The Jacksonville Jaguars have their eyes on the future. The team recently celebrated the announcement of its stadium of the future and inked franchise QB Trevor Lawrence to a long-term contract extension. However, Jaguars owner Shad Khan recently shared some harsh commentary about the organization in an interview.
Khan spoke with The Associated Press' Mark Long and spoke on a variety of topic relating to his NFL team.
Khan views the 2023 season as an organizational failure.
“Injuries are a part of the game,” Khan told Mark Long, via NFL.com's Grant Gordon. “We had some of those injuries, but I think it's organizational failure that it happened. All of these players I talked to, it's like how could this happen? What happened?”
Khan is referring to injuries to Trevor Lawrence, who has nursed multiple injuries, and Christian Kirk.
He did not mince words when talking about what he expects from the team in the near future.
“For us, winning now is the expectation,” he said.
The Jaguars offense crumbled down the stretch in 2023. That's what makes it to exciting that the team added Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis this offseason. It also means increased expectations in 2024.
When asked about who would call plays in 2024, head coach Doug Pederson or offensive coordinator Press Taylor, Khan deflected.
“Yeah, I have an opinion,” Khan said. “But I don't want to tell people, ‘We need to do it,' because then things don't work out, they look at me and say, ‘We did it because you wanted it.'”
He ultimately gave what sounds like a cop out answer and said Pederson is empowered to decide for himself.
“Doug, he's empowered,” Khan said. “I'm going to let him decide.”
Ultimately, Shad Khan knows that his team cannot have a repeat of their 2023 campaign. If that happens, plenty of changes could be coming to the organization.
“For me,” Khan said, “it's really a cause for self-reflection and then something good to come out of it because we just can't have that this year.”
Jaguars owner Shad Khan reacts to historic agreement with Jacksonville on new stadium
Shad Khan is thrilled to finally have a long-term future locked up in Jacksonville.
Earlier this week, the team announced on social media that they've reached an agreement with the city on a new stadium deal. The plans for this “stadium of the future” will create a state-of-the-art facility that will keep the team in Jacksonville for the next 30 years.
Khan spoke glowingly about his franchise and the city following the announcement.
“I love Jacksonville immensely and I especially love what's possible here,” Khan said, via David Bauerlein of jacksonville.com. “A lot has changed from the inaugural season for the Weavers in 1995 to my first year in 2012 right through to today as we prepare to celebrate the Jaguars 30th anniversary in the NFL. But there's been one constant throughout — everybody wants to doubt Jacksonville, and as of last night, that should no longer be the case.”
The Jaguars will reportedly continue to play in Everbank Stadium until 2027 when they will seek an alternate location for one season. The expected launch of their new stadium is the 2028 NFL season.
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