JAGUARS GENERAL MANAGER TRENT BAALKE
COMBINE AVAILABILITY
MARCH 1, 2022
(On why the team decided not to hire an EVP) “I think Shad [Khan] answered that with his statement. I think that was something that we were looking into and like I said at the press conference, I’m all for anything that is going to help this organization move forward. We have been stuck in neutral for a while. We are going to continue to address those levels of leadership, but I think we are very comfortable. I really appreciate Shad stepping up and having the confidence in Doug [Pederson] and myself that he has shown.”
(On what his responsibilities are without an EVP) “The same responsibilities. Nothing has changed. Doug and I are going to lead the team forward. I feel very confident we can do that.”
(On adding an edge rusher in this draft) “I think anytime you can add a pressure player to your team on the defensive side … If you look at my track record in San Francisco with what we did there relative to the edge pressure, that is a positive. This draft happens to be a good draft. There is going to be depth into the second and even the third round in terms of acquiring those types of players.”
(On what he remembers from his time in San Francisco) “Great memories. It is great organization, great leadership from ownership on down. I can’t say enough good things about Jed and John and the York family. My time there was well spent. We accomplished a lot. We had some failures. That is a part of this business. You ride that wave and sometimes you are at the top of it and sometimes you are at the bottom of it. I have nothing but respect for that organization and the people that own it.”
(On what he learned from his time with the 49ers) “I think any time you go through what we went through in San Francisco, you get better. You learn from the successes and you learn from the mistakes that you make. Certainly, we made a few of them. I made my share. You hope to learn from them and not repeat them.”
(On what the staff is working on and if the team is going after a tight end to fit Head Coach Doug Pederson’s offense) “The staff just got in. We just got through the initial end of season reports that typically are done about 30 days earlier than this. They are evaluating the team. We have had initial discussions relative to that. The tight end position is a focal point. It always is. It has been with Doug’s offense as you mentioned. It is going to be a position that we certainly look to address, but we feel very good about the room that we have there currently right now. A young guy that we drafted in Luke Farrell out of Ohio State, we picked up Dan Arnold last year in a trade and obviously with Chris Manhertz, we feel very good about that room. Will we add to it? There is a chance we do.”
(On what he has learned about Doug Pederson) “I learned he likes to hunt and fish and so do I. That is a positive. He is just really engaging. He is very collaborative, very easy to talk to, very easy to communicate with. All of that has been positive. The good thing is we don’t just talk about football. We
talk about life. We went golfing the other day with our wives and had a great time on the golf course. That is something we have to do more often. The collaboration of what we are doing is very good right now.”
(On Coach Pederson’s collaboration with the general manager in Philadelphia) “I can’t speak to what he did in Philadelphia relative to the collaboration with the general manager. We really have not discussed that. With both of us, we have been through a lot professionally – both of us have. You get in an opportunity like this to take over a franchise like this and move it forward … [A franchise] that has been stuck in neutral, that is what we are trying to do [move it forward]. It is going to be a very collaborative effort. It has been that way since day one and it is going to continue to be that way.”
(On if the team plans to move on from WR Laviska Shenault Jr.) “Not at all – I don’t know where that would come from. We are very high on Laviska. He does a lot of good things. He is an interesting … Obviously at his size and his speed and the things that he can do, we have to find ways to get him the ball. That is not my job – that is Coach [Pederson’s] job. That would be a great question for [Coach Pederson], but by no means has the ship sailed on Laviska.”
(On if he feels the team is playing catch up on free agency and the draft because the coaching search took a little bit of time) “No. The preparation for free agency and the preparation from the draft from a personnel perspective, we aren’t behind. It is getting the coaches up to speed with where we are at and they are working tirelessly to get there. We are a little bit behind in terms of where we would normally have the process done from a coaches standpoint, but not from a personnel standpoint. I think we are in really good shape.”
(On what he sees from RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “Currently right now with Travis, he was on the grass for a little bit in the offseason program and then he got hurt. His development in terms of where he is at physically right now – he’s ahead of schedule. He looks really good. He took the year to really transform his body and learn how to be a pro in his development. We are really excited to get him back on the grass and he is a little bit ahead of schedule right now.”
(On the value of being in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine) “Well you get to see them and talk to them and feel them in person. The Zoom meetings – and just like these [interview] meetings – the Zoom meetings that we have with players or reporters or anybody else that you engage with just isn’t the same as being here when you get to touch and feel and talk to someone directly. I think it is a huge benefit to be here.”
(On making trades this offseason and how the process may be changed by splitting the dead salary cap costs) “I don’t know. That’s a really good question, I would have to sit and think about it. That’s not something that off the top of my head I can comment on right now.”
(On expecting more trades this offseason) “I think that there could be. I’d hate to say that I definitely have an answer because I haven’t thought about it. It’s a good question.”
(On his willingness to trade the first pick) “You are always open for business. Now, whether we’re going to be able to move it or not [we don’t know], but we’re very comfortable taking the pick as well. You have to be prepared for anything in this league so to say we won’t shop it is probably not 100 percent correct, but to say we will is not [100 percent correct] either. We’re going to see what comes and if something comes our way and makes sense to us, we’ll make that decision at that time.”
(On the importance of protecting the quarterback) “Well I think you’re always trying to protect an asset and obviously the quarterback is a huge asset to any organization. Anything you can do schematically and physically within player selection to protect him is advantageous to you.”
(On how to balance adding someone on the offensive line versus adding a defensive player) “You have to take the player that you think is the best fit for the organization as a whole and makes the biggest difference. If that’s the offensive tackle position, you do it. If it’s edge rusher, you do it. I’ve always been a big believer in go big or go home. This draft has a lot of unique players in it. There may not be that clear number one but there’s a lot of very good football players at the top of this draft that we’re obviously going to be in position number one (and) have our pick of those players.”
(On there being a premium on the quarterback position in his time in the league) “I think when you look at the Super Bowls and who has won them, it’s pretty obvious what it takes to get there and accomplish that mission. The quarterback position is a key position. The key position on any football team, but it takes a lot of other good football players. When we got to the Super Bowl game in 2012 [with San Francisco], we had a roster that I had a lot of good football players on it. Your mission in the position I’m in is to get as many of those guys as you can get to supplement that quarterback position. We feel really good about Trevor [Lawrence] and where he’s at as a pro, where he’s at as a person. I feel very confident that with him we can move forward and build a championship caliber football team.”
(On if it matters if guys do not work out at the combine and just get their medical information) “Well I think the medical is extremely important. If you go back to when the combine was created, that’s what it was created for. It was created for them to get together and get the medical information from the players. That became the workouts and the interviews and all the other stuff that comes with it. Five years ago, I probably would’ve said if you don’t work out here it’s going to hurt you. I don’t know if I have that same mentality as I did back then. I think you grow, you learn and you understand what these young men go through. I do think it’s advantageous for them to work out. Whether they choose to work out here or work out at their pro day, I do think it’s advantageous. Because there’s going to be some people in this business that do hold that against them if they don’t work out. You have to get the numbers somehow.”
(On the potential value of trading back in the top 10) “That’s a good question. The value is in the eye of the beholder. If someone wants to move up to one, what are they willing to give up? I can’t answer that. I know what historically it would take to move up from each position, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. That doesn’t mean that’s what the value is going to carry this year. That’s a hard to predict number.”
(On the strengths of this year’s draft class) “I think there’s a lot of strengths to this draft. I think you look at the wide receiver position, you look at the offensive line position. I think you look at the rush position. I think there’s some depth at the cornerback position. There’s a lot of good football players in this draft and I think there’s going to be good football players to be gotten through every round. Some are going to need more development than others obviously. As you look back at this draft three years from now, I think it is going to be a pretty positive outcome for a lot of these young men.”
(On what Head Coach Doug Pederson has already put his imprint on) “Doug is a natural leader. He really is. He has a great [demeanor]. He comes in the building. He is positive every day. I always tell him that
he is the optimist, I am the pessimist. I like to say I am a realist. What is a realist? It really is a pessimist in hiding. It has been a good mix. He has a great personality. You like being around it every day.”
(On drafting successful safeties with the 49ers and the process of drafting safeties) “First of all, I am really happy for those guys. Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, I think those guys have had really good careers. They are great young men. That is probably what I look at and am the most fond of – the type of men they turned out to be. That is a tough position to navigate in the draft. There are a lot of guys that come into the NFL ranked lower that end up having great careers. It is just a really hard position to gauge. I think this draft has some really good prospects in it at every level with that position, the safety position. It is not a strong position of need for us, but if the right player is there at the right time, we are always going to take the value of that player at that pick.”
(On former Jaguars Assistant Defensive Line Coach Sterling Lucas) “I think Sterling Lucas is a rising star in the business. I really do. I think he is a young man that connects well with the players. He works tirelessly. He is a good family man, and I wish him nothing but the best at South Carolina.”
(On how the team can help QB Trevor Lawrence improve) “Well we have to protect him better and we have to get more explosive players around him – guys that can make explosive plays. It is tough in the National Football League to move the ball 14 plays, 15 plays, 16 plays and score. It just doesn’t happen
that often. You have to be able to throw a 7-yard dig and turn it into an 80-yard touchdown. You have to have players that can do that. That is the mission this offseason in free agency and the draft – to get more explosive players on both sides of the ball, guys that can change games. That is what you win and lose football games with.”
JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERDSON
COMBINE AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022
(On his time in Philadelphia) “Obviously a great five years. I got hired in Philly [Philadelphia] to bring a city a championship and the organization and we were able to do that as a team. Obviously, I can take a lot of lessons just from that season and really use them moving forward for me. Really take the positives from that year and how we constructed a roster and put players together with free agents and trades and draft picks and all that kind of stuff. Just the relationships too with the players and coaches and how all that came together to win a championship are things that I can take moving forward with Jacksonville.”
(On offensive coordinator Press Taylor)
“I don’t know much about that. I know this, I have been around Press now, the five years in Philly, obviously he was retained with Chip Kelly’s staff. What I’ve seen in working with him is just his intelligence, his insight, he’s a hard worker, he studies the game. Really a guy that I’ve had my eye on for a long time to put in this role and put in this position. I have a lot of faith and confidence in him. Just looking forward to working with him and putting it together around a young quarterback in Jacksonville with Trevor [Lawrence] and the team moving forward.”
(On the difficulty of evaluating QB Trevor Lawrence’s last season) “I take last year is last year and we’re starting fresh, starting new, and we’re starting from the ground floor. That’s what I’m excited about and that’s why just moving forward, big picture, that’s the great thing about taking over with having a young
quarterback. Much like we did in Philly with Carson and how in his second year we saw the growth and everything in him. Trevor is coming into that second year this year and looking forward to working with him this spring. I think the sky is the limit. Obviously, we have some work to do. Nothing is perfect and we’re looking forward to that.”
(On if struggling early can be good for a young quarterback) “I think so. Just the short conversations that Trevor [Lawrence] and I have had is the fact that he has an offseason now to relax. It’s hard on these young kids that are coming straight from college into this whole sort of rat race with all the moving parts through to training camp and a regular season, there’s no down time. Now, he finally has time to really focus on what he did last year but at the same time kind of rest and heal and really put a good plan together for how we want to attack this season.”
(On what he learned in his year away from coaching) “I’ve always focused on my strengths. I surround myself with great people to help me with my weaknesses. I think that’s how the give and take goes. I know that I’m not perfect and have made mistakes in my career. At the same time, that’s why you hire people like Press Taylor and you hire a Mike Caldwell and guys like that. Surround yourself with [coaches] that can take my weaknesses and make them strengths. Last year, I went through a lot with my family off the football field and it was a great time for me. Things work well. As you guys know through my faith, I think it happened for a reason. It was a great time to be away, a great time to recharge and looking forward to this next chapter.”
(On things he wants to do differently) (jokingly) “Besides win another championship? You learn from your mistakes. I think that obviously what we did there are things I can take into this new chapter and new job. I’m motivated, I’m excited, I’m looking forward to working with a new team and really having a new lease on life, especially as a head coach. I feel like I still have a lot to offer, a lot to give, a lot to bring to Jacksonville. I can’t wait to get my hands on this team and start working with them.”
(On his role in personnel decisions working with General Manager Trent Baalke) That’s one of the biggest things that has been reported or scrutinized surrounding Jacksonville. From the day I walked in that door and really it goes back to the interview process, how collaborative we’ve been and the questions we’ve been able to bounce off of each other. I want it to be that way, I want it to be transparent, I want it to be open and honest. We’re not always going to agree and that’s part of this process. At the same time, we can walk out the door and be united. That’s the most important thing. We’re keeping the organization and the players first and that’s the biggest thing we have been able to do. Building on that relationship each and every day.”
(On using analytics) “I think you have to continue to use analytics. I think it’s going to be a part of our game; it’s going to be around. For me, it’s about taking the usefulness of it and how can I apply that to the team. How can I apply it in-game?”
(On the Colts 2021 season and the criticism around Colts QB Carson Wentz) “With some of my life circumstances I didn’t watch a ton of football. Quite honestly, I wanted to really unplug from it. It’s hard to honestly speak to a lot of that because I really don’t know. I had a chance to visit the Colts in training camp last year and talked with [Colts Quarterback] Carson [Wentz] and [Colts Head Coach] Frank [Reich] and Press [Taylor] was there. Listen, I’ve always wanted the best for him and I think he can still win games in this league and help. Be the quarterback that he can be and we know he can be. For me personally, I needed to take the time away, so I didn’t really engage as much with a lot of the things that were surrounding the Colts.”
(On how the staff change effects QB Trevor Lawrence entering his second year) “The biggest thing with Carson too is that I kept the staff together around him and you have continuity within the offense and this is going to be a little different because we’re changing staff’s, personnel and scheme a little bit. I think the fundamental part of the game is not going to change and how we developed Carson [Wentz] from the ground up and that’s something we’re excited [about] with Mike McCoy being the quarterbacks coach and obviously Press [Taylor] and what he’s bringing and Jim Bob Cooter on offense and how we can really build Trevor from the ground up and get him to the type of quarterback that we know he can be at and be successful with the team.”
(On learning and taking things from former QB’s he played with) “I have shown some cut ups of Brett [Favre] before when I was a quarterbacks coach and some of the things I’ve done. I think the game has changed a little bit. Some of the things I take away from playing with those guys, there is still a level of physicality and toughness. Mental and physical that I think you can apply those things with a guy like Trevor [Lawrence].”
(On what he has done the past three weeks to impress Jaguars Owner Shad Khan) “I think just coming in and being me. The relationship that Trent and I have built and continue to build every single day. I think it speaks volumes what our owner has said and he really has given the confidence to Trent [Baalke] and I to really build this thing. Not to say we can’t continue to add value in the personnel department, we
could still do that. At the same time, it shows the confidence he has and really me just being me from day one and showing people there who I really am.”
(On balancing coaching and being involved with personnel) “I am always going to be a coach. I am always going to be a coach and that’s the part I love about the game. Being with the players and coaching the game, but you also know to that you want to coach the players that you can hopefully bring on to your football team and have input there. I definitely want to have input and I really feel like with what Trent and I have built so far in less than a month is something that we can continue through free agency and through the draft process and on through training camp as we construct this roster.”
(On his level of involvement with building the roster and his thoughts on the group overall) “I think we’re still early in the process as far as the draft goes. The biggest thing is really evaluating our own roster and that’s kind of what we’ve come out of with the new staff is just evaluating our guys and
seeing the level of talent that we have. I am excited about the team and the guys that we do have, but I said earlier that it’s a work progress and we’re not where we want to be, but we have the resources to make a difference with Jacksonville and really start chipping away at some of the negativity that has surrounded this organization for many years. I really think we can make an impact and all of that is part of the process that Trent and I are going through. Really with the coaches too, involving the coaches in this process. Again, we’re the ones out there coaching the players. That’s what I like about the relationship Trent, and I have. Hey, you’re out there coaching them so you should have input on who we select.”
(On negativity being a tangible thing and the need to address it) “Yes, it’s real. It’s a real thing. [Head] Coach [Andy] Reid took over a Chiefs team that I think the year before won one or two games the year before and there is negativity and there is a cloud and you have to try to lift that cloud and in Jacksonville right now until we prove otherwise, that’s who we are. That’s why I am excited to really begin to work with this group and bring another set of free agents and another round of draft picks and having the resources that we have to begin to lighten that cloud a little bit.”
(On if he thought he was going to get the job after a three-to-four-week lapse between interviews) “Obviously, I was out of football last year so being the first one that they talked to was relatively probably an easy way to start the interview process. When I looked around the opportunities that may come up in the NFL, Jacksonville for me was an opportunity that I really embraced and was hoping that we would get to where I am at today just because of the team, the youth of the team, having a young quarterback. A quarterback that I liked coming out of Clemson and so for me that was the target. Really beginning to ask those questions of Trent in the interview process and really it went 30 something plus days before I interviewed again, but still there was always that anticipation and hope that it would come true. I am just excited and really thankful to Mr.Khan for the opportunity and get a chance to work with Trent and the team.”
