Wait ’Til Next Year: Jaguars Heading Toward Offseason Overhaul

Jacksonville quickly moved on from Doug Pederson and are in the market for a new head coach. The Jaguars also hold the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

With these two components, the Jaguars are hoping the new coach along with a top prospect can give the franchise a boost heading into 2025.

Here’s what you need to know about the Jaguars this offseason.

4 Things to Know About Jaguars for 2025 Season

1. More Than $35 Million in Cap Space Projected

Jacksonville has a chance to be active in NFL free agency. The Jags are projected to have $35.6 million in cap space, per Spotrac.

Backup quarterback Mac Jones, safety Andre Cisco and guard Brandon Scherff are among the key Jaguars free agents. This puts Jacksonville in contention to land several key players in free agency.

Yet, Trevor Lawrence’s five-year, $275 million deal continues to loom over the franchise given the star quarterback’s struggles in recent years.

2. 2024 Schedule Features Challenging Opponents

The good news for the Jaguars’ NFL betting odds is the team plays in the AFC South, where the Texans remain the most imposing team in the division. If the Jaguars can find a competent head coach and add a few key players, there could be a fast track to turning around the franchise.

Just announced: The #Jets, #Browns and #Jaguars will be in London for the 2025 NFL season as home teams.

Opponents will be announced in the offseason.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 10, 2025

Yet, Jacksonville will face several challenging opponents next season. We do not know the exact dates, but the Jags know their opponents.

The 2025 schedule includes difficult matchups against the Bengals, Broncos, Chiefs, Rams, Chargers, Seahawks and 49ers. Per NFL betting trends, all but one of those teams had winning records in 2024 and five won at least 10 games.

3. Can the Next Jaguars Head Coach Save Trevor Lawrence?

The Jaguars’ future is more tied to the performance of Lawrence than whoever the team hires as the next head coach. After a year full of health concerns, Lawrence sustained a season-ending injury.

Trevor Lawrence was asked what sort of coach he wants the Jaguars to hire he said “just a guy who is going to instill that culture that toughness into our team.” pic.twitter.com/UsDHM0OMDk

— Jamal St. Cyr (@JStCyrTV) January 9, 2025

To Lawrence’s credit, this marks the first NFL season where the quarterback has not played at least 16 games. It is not just injuries that marred Lawrence’s season – his play was also concerning.

Lawrence has thrown 21 interceptions over the last two years. Prior to the season-ending injury, Lawrence put up modest numbers, throwing for 2,045 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 60.6% of his passes in 10 games.

4. Robert Saleh Among Favorites to Be Jaguars Next Head Coach

The NFL coaching carousel rumors can change in a hurry. Jacksonville is being linked to a number of experienced head coaching candidates, which would seem to indicate the franchise may take a similar path to the one that landed Pederson.

There’s “real buzz” about Robert Saleh’s chances of becoming the #Jaguars next head coach, per @ZackBlatt pic.twitter.com/3FMZ7sF727

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 14, 2025

The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt predicted that the Jaguars will hire former Jets head coach Robert Saleh. This move would make the Jags an immediate fade next season in the NFL odds.

Saleh is the current third choice to be the next Jacksonville coach, listed at +400 according to the BetUS sportsbook lines. The two front runners are offensive coordinators Liam Coen (-130) of Tampa Bay and Ben Johnson (-110) of Detroit.

“This one might feel like it’s out of left field, but there’s some real buzz about Saleh’s chances of securing this job,” Rosenblatt wrote on January 13. “Saleh might have been helped by Jets owner Woody Johnson’s decision to fire him in Week 5, especially because of what happened afterward.

“The Jets were significantly worse after interim coach Jeff Ulbrich took over, particularly on defense, where Saleh had built the Jets into one of the league’s Top-5 defenses in both 2022 and ’23.”

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will interview for the Jaguars head coaching job on Friday, per source. He also has interview requests from the Jets and Bears, with scheduling still to be worked on that.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 14, 2025

Questions Of The Day

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets