JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON, GENERAL MANAGER TRENT BAALKE AND OWNER SHAD KHAN,
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022
SHAD KHAN: Thank you. Thank you everyone for being here.
Our first interview of a candidate to become the next head coach occurred on December 30th, and that candidate was Doug Pederson. And from there, as I’ve been told, it was a long, exhaustive process with no preconceived notions, and the process came to an end Thursday night five weeks from the day it started with Doug being our choice to be the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That’s a tribute to Doug. The candidates we met in recent weeks were quite impressive. Just as we anticipated, this was a highly sought position, and we were comfortable in really taking our time and being sure that we made the right decision for us.
We could have been proud to introduce several of them today, so why Doug Pederson? He’s a man who’s accomplished a lot — top offensive coordinator, experienced head coach, won three division titles in five years, a man who just four years ago won the Super Bowl. And he did it for Philadelphia Eagles, a city very much like Jacksonville, was looking for their first championship.
So in the end, I mean, we have someone who’s been there, a head coach, developer of quarterbacks, a man who creates a culture for players and coaches alike, a culture they’ll thrive in, and a leader who commands respect and inspires those around him. And a man who wins.
We wanted someone who knows exactly what it is to be the last team standing in February and is passionate about doing it and doing it again. That man is the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Doug Pederson.
(Applause).
DOUG PEDERSON: Thank you. As I begin this morning or this afternoon, I’ve just got to say thank you to Shad Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars for really giving me this opportunity to lead this football team and to lead this fan base and to lead this city. Obviously, I’m eager and ready to hit the ground running, alongside Tony Khan and Trent and Mark Lamping and really the entire front office and organization of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
My wife and I have been here for a short period already this morning, but I can tell, just walking through this building and the excitement that’s in this building and have a chance to really sit with a couple players this morning and just get a feel for them, this culture is all about winning. The players here want to win. I want to win. And that’s what I can bring to the Jacksonville Jaguars, to this community, and to our fan base.
As Shad mentioned, the interview process was thorough. It was very exhaustive, even for us as candidates who went through the process, not really knowing what was going to go on. I can appreciate the diligence the Khan family presented, what Trent presented, what they went through with Tony.
Really the fact that they took time to get to this decision today makes me even more proud that, yes, I was the first candidate interviewed and, yes, I was the last candidate interviewed. And in between, there were a lot of great candidates. A lot of great candidates could be sitting here today.
So obviously, I want to recognize my wife Jeannie. She’s up here in the front row. She’s been by my side through everything. As a former player in the National Football League, to a quality control coach, to an offensive coordinator, to becoming a head coach, she’s been there by my side. Our three sons, Drew, Josh, and Joel, they are so excited to get ready to put on the Jacksonville Jaguar swag, as they call it, and get ready to support the football team and the entire organization.
To our players — and I think this is so important. To our players, my sole focus, starting from the minute that I was hired, is to really help them to be their best, help our team win football games. And it’s our jobs as coaches to put our players in position to be successful, to develop their talent one player at a time, one unit at a time, and that’s how you win games in the National Football League.
There are some really, really good players on this football team, and the pieces are here. That’s why I’m excited. That’s what drew me to the Jacksonville Jaguars to be able to sit down, to interview with these two gentlemen, and now have the opportunity to lead this organization.
And to our fans, listen, I know you’ve been through a lot. You’ve been through a lot, even this past season, but that’s about to change. And I can promise you that I’m going to come to work every single day with the diligent task to make this a winning organization. This is what he has asked me to do. This is why I’ve been hired here today. And this is a relationship that is just beginning.
So I’m excited, one, to have this opportunity to lead your organization, but two, to be able to get in here, develop a coaching staff, develop our philosophies, develop our schemes to be successful on the football field. This is not an overnight fix. This is not we’re just going to snap our fingers and start winning football games. Our goal is to win football games, but we’re going to do it one player, one coach, one person in the organization at a time.
And I’ll challenge our team, and I’ll challenge our fans, it’s about ownership. It’s about support. It’s about leadership. And that’s what I’ll bring to the organization.
I’m not going to settle for anything less than a championship caliber, championship caliber team. And I know these two gentlemen here, along with Tony, along with Mark, feel the same way.
So I guess with that, we got to talk? You got to ask questions. You want to say something? TRENT BAALKE: No.
DOUG PEDERSON: So, yes, we’ll open it up to questions. If you don’t mind, tell me your name so I can start putting names and faces together.
Q. Shad, at any point during this process, did you offer the job to any other candidate and for whatever reason that did not work out?
SHAD KHAN: We had a process. We ran the process, and we had great candidates, but Doug is our guy. During the time, we interviewed over ten candidates. Some of them — I mean, that really tells you the pool of candidates we had — got other jobs, and that was great.
But for me, this had to be exhaustive, but it had to be the right one. Some of the things that were really unique and different for me was to really get the insights of our players and insights of the alumni players. So they were — part of it, it took a little bit longer, but we wanted to get their insight who we were talking to and then allowed them an opportunity, obviously, to talk to some of the finalists.
Q. As a follow-up, so does that mean that an offer was extended to somebody or not? SHAD KHAN: No. I think we never got to the point of having them talk to our players at that point.
Q. It is very unusual in a search to have the candidate you settle on have a 33-day separation between the first interview and the second interview. Was that —
SHAD KHAN: It might be unusual, but it tells you the thoroughness of this process. By the way, last year when we did the search, we reached out to Doug, and he was taking the year off. So this wasn’t impulsive.
And how this process started, obviously he was available for an interview. The Zoom interviews under the NFL rules could only start at a certain time, and then after that different candidates would be available according to the NFL rules at different times. So our goal was really to get it right and interview.
As I said earlier, we started with a pool of candidates, and as time went on, there were other people who reached out to us. This was an opportunity where we wanted to learn and really interview everyone just to make sure that we absolutely had the right person.
Q. Hi, Coach. We were in the hallway this morning, and multiple players came in and said — I mean, it’s the off-season. It’s the weekend. Guys are traveling. And I talked to Josh Allen, and he said, I had to get here to meet my coach. What did that mean when all these players showed up and it was one by-one coming in your office?
DOUG PEDERSON: That just goes to show you the type of players that are here on this team. That’s a credit to Trent and his staff to be able to bring these players with high character. Not only great athletes and great football players, but high character. That’s something I’m a big believer in.
And having that type of structure and to see and talk to these players this morning to show the support and to be able to talk with them, just — and that’s what I said in my statement. These guys want to win. Bottom line, they want to win. It’s got to be about football, and it is with these guys. It makes me feel good that they were there this morning.
Q. Shad, this one’s for you. About a year ago you sat in a similar position and told us this time you got it right. What makes you feel like this time you did get it right?
SHAD KHAN: Well, I was just a year premature. So I did get it right.
(Laughter).
Q. Shad, my question is for you. Can you shed some light on the management structure, how it will go, who has final say on personnel?
SHAD KHAN: I think it’s going to be a collaborative process. I think all of us are aligned. The goal here is to win.
Q. And I know you said you have ceremonial control over that, but in terms of, between Doug and Trent, who will be making the call on personnel, the final say?
SHAD KHAN: I think they’ll collaborate, and then I’m part of the process too. So I think we haven’t had players here in the last year that it was one person’s decision. And that’s how it should be moving forward because we want players here who want to win and players Doug wants. So our culture is not about just coming up with players and asking him to coach them.
Q. Curious, you took a year off. How much did you miss football, and what did you learn about yourself in that year, your year off, maybe of your desire to be back in the stadium, back on the field?
DOUG PEDERSON: That’s a question that’s been asked to me a lot about this past year. This answer might get a little bit lengthy, but it was a great year for me. It was a great year for me. I had opportunities to get back in the NFL at the end of the season last year, and I just felt like at the time that I needed to — I needed a break. I needed to step away and kind of just refocus myself. Kind of recenter everything about me.
I knew still in my heart of hearts that I did want to coach and still be a head coach in this league and still be successful. That never left. I just needed the time to kind of just step away and kind of gather myself a little bit.
It was a great year from the standpoint of we watched our oldest son get married. We had a grandchild during the season. I lost my brother to cancer last year. So I got to spend quality time with family, and that means a lot to me. Really to see the guys downstairs, that kind of begins the family process for me.
And just my wife and I, I think even to reconnect because the wives in this business, and maybe the husbands of wives that are in this business, they suffer. They struggle a little bit. It’s a long year. It’s a grinding year. It was really good for us to be able to just take some time and refocus.
Did I miss football? Yeah, I did. That’s why I went and visited some guys in training camp last year because I just wanted — I just needed that fix of football and be around it. As the season progressed and I’m watching the entire league, it just got me — I guess those football competitive juices back.
So by the time I got to the end of the season and we get into this hiring cycle again, I was ready to go. I was excited for whatever opportunity came before me. I had chances to interview with other clubs. This one really drew me in, and here I am and ready to go.
Q. This is for Shad. Do you foresee any restructuring of the front office with the decision-making when it comes to that as far as structure?
SHAD KHAN: Well, one of the reasons we had the search was not only looking for the head coaching candidate but really to learn about other organizations. I mean, that’s a by-product of the coaching search.
So some of the practices, some of the structure that works, we got a great insight into it. So strengthening the football operations, more staff, definitely, that’s part of our goal. So I mean, we’ve had too flat an organization, and we want to add brainpower and more people to strengthen that.
Q. This question is for Doug. What’s your thought about you have a franchise quarterback in Jacksonville in Trevor Lawrence? He seems to be excited. How much was that a draw for you that this could be a great fit for you here in Jacksonville?
DOUG PEDERSON: That’s something I obviously looked at with the teams that were searching for head coaches is who is the quarterback, and is that person in place? Here it is, I truly believe that. Everything, as I’ve done my research on Trevor and talked to people, even talked to coaches who have played against him this past year, say nothing but great things and kind of the sky’s the limit.
It is unfortunate that things didn’t go necessarily smoothly this past year, but that’s behind us now. I’m just excited to come in here, roll up my sleeves, go to work, create a system that enhances his skill set, and be successful. I pride myself in that. We did it in my former place with Carson Wentz early in his career and really feel like that’s a strength that I can help and be a part of that.
So I was excited to not only be part of this organization, but met him downstairs today for the first time and just a humble kid that also is ready to get things going, and he wants to win as well.
Q. Welcome to Jacksonville. Shad, when did you decide that Trent would be a part of this going forward even though you had moved on from Urban? You have not reset the organization like that, a clean sweep, since 2013. Is there something philosophical at why you might keep somebody around through a transition.
SHAD KHAN: Well, ’13, I think — first of all, Trent’s general manager for a year just like Mark Lamping is president. We have great employees who are under contract. So we’re not going out announcing, hey, we’re keeping their contracts or something like that.
So if there is a change, obviously we’d announce it. Otherwise, it makes no sense.
Q. Is there something advantageous to doing that that helps with the transition when you make a new coaching hire as well?
SHAD KHAN: To me, I think the most important thing is to have the best people here that are going to help us win. I look at the organization, we need to strengthen it. We’ll be doing that.
Q. If I could ask one more. Trent, we’ll let you talk a little bit here. I’m assuming this potentially could have been a tough month for you, the last month. What has it been like for you, and did you know that through all of this you were moving forward as the general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars?
TRENT BAALKE: This was a tough month. Is that what you’re saying? I knew all along that I was. I had a vote of confidence from Shad. As we went into the process, I had a plan. There was no timetable to announce the next head coach. We went into it with a very open mind. We had a process. We stuck to it. At the end of the day, it was about getting it right. I truly believe we got it right with Doug. Have no doubt about it.
Q. Shad, it has been reported that several of the candidates had trepidation about the power structure here in Jacksonville when interviewing for the position. Knowing there may be road blocks, why did you not make a change?
SHAD KHAN: The candidates — I mean, we had discussions on how we’re structured, open, candid discussions, and there was no one — and Trent was there. Just like I think the harmony between the head coach and general manager, I think is very, very important. So these are open, adult discussions.
So there was no one who said, okay, I don’t want to be part of it. I think everyone continued the process.
Q. Building off of that, Doug, for you, having been through this before with the Eagles looking at the power structure, what did you learn in taking a year off and during your five years in Philly that maybe you this organization has things to maybe implement or needs to enhance here, both in the power structure and how it operates?
DOUG PEDERSON: The thing that I learned coming out of Philadelphia too was just — and Shad has alluded to it, even Trent. We had such a collaborative approach. We had open dialogue. We had tough conversations. That’s why we get put in these positions to make hard, hard, hard choices. It’s never going to be in my favor. It’s probably not going to be in Trent’s favor or Shad’s favor. At the end of the day, when we walk out on that practice field or that game field, we’re Jaguars.
That’s the way the structure was where I came from in Philadelphia, and I see that same structure. These are the — even the conversations through this process. And it wasn’t just me being interviewed several weeks ago in December and then again a couple days ago. These are conversations that were ongoing throughout the entire process.
That’s what draws you to organizations where the head coach has also some say in picking the ingredients, so to speak. And I think that’s important because we’re the ones out there coaching these players and getting them right on game day. I just love the fact that we can get in a room and we can dialogue and make these hard decisions.
Q. And just because you mentioned him a couple of times, how involved was Tony in this process? Tony Khan.
DOUG PEDERSON: He was in both interviews with me. For me it was a great time just to get to know him and kind of what he does for the team and for the organization. He asked some difficult questions of me.
But the process was really good, and it was great for me to kind of get to know him a little bit better.
Q. Shad and Trent, how hard was it to hear, when Doug spoke a few moments ago, that it’s not an overnight fix? Because I know you both spoke about winning as quick as possible.
TRENT BAALKE: In the situation we’re in, I don’t think it is an overnight fix. We’re going to go through this process. We’re in a very good situation with a franchise quarterback in place. We’ve got a lot of ammunition with draft picks, 12 draft picks this year, 8 stored up for next year, and cap space second — I believe second most in the league as we sit here today.
So there’s going to be some changes. In this league, if you look at what Cincinnati did, we can make these changes fairly quickly. We’re going to go through it. The first thing is Doug and I sitting down with the rest of the staff once we get them in place and going through the roster and really putting a plan together for free agency, for the draft, and address the needs that we have.
I think the thing to keep in mind, we’ve got a lot of good young players here. The cupboard’s not bare. We just have to add to that. We have to add some pieces at the right spots and get the right people in here. The type of players we’re looking for are players that love the game, high character guys that are going to fit the style of play that we want and the culture that we want to build here.
So that’s the starting point is getting the coaches in here and then collaborating to see exactly how we’re going to address the needs that we have.
Q. Both these questions are for Shad. The first of which is this morning Commissioner Roger Goodell said the results of diversity when it comes to head coaches, hiring head coaches in this league has been, quote, unacceptable. As the only person of color who’s the owner of a team in the NFL, what needs to be done to increase diversity for the executive ranks, front office ranks, and for the head coaching ranks.
SHAD KHAN: I think a lot needs to be done. I don’t know if you read Tony Dungy’s letter to owners. I thought that was really profound and very good.
Every team — and it isn’t one head coach fits all, I think. It was a 30-plus day process for us. There are great candidates, and there are a number of clubs looking, and you’ve got to have the right fit. It’s really personal for me in a way because we interviewed a lot of people.
I think the league is very serious, but when I flip it, I’ve spent, hard to believe, half a century dealing with corporate America. So I was on the other side of the fence as a minority person, minority business person looking for work from corporate America. About 40 percent of the business is minorities, and yet they were doing less than 1 percent of the business. This would be primarily in industrial companies, automotive companies, and what have you.
So that journey was about we don’t want to set you up for failure, all that kind of stuff. The metrics are the same, still apply whether you’re a minority or not, and that would be a number of things, including winning. So there’s a lot of work to do. I wish there was a quick fix. I wish there was a silver bullet for some of these things.
But I think it says as much about America frankly as it does anything else. We’ve got — and again, I go back to — I think Tony Dungy’s letter is really good. There’s a lot of heavy lifting ahead, and we’ve got to show results.
Q. Secondary question. Remember last year in June we sat right here in this room, and we discussed how there’s only one time to get it right in terms of having the No. 1 overall pick, a new coach, development opportunities, a quarterback, draft space, and draft capital. We’re in the same place. There are not a lot of opportunities in business to have a reset collectively. How important is it to take advantage of that reset with all of those opportunities still available that were in place back in June?
SHAD KHAN: Well, I think that’s why we’ve got Doug here. So the good thing is we have all those opportunities, and we’ve got to take advantage of them.
Q. Doug, really you’re a year away from the NFL. What did you learn specifically about staffing and building an organization?
DOUG PEDERSON: That’s obviously the big topic when it comes to the interview. As I look around the league and I even think about the staff that I worked with over — and it evolved. It shaped itself over the five years there in Philadelphia.
At the end of the day, you find guys that you love coming to work with. And we all have the same common goal, to win games. We work together, and we’re in place, as I mentioned earlier, to help the player to become the best version of himself. And that’s how you end up winning the game through one player at a time.
Staff is important. I love guys that are high energy guys because I’m going to be that way on the field, and guys that are great teachers and great communicators. It doesn’t always have to be your best friend because there’s some great coaches out there and there’s some guys that — it’s just unfortunate, but there’s only just so many spots on a coaching staff. You could fill them with a lot of good coaches.
At the end of the day, I get the decision to make that choice, and through communication and, again, our process here, and that’s who I want to surround myself with. It’s an ongoing process now. Nothing is set. Nothing has been established. I’m going to be working on that here in the coming days.
Q. Quick question for you, Shad. What really made you kind of firm in that you wanted to enter this process with Trent as general manager and not undergo any kind of change in the front office?
SHAD KHAN: I want to have really the best people to help me, simple as that.
Q. Doug, have you decided yet — and I know it’s early in the process, but have you decided yet if you’re going to be calling plays. Can you just talk about how Trevor Lawrence fits into your offensive philosophy.
DOUG PEDERSON: As far as Trevor goes, it’s something that obviously, as I get in here and really start diving into the film — I’ve been able to watch him not only on TV but look at him on tape and watch him and kind of know who he is, a little bit about him, but the more now that I get to come in here and really study him and study the game.
Obviously, listen, he’s one player on this team. He’s a good player. But also watching the entire team — offense, defense, and special teams. Our job moving forward is to find more good pieces to put around him. So I’m excited from that standpoint.
Then refresh my memory on your first part of that.
Q. Calling plays.
DOUG PEDERSON: Calling plays. That’s something I pride myself in. I will say right now that I want to call the plays. I want to put myself in position to help this football team. That’s my — not only lead the team but I’ve done that in my five years in Philadelphia, and I feel really comfortable doing that.
Listen, there are times when you get stuck in games and you turn things over. I’m going to be the first one to tell you that you get stuck as a play caller, and you turn it over to some different eyes. That’s just where I’m at. I want to do it. I want to continue to do it and be successful at it.
Q. And then for Shad, you mentioned the need to add some structure or more structure to the front office and adding personnel. There were reports that Rick Spielman was in for an interview. Can you just confirm whether or not that occurred and if he’ll be joining your front office.
SHAD KHAN: We’re looking at additional people to strengthen the front office. Definitely we’re going to be strengthening the front office. NFL has a process. We’ll be following that, interviewing people, then coming up with a structure that helps us win.
Q. Just curious about you and Trent’s relationship. Did you guys know each other before? Are you just getting to know each other? You talk about relationships and how important they are in succeeding in the National Football League obviously. I’m just curious how you two envision working together.
DOUG PEDERSON: This is obviously the first time that I’ve really gotten to know him personally. When he was in San Francisco and I was working and stuff, your paths cross from time to time and all of that, but it was the first time for me to really get to know him and the way he thinks and how he conducts business.
Look, it’s going to be a relationship that’s going to be ongoing quite frankly. It’s ongoing. It’s going to be very positive. One of the things that I like about Trent and one thing that kind of drew me to him in this situation is how open he is, how transparent he is. A lot of full disclosure, and it’s disclosure within the structure that we’re trying to build and the team we’re trying to build.
The fact that he’s allowing myself and others in the personnel department — listen, it’s about the input. We’ve got to have these, as I mentioned earlier, tough discussions on players and how we build it, but this is something I’m looking forward to.
Q. We hear the word collaborative a lot. It implies a lot of things — cooperation, symmetry, all that stuff. Just based on your early dealings with Doug, how do you feel that collaboration will actually go? Can you honestly say that there will not be any kind of tug of war when it comes to power and all that stuff?
TRENT BAALKE: People talk about that all the time. This question is asked in 32 buildings across the league. Who has power? Who’s the final decision-maker? Show me one building where you’re not collaborative and you’re winning. It just doesn’t happen in the National Football League.
So I think the collaboration that we’re talking about is tough decisions have got to be made at the end of the day, whether it’s a draft pick, whether it’s free agency. Those decisions come down sometimes to the wire, and somebody’s got to make that decision. In this case, it’s the three of us. We’re going to sit down. We’re going to collaborate. I just think it’s such an overused question in this business.
I feel very confident in saying I spent hours — how many hours did we spend together? DOUG PEDERSON: A lot.
TRENT BAALKE: I spent many hours over the last couple of days talking about philosophy, talking about the approach, collaboration, who’s involved. And I can say this, in my years in San Francisco, the two years that I’ve been here, one year as the general manager, we’ve had very open discussions. Last year a lot of people were involved in putting those final decisions together. We look forward to doing just that.
I think we’re very much on the same — I know we’re very much on the same page on how this has to operate.
Q. Have both of you had experiences where you were in a little bit of a decision struggle in your organization and you were able to defer to that person? Whether you want to call it letting him have his way or anything like that.
TRENT BAALKE: I can speak for my perspective. What is this, year nine now as a general manager in this league? Every year we talk about the 53 and who’s got final say. In all those years, I can remember maybe two instances where the 53rd player was in debate, right? Usually it’s pretty much a consensus as you go through the preseason and all the training camp and everything else. Every now and then there’s one or two players you have to really work through.
Sometimes for coaches that comes down to experience, and for personnel people, it comes down to potential, right? You’re weighing the package between those two. It’s really not as difficult a process as we want to make it seem to be. It’s two people, three people getting in a room and really deciding what’s best for the organization.
Q. This question is for Trent. Just curious, given that this process — and I know part of it is the regular season is now 18 weeks long. Because this process has dragged into February and knowing the turnover you guys had last spring because of a new regime and a different scouting staff being brought in, what’s your confidence level on being able to be present at the Senior Bowl today, being able to be present at all of these sort of scouting events, as well as looking into free agency knowing this was your priority?
TRENT BAALKE: Well, I think we’re going to have to hit the ground running. We’ve lost some time, but there was nothing more important than getting this hire right, and we did that. Now we’ve got to switch focus. Coach is hitting the ground running, putting his staff together. The scouts are actually coming in.
The scouting staff itself is intact. That’s never been a debate. I mean, we have a very strong scouting department. We’re going to add to that, and anything we can do to add to that is going to benefit the organization as a whole. So we’re looking forward to that.
The scouts are coming in Sunday, I guess tomorrow, and we’ll start going to work on Monday. The pro department’s been putting together their list for free agency. We’re in very good shape that way. Now it’s a matter of involving the coaches, the coaching staff. As Doug and I talked, that’s going to be critical, and we’re going to have to get after it as soon as we get them through the door.
Q. One other question from me. What did you learn in your one year working here with Urban Meyer, the one year you’ve been here as the general manager?
TRENT BAALKE: We have an owner that really wants to win. Whatever it takes to do that, he’s been nothing but supportive to me through obviously some trying times. So I know this. He wants to win. He’s all about the community. I think his efforts show that time and time again. That’s what we’re here to do, build a winner.
Q. Following up on that a little bit, do you feel like you’re behind the eight ball in terms of putting together a staff? Do you feel like you’re behind already?
DOUG PEDERSON: No.
Q. Confidence-wise then, being able to assemble —
DOUG PEDERSON: Very high.
(Applause).
Q. Just to be a little more direct on building the front office, do you envision an EVP above these two guys, or do you envision somebody underneath Trent, helping Trent?
SHAD KHAN: I think both of those. We have filed request with the NFL for EVP, so we’ll be doing that process. But definitely I think the interview process, I mean, we got great insights on how the organization under Trent is structured. So we need depth there, simple as that, experience. Both of those are what we’re working on.
Q. Trent, with that setup, what would that do? How does that help you moving forward and free you up to do other things?
TRENT BAALKE: It frees me up to focus on personnel. There’s nothing more important in an organization than the personnel. Whether that’s players, coaches, scouts, support staff. It’s all about the people. It will allow me to focus directly on that, more importantly free agency and the draft.
Q. How important is it for you to look at the structure around the quarterback in terms of pass catchers, the offensive line? How important is it to you to get that right around Trevor even before developing Trevor himself?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’s important. It’s important. You always want to have, especially around a talented quarterback, you have one receiver, maybe a pass catching tight end. Those things are — I remember my days playing in Green Bay. We had those guys as players. That’s when you start looking. Offensive line, obviously, controlling the line of scrimmage, who your running backs are. That’s — as I said earlier, those pieces are here. We’ve just got to add to that roster.
Then as coaches, that’s where we come in, right? We come in to help elevate these players to be successful. Trevor’s in that group too. We’ve got to get him to play, play at a high level, obviously play better, learn from last year.
One of the greatest things that we have going for us right now is the fact that he played every game, and he’s got film that we can go back and watch and study and help him improve as well.
Q. Shad, just overall with all the candidates you spoke to and with Doug’s extensive NFL background, why is it important to you to really talk to candidates with lengthy NFL backgrounds this cycle?
SHAD KHAN: I think it’s really important, and I think — again, what we need is different from what other clubs would need. I think being able to develop Trevor and I think some of the other attributes which Doug is perfect for, that’s what I need right now.
Q. Coach, I know it’s been an overwhelming day. I know you said you’re not necessarily a camera guy, and there are cameras here. But your first day in Jacksonville, when you look at it, what will stand out?
DOUG PEDERSON: I just think the excitement I’ve seen already, the enthusiasm surrounding the Jaguars from the time my wife and I hit the ground this morning to the folks at the airport. That to me sends a great message to me personally, and now as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, because it’s a fan base here that desperately wants to win, just like Shad mentioned, just like Trent mentioned.
So for me to come here today to feel — I just felt that just walking in this building. I’m also excited with the new building coming in the future, and that just drives enthusiasm. We’re just here to continue that growth and put the product on the field that people are proud to support.
