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Despite being mauled by the Chicago Bears in London today for his team's fifth loss of the season, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson apparently believes his job is safe.
After the Jags' 35-16 loss to the Bears, Pederson was asked if he felt that he still had the backing of team owner Shad Khan.
“I do. I was just with him and I do,” Pederson said, via ESPN's Michael DiRocco.
Pederson, who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, is 19-20 in three seasons as Jaguars head coach. In his first year, he led Jacksonville back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. And in his second year, it appeared as if the Jags would cruise into the postseason.
But after starting 8-3, Jacksonville lost five of its last six and missed the playoffs entirely. This season, the Jaguars have picked up where they left off last year. Since the beginning of December 2023, the Jags are 2-10.
The massive dip in performance has Pederson looking for change.
“We've got to change,” Pederson said post-game, via DiRocco. “I say we, it's all of us, coaches, players, everybody. We have got to change right now, that culture. Otherwise it just gets out of control. We're on a slippery slope or right on the cusp of … that slope and at some point we've got to — we just have [to say] enough is enough and you got to have enough pride and figure out a way.”
Whether that change will be at the head coaching position remains to be seen. Khan, who owns Fulham FC, a Premier League club located in West London, voiced his support earlier this week for Pederson, general manager Trent Baalke, and the current players.
However, Khan had also indicated that the Jaguars' competitiveness in three of their four losses to that point was encouraging. And Jacksonville was anything but competitive today.
The Bears led 14-3 at halftime and extended their lead early in the third quarter after Evan Engram fumbled on the first play of the half. While the Jaguars offense would bounce back and score on two of their next three possessions, Trevor Lawrence threw an interception just over a minute into the fourth quarter, which led to a three-play, 36-yard touchdown drive for the Bears.
The Jags will stay in London for the next week in anticipation of another UK game vs. the similarly dismal New England Patriots. Jacksonville's next game back in the states will be at home vs. the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 27.
