Subscribe
Follow Us
Several months ago, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan would be candid about his expectations for the team going into the next season, saying that “winning now” is where they should be at. In the latest episode of Jacksonville's video series titled “The Hunt,” he doubled down on his sentiments about the team and expects immediate success as Khan experienced the disappointment of the Jaguars under head coach Urban Meyer.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan doubles down on team's expectations
There is no question that Jacksonville has a case to be a really good team this upcoming season and compete for the division though they have tough competition against the likes of the Houston Texans. Still, they have a successful head coach in Doug Pederson and one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league in Trevor Lawrence as Khan says that this could be “the best team assembled” in franchise history according to NFL.com.
“About a month ago we celebrated the city’s partnership with the Jaguars and the approval of funding for the new stadium of the future,” Khan said. “So, I met with the reporters and the discussion obviously quickly turned to football and I was quoted, ‘For us, winning now is the expectation.’ So really I [have] been looking forward to tonight to set the record straight. I was not misquoted. And let me just repeat, winning now is the expectation.”
“Make no mistake, this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ever,” Khan continued. “Best players, best coaches. But most importantly, let’s prove it by winning now.”
Jaguars owner called last season a “organizational failure”
Last season, the Jaguars started by winning six of their first eight games, but fell off drastically by losing five of their last six contests, including the finale against the Tennessee Titans that would've had them making the playoffs. Khan in his original comments would mention that injures were a part of it, but touted the season as an “organizational failure” according to NFL.com.
“Injuries are a part of the game,” Khan said. “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?”
“For us, winning now is the expectation,” Khan continued.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson agrees with team owner
If there is one person that agrees with Khan and his expectations for the Jaguars, it is head coach Doug Pederson who is entering his third year after posting back to back 9-8 seasons. He is looking to repeat the accomplishments he had with the Philadelphia Eagles where he gave the franchise their first championship as Pederson is looking to do the same with Jacksonville.
“He's right,” Pederson said. “He's right, the opportunity's right in front of us. It's about winning. We're in this business to win and to win now. And that's our goal each and every day, as we strive. Does it mean we're gonna be perfect? No, but we're gonna strive for greatness.”
At any rate, the Jaguars finished with a 9-8 record last season where they look to improve as they open up 2024 against an in-state rival in the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 8.
