tom Coughlin.
According to ESPN.COM, the apparent last straw for Khan was the letter the NFLPA sent to every player in the league that announced it won a grievance filed against the Jaguars for requiring former player Dante Fowler to attend rehab and doctor appointments in Jacksonville during the 2018 offseason and fining him more than $700,000 when he didn’t.
The 73-year-old Coughlin ran the Jaguars’ organization for the last three seasons. Coughlin was the first coach in the team’s history from 1995-2002, and he came back in 2017 to try to resurrect the organization.
Today, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone gave his thoughts on the firing of Coughlin.
Marrone:
“So obviously most of you know me. It’s a little bit different. I wanted to make sure that I was available today to try to answer any questions that you might have. I think that obviously it’s a tough situation and it’s never any one person’s fault. We’re all to blame for what’s going on during the season. Obviously, right now, what is important to me is obviously my job, is to lead these coaches, and that’s what we did last night game planning, and lead these players and do the best job I can for them to really win these next two games. So, that’s my focus. I’ve said it before, pretty much blinders on going ahead. We tried to keep the schedule the same for the players that it was today. I don’t want any excuses from the coaches or the players about distractions or what may be going on, and I’ll address some things with the players after practice because I wanted to keep things the same. And then I wanted to make sure I was available for you, and obviously, the people out there that support the organization, and our sponsors and answer whatever questions I can, whatever information I have.”
(On who informed him of the firing of Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin)
Marrone:
“I can’t remember the exact time. I was working on goal line short-yardage [situations], and then Coach [Tom] Coughlin walked in, and he said that [Jaguars Owner] Shad [Khan] had ‘just let me go.’ We’ve been through this. Unfortunately in coaching it happens. We’ve been through it before. I kind of just took a step back and asked Coach, ‘Is there anything that I can do for you?’ Coach was as professional as you guys know he would be. That was it.”
(On how long the conversation lasted)
Marrone:
“As long as how I just said it.”
(On what working for Coughlin was like for him)
Marrone: “An experience that I’ll look back [on] and be grateful for. When you have someone that, obviously the Syracuse University connection, and then my job at Syracuse while he was at the Giants, the relationship that we were able to build there. To be around someone that has just a great heart, great principles, great family man. I think those are the things that come to my mind. But again, like I said before, there’s not a lot of time for me for reflection, because I have to lead these coaches and lead this team. It’s funny, I always think about – someone asked me about seasons, and I was in New Orleans, and I said, ‘I’m always about three seasons behind,’ before I can actually go back and really reflect on how I feel, or my inner emotions or my take on things. Because with the position I have, I take a lot of pride in making sure that I stay focused, that I am doing a great job leading coaches and leading the players because that’s really what your job is at the end of the day.”
(On the positives of him and General Manager Dave Caldwell working together moving forward)
Marrone: “I don’t look that far ahead. Right now, I’m thing about, ‘OK, these plays that we have in practice that we need to do a good job on versus Atlanta.’ I think it’s the same thing. I think my focus is on the team and on these games. My focus is getting the coaches better, the players better, because we all know that we have to play better than we have been playing. I think you always get in trouble when you go too far ahead, because what happens in my experience, I can only speak for myself, is when you go too far ahead, or you too far behind, you’re going to lose out on the day. I really believe that. That’s been my philosophy. So, for me, now’s not a time for me to think about tomorrow, or the next day. Right now, the time for me is to be in this moment and be there for the coaches and the team.”
(On the current state of the franchise)
Marrone: “That’s a good question. I’m working on trying to win these games. I know that myself that obviously, I’m disappointed. I’m judged by wins and losses. I feel like I understand that I put it on me that hey, whether it’s sponsorship, ownership, the rest of the building, the fans, the people here, because I know it’s difficult. It’s always tough to write when a team’s not winning. I put that on myself. I take a lot of pride in being a good leader and being able to win football games, and obviously, I haven’t won enough. So, I think it’s the same type of question that [1010 XL reporter] Hayes [Carlyon] said, I really just stay in this moment and try to do the best job I can and keep fighting. I am where I am today. I believe this because I’ve always just kept fighting and stayed focused. I think that I’ve always held my head up high, knowing I did the best job I can, and I will always continue to do that as long as I’m in the position I’m in. Whatever position it may be. That’s just kind of how I’ve lived my life. I don’t apologize for it. There’s mistakes that I’ve made, and I feel like I learned from them, and I think that’s a sign of good leadership when you can admit you make mistakes and you move on. You guys know that I’ve tried many things. I’ve tried to correct things that have here before. Some of theme have been positive, some of them we have to still keep working on, and I will continue to do that as long as I’m the head football coach.”
(On if his relationship with Coughlin has changed significantly over the past three seasons)
Marrone: “It’s really only the second time I’ve heard that. I’ve gotten a call from someone saying that I haven’t spoken to Tom [Coughlin], which is really a joke. We talked every day. I wouldn’t use those terms that the relationship was strained, because I have so much respect for him, and I listen. And I’m one of those people that I’ve always believed with good leadership that you have to be a good listener. And I’m also humble enough to understand that I don’t know everything. So, the people that have had experienced a lot of things in my profession I’ll look to and talk to and figure out is that the best for our football team, or does that make sense to me and [will I] be able to do that. So, I don’t see – If anything, I see the relationship has gotten stronger through the three years.”
(On what Jaguars Owner Shad Khan told his after the decision to part ways with Coughlin) “
Marrone: Pretty much Shad [Khan] brought me in his office afterwards and said that he let coach go, and that for the time that I will be reporting to him, and that he expects me to be focused on these next two games. I said, ‘absolutely,’ and that was that conversation.”
(On if him and Khan talked about anything further than the next two games)
Marrone; “No, nor should I expect that. Right now, that’s what should be expected.”
(On if he thinks the decision to part ways with Coughlin will make it easier to keep players focused for the last two games)
Marrone: “I don’t think there’s anything easy about this profession. I really don’t. So, I always worry when it’s that word, we know that that easy, or comfortable, or anything of that nature, so nothings that.”
(On if parting ways with Coughlin was like removing an obstacle)
Marrone: “Like I said, I haven’t sat down and really thought those things out. For me, nothing has changed, from my standpoint. I’m still doing everything that I have to do for the coaches and the players. I haven’t really thought about that. There’s nothing that I have ever felt there was an obstacle for me. It’s the same way I looked at my life, I’ve had a ton of obstacles, always able to overcome them whatever they may be. But I feel I have good communication with the players, I have good communication with the coaches. We’ve worked together on a lot of things, so I don’t think there’s any obstacles.”
(On what his message to the team will be in regards to parting ways with Coughlin)
Marrone: “Sure. I’m going to say obviously they know that coach [Coughlin] was let go last evening and that you’re going to get a lot of questions on it. I sat there and answered a bunch of them, but I want to remind you of one thing – our focus is on the Atlanta Falcons. We have to win. There’s no difference; nothing’s changed from what I said before. We’re all fighting for our jobs, for our life, really. I mean that’s what we do as coaches, we all know that. That’s what the situation is. [It’s] No different for the players, they have the same thing. So again, it’s a tough situation, but you have to keep your focus, and you have to lead, and you have to go out there and do your job.”
(On how often he was having conversations with Owner Shad Khan before beginning to report to him last night)
Marrone: “I have always had conversations with Coach [Tom Coughlin]. With Shad, we have talked obviously, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
(On the structure of reporting to Shad Khan and how that works)
Marrone: “I don’t know. I haven’t gotten through this structurally.”
(On communicating with Tom Coughlin and then Tom Coughlin reporting to Owner Shad Khan)
Marrone: “Everyone knows I reported to Tom, yes.”
(On Jaguars players’ comments on fines and if that was a distraction)
Marrone: “I think I hit on that a little bit yesterday when I spoke about the level of fines and that all fines are obviously collectively bargained. That is something that I think the players should address, and it is something that we have to keep in mind. I think that the players and myself have communicated that. We have made changes, and it benefitted our team. I think that is one of the things that when you talk about leadership and you talk about communication and everyone being in it together – these are the things that you have to do to work with whether it is coaches or players, those things have been addressed and we are on the right path. There is no doubt about it. The players know that. I believe they would express that. I can’t speak for them, but I know we have made great strides in that area.
Wins and losses define NFL coaches, and if we judge Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone on that standard, well, he might be out of a job. After winning ten games in 2017 and having the Jaguars one game away from a Super Bowl in his first full season as the team’s head coach, Marrone’s Jaguars have struggled, and according to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Marrone could be gone by the end of the year.
Last season, with many expecting the Jaguars to have a lot of success, the team had a very disappointing 5-11 season, and in 2019, after 12 games, the Jaguars are 4-8 and will probably miss the playoffs.
“It’s really – It’s your resume that’s out there,” Marrone said on Wednesday. “You’re all professionals, and you’ve got to go out there and play well. My job is to win football games, obviously I’m extremely disappointed in the job that I’ve done. I’m extremely disappointed to let down the fans, like I said before, the sponsors, ownership, the rest of the building.
“But the players have been fighting, focused, practicing well, and we just have to figure out a way to win games and get a good taste back in your mouth. It’s such a bad taste when things are going the way they are right now. You can’t control what’s going to happen afterwards, but you can control everything while you’re here, so I’m trying to make sure that we have a clear vision of what we have to do. We have a clear goal in what we want to accomplish and [to] be able to stand up and motivate and lead the coaches and this team every day. And I think that in life, there’s going to be shit like this that happens, and this will help you down the road with it, and you better deal with it the right way, or we’ll put somebody else in there.”
With the signing of Nick Foles in the offseason, expectations were high in Jacksonville, but Foles got injured in Week 1 and struggled when he came back. Furthermore, things dissolved between the team and maybe their best player, Jalen Ramsey, who was eventually shipped to the Rams.
It might be tough for Marrone to keep his job after what happened the past two seasons, but if the team can finish strong, maybe owner Shad Khan will keep him around beyond this season. However, if this team continues to flounder, expect Jacksonville to go in a different direction in 2020.
The return of Nick Foles did not go the way the Jaguars thought it would go, and because of that, Jacksonville has decided to go back to rookie QB Gardner Minshew for the rest of the season, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone announced today.
The Jaguars will host the Chargers next Sunday.
Foles, who signed a four-year, $88 million contract in the offseason, was 0-4 as a starter, including going 0-3 in his three starts after returning from a broken collarbone in Week 1.
On Sunday, Foles struggled against the Buccaneers. He completed 7 of 14 passes for 93 yards and one interception. Also, Foles lost two fumbles. Minshew would replace him at halftime, but Jacksonville would lose to Tampa 28-11.
It should be interesting to see if we will ever see Foles again as a starter in Jacksonville, but for now, it’s time for “Minshew Mania.”
Today, Marrone explained why he decided to go with Minshew.
Here is what Marrone had to say:
(Opening statement)
Marrone: “Obviously we had the quarterback situation, so I’m going to address that right off the bat. I handled the situation this morning, Gardner’s [Minshew II] going to start for us Sunday versus the Chargers. Obviously, it was a tough deal with Nick [Foles] coming back from injury and us not being able to do a good enough job around him really. So, we feel with Gardner’s mobility and elusiveness, it can give us a better chance of winning with the way we’re playing right now, because we’re all not doing a good enough job, the coaches, and we just have to keep it going. So, that’s what we’re doing going forward right now.”
(On if he believes the offensive line is not doing a good enough job of protecting the quarterback)
Marrone: “Well, they’re part of it when you look at protections, but it’s really a lot of things. You have to get open; you have to protect. We have tight ends protecting. We have running backs that will protect. We have to be able to run the ball better, I mean there’s a lot of things that come into it, but yeah, right now obviously, yesterday, we didn’t do a good enough job protecting and we got beat up front and it’s not the way we want to be playing.”
(On how QB Nick Foles handled the news that he would not start in Week 14)
Marrone: “It’s brutal. It’s tough. He’s a competitor. He worked his ass off to come back, and he’s a great pro, so he’s going to do everything he can to help us win, and at the same time, he’s got to be ready in case there’s an injury or whatever it may be. But he’ll be a pro about this. I think the world of him. I think he’s a really good quarterback. I think that he obviously could win in this league, but we’ve got to be able to help him around. We got to have some help around him.”
(On if Foles’ lack of mobility led him to struggle in the offensive scheme and on how Minshew II’s mobility helps the team)
Marrone: “I think the mobility’s going to help us. It’s kind of like how [Associated Press writer] Mark [Long] said, just overall, we’re not being able to give [Foles] a clean pocket where he can sit back there, so I think the mobility, that’s the reason why we made the move. I think the mobility and elusiveness, they give us a better opportunity; a better chance to win.”
(On if Minshew will start for the remainder of the season)
Marrone: “We’re planning on him playing, yeah.”
(On if he is surprised to see the way Foles has performed up to this point in the season)
Marrone: “Like I said before, I still believe in him as the quarterback. I just think that a lot of times it’s never really just the one position, or one person. That’s the one position [where] it’s a team game, you need people around him to do a good job, and right now, we’re all not doing a good enough job. So, we’re just trying to put the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win. And it’s tough. It’s tough when you’re not doing a good job, starting with myself, to the coaches and at times obviously the players. So, we’ve got to hang in there, and we’ve got to try to get past this. We have to obviously learn from it, because it’s a learning experience, but at the same time, shit, we have this bad taste in our mouth. We’ve lost four straight. We’re at home again and we have to find something that we can hang our hat on that we can win football games, so that’s what we’re trying to get done.”
When Nick Foles returned for the Jacksonville Jaguars(4-7), the hope was he would give the team a boost. But, that has not happen. However, it is not all his fault.
In his two starts, the defense has given up 75 points and allowed 483 yards rushing. While they did score 20 points on Sunday against the Titans, the Jaguars’ offense has not been great with Foles. Jacksonville’s two touchdowns happened after they were down 35-3.
So, with Jacksonville not playing well, do the Jaguars go back to Gardner Minshew?
On Monday, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone discussed the team’s quarterback situation.
“I’ve always tried to take pride in myself that the quarterback is not treated differently, meaning that when you’re in front of the team, and you can correct a quarterback,” Marrone said. “I’ve always been involved in a lot of different type of philosophies when I was an assistant of what coordinators or head coaches had. I don’t necessarily believe – I think you look at each position the same way. Is this player, in whatever position he’s in, giving us the best chance to win and I think you make decisions like that.
“What gets difficult is when you have a player in a position that is inconsistent, and you really don’t have any place to go except to try to coach him better and do things to get it clear. Whether it’s cutting things down, and that’s usually the first thing that you do to eliminate errors, or if it’s a point of not having the right players in position, then you have to do more to hide your deficiencies. And those are conversations that we had today. So, with the quarterback position, I look at how it is right now, I believe that [Nick Foles] gives us the best chance to win. And I evaluate it like everyone else and I try to treat that position the same.”
Even though Foles is 0-3 as a starter in 2019, he does give Jacksonville the best chance to win football games. The Jaguars may not have much to play for in the final five games of the 2019 season, and It should be interesting to see if Marrone goes back to Minshew once Jacksonville is officially eliminated from the playoffs.
For now, Foles and the Jaguars hope to end their three-game losing streak against the Buccaneers.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver D.J. Chark is having a breakout season. In 10 games, the second-year receiver has 51 receptions for 796 yards and eight touchdowns. Chark’s eight touchdown receptions are tied with Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. for the most in the NFL.
While Jacksonville has had some struggles this season, the second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has been one of the bright spots for the Jaguars in 2019.
“He just keeps getting better,” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said about Chark on Wednesday. “He’s wherever he is in receptions and yardage, and he has eight touchdowns for us this year, so he’s really playing really well. He’s big; he’s strong, he’s fast. He can get the contested balls; he can catch the ball over the middle, run, score. So, he’s doing a lot of things very well.”
According to Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles, Chark has a shot at the Pro Bowl.
“You have to think, you know, his statistics and how he’s played, he’s among the best in the league right now,” Foles said on Wednesday. “We obviously have to, as a team, finish this year strong, but he’s heading towards being deserving of that nod.”
Chark most definitely has a shot at the Pro Bowl, especially if he continues to put up the numbers. Foles has thrown three touchdown passes this season, which have all went to Chark, so these two might be building something, which could lead to Chark having more success in 2019.
Jaguars rookie QB Gardner Minshew had a nice run this season. In eight starts, Minshew was able to go 4-4. Also, in those eight starts(nine games), Minshew was able to put up some quality numbers(2285 yards passing, 13 touchdowns). However, in his last start against the Texans, Minshew struggled with turnovers. The sixth-round pick in this year’s draft threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
Ultimately, with Nick Foles healthy and ready to go, the Jaguars decided that Foles was the guy to lead the team moving forward, and according to Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone, he could sense that Minshew was disappointed in the decision.
“Like I said before, we had a good conversation, a tough conversation for me, because I appreciate what he’s done,” Marrone said about Minshew on Monday. “And specifically pointing out a couple things that we need to keep progressing with him and working on, and I’m sure he’s a competitor.
“I’m sure there’s some level of disappointment personally, but the great part about Gardner [Minshew II] is that he’s going to do whatever he can to help this team win, and he knows that there are things that he’s going to work on and he’s going to improve upon, which is going to make him even better the next time he has an opportunity.”
Anytime you give a player a four-year, $88 million contract, you are going to give him every opportunity to get on the field, and based on how Minshew performed against the Texans, the Jaguars really had no choice but to go back to Foles.
Making the playoffs might be a difficult task for the 4-5 Jaguars, but if Foles, who is streaky, can get on a roll, maybe this team could have shot. “Minshew Mania” was fun. However, it’s time to see what Foles can do.
Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles is healthy, and on Tuesday, Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone decided that he will start in Week 11 against the Colts. Jacksonville is on a bye in Week 10.
Foles, 30, who signed a four-year, $88 million deal this offseason, has missed the last eight games due to a broken left collarbone, which he suffered in Week 1 against the Chiefs.
As a whole, rookie QB Gardner Minshew played reasonably well but struggled last week against the Texans. In that game, Minshew had four turnovers(two interceptions, two fumbles). In nine games(eight starts), Minshew has thrown for 2285 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.
On Tuesday, Marrone explained why he decided to go back to Foles:
(Opening Statement)
Marrone: “First of all, I appreciate you guys coming here earlier. But I wanted to do this, and I think a lot of you guys know when I’ve felt this before, I want to make sure you guys hear things firsthand. I just got done with the team meeting [and] I’ve made a decision on the quarterbacks and Nick [Foles] will be our starting quarterback going forward. It was obviously my decision. I worked hard on it, came to it. I brought both players in this morning [and] spoke to both of them. After I spoke to the players and obviously I wanted to make sure I spoke to the team and then I wanted to get it to our media before they heard it anywhere else, where I can’t control. So, I appreciate that. We’re going through self-scout, all the things now to try to get ourselves better. I think you always find something out during this period of time. And then obviously the challenge is how do you correct it and go forward? We believe coming back that everyone that we have on the roster will be healthy, so that’s what we’re looking forward to. And I told the players, ‘Hey, let’s get away a little bit.’ Let’s come back and let’s get focused on Indianapolis.”
(On what changed his mind to making the decision before the Bye Week)
Marrone: “One of the things that I’ve learned in coaching is that it’s very difficult when – it’s tougher to make decisions when you give yourself a hard timeline, a short timeline. So, for me, when I looked at it, and I wasn’t going to put a lot of time into it prior to the game – the thought process of the quarterback position – I looked at the schedule and I said, ‘OK, what’s the most amount of time that I would have,’ before I had to make a decision. So, I wanted to get that out there to kind of give myself that time if I needed it. Going through, what I did, I took time, obviously I got the game [film] done on the way home from London. [I] stayed up, got a good night’s sleeps, woke up, started working on the quarterback decision right away. I came to a decision and I thought once you come to a decision, you might as well tell the people. I told the players today and I want to get it to you, and I just wanted to do the right thing.”
(On when he came to the decision)
Marrone: “This morning.”
(On how QB Gardner Minshew II took the decision)
Marrone: “I think Gardner’s a competitor. I think that what he’s done. He’s done a great job. I feel a whole lot different about him now than I did prior to him playing in a very positive way. We took some things and had some discussions on things that we’re going to work on going forward which will give him the ability to be a player in this league for a long time. We really believe that.”
(On Minshew’s reaction to the news)
Marrone: “I think you can go and ask him. I mean, obviously when I say someone’s a competitor, and they hear something like that, I think everyone can figure that out.”
(On how much the Week 9 game against Houston impacted the starting QB decision)
Marrone: “I try to take that out and put it as a body of work, and that’s what I did. I think that’s important. I think emotions can run sometimes differently, so I looked at the body of work.”
(On if Minshew’s shoulder soreness impacted his play in London)
Marrone: “I wasn’t even on that thought. He was ready to go.”
(On what factors led him to pick Foles as the starting QB)
Marrone: “I think for me, looking back at all of the work, the work that we put in and I just go back to the experience and what he’s going to be able to do. And I think that’s going to give us the ability [to have] a better chance of winning right now.”
(On how they plan to get Foles back up to speed)
Marrone: “He’s had a 21-day window, which we’ve brought him back. We’ve progressively brought him back into drills and brought him into some high speed, close quarter rushing [drills], where guys were coming at him, blitzes where people were coming free. We felt like we did the best job to make sure that he was in position to be ready once he was healthy.”
(On if Foles will be in the practice facility during the Bye Week)
Marrone: “I don’t know. If you’re asking [if] we have anything planned to do with him? No. But is he going to be gone? I don’t know that.”
(On when Minshew’s play made him question who should be the starter)
Marrone: “I don’t know if I had that thought process, because I don’t think you can do a good enough job for the person that’s there. In your mind, if I’m dancing with this person, but I know at the end of the night I’m going to be dancing with this other [person], I don’t think I’m going to be dancing that well with the first one. So, for me, I don’t really look at it that way.”
(On if the team’s red zone issues factored into the QB decision)
Marrone: “Not into the individual quarterback play decision. I think when you look at our ability in the red zone, I don’t think you can pin it on one person. I think collectively as a group, starting with us as coaches, we have to do a better job, and we have to put our players in better position, and we have to make plays down there. Obviously, we’re not doing well and that’ll be a big focus when we look at this self-scout of what better answers we can have.”
(On if he feels fortunate to have a 4-5 record after losing their QB in Week 1 of the season)
Marrone: “I think that’s another tough question. I’m disappointed in myself that I haven’t been able to do a better job for the fans and this team and having more wins because that’s what our job is. The story in the beginning was I feel a lot better because I did not know what we had as a backup quarterback going into the season, and I feel that right now we have two really good quarterbacks. And I think, I told the team today, the example of Gardner, as an example that’s been going on quite a bit on this team, but it doesn’t get as publicized, or I might not bring it up to the team as much, and I brought it up today. I think people like Najee Goode, who was brought here as a backup linebacker who’s starting now. Guys like Tre Herndon, who was thrown into a [starting] role and is playing well for us. Keelan Cole who came in as a free agent, then he had some success, then he really wasn’t playing as much these past couple of weeks, and then all of a sudden, he had back-to-back games with touchdowns. Just being ready, and I think it’s a great example for all of our players. So, that’s how I addressed it.”
(On if he would have been content with a 4-4 record after Foles was injured)
Marrone: “You know what scares me right now? It’s that everyone’s always trying to get to you and figure out what’s going on. I’m talking about my friends, very few, but my friends. And I get a lot of the same questions you ask, and I’m thinking maybe you [Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette] and I are meant to be best friends. But I’m going to tell you exactly what I said to my friend. I said, ‘You know, as the head football coach, as someone that’s in charge of winning, I don’t have the ability to talk that way.’ If someone said, ‘Hey, 8-0, would you go for that?’ Yes! You know what I’m saying? So for me, I don’t have that because when you’re part of a team, and you have so many other players, and you expect people to step up, you believe you can overcome whatever injury or whatever thing you have. I think that’s a case of where the fans, and the people that write, or maybe the players, they would be better with being able to answer that question than someone like myself. Because if I don’t say 8-0, then I wouldn’t be the best of what I’m trying to do. So, when we get a question of, ‘How do you feel?’ well, I feel disappointed because I haven’t done a good enough job because of where we are right now. So, we’re going to fight our asses off and work our way back in to getting ourselves in position to play a game, because like I told the team, we had an opportunity last week to put ourselves in a really good position and we didn’t take advantage of it.”
