Jacksonville Jaguars fill coaching staff with three hires on Monday

The Jacksonville Jaguars have completed wholesale changes to their coaching staff, hiring Andy Reid as their head coach Monday afternoon.

Pat Shurmur and Eric Mangini join Reid in Jacksonville as the team’s offensive and defensive coordinator, respectively.

Reid, who was signed for $6.8 million, was fired earlier this offseason after 126-81-1 in 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“We’re thrilled to have landed Andy,” Jacksonville general manager Bdogtitan11 said. “He brings a winning pedigree and we believe he can get this franchise back into the playoffs right away.”

With only two losing seasons during his tenure with the Eagles, Reid’s ability to keep his teams playing at a high level was a large reason why the Jaguars targeted him.

Reid’s offensive ingenuity also made him an attractive candidate for the Jaguars.

With one of the NFL’s worst offenses in 2011, Jacksonville needed a proven coach with the ability to develop a young quarterback in Blaine Gabbert, who struggled
his rookie season.

The Jaguars also bring in Shurmur, who was Cleveland’s head coach the past two seasons. He helped make rookie Sam Bradford an emerging star as St. Louis’ offensive coordinator in 2010 and helped Reid develop a handful of quarterbacks during his time as Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach from 2002-2008.

Defensively, Jacksonville takes a bit of a gamble by hiring Mangini, who was New England’s defensive coordinator in 2005, had 10-6 and 9-7 campaigns as the New York Jets’ head coach from 2006-2008. He went 10-22 in two seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

“Eric has been out of football for a year, but we think he’s a tremendously gifted defensive-minded coach that brings a lot of energy,” Bdogtitan11 said. “Eric knows how to get the most out of his players and can be successful as a 3-4 or 4-3 coach. We really like his versatility.”

The Jaguars paid $1.5 million for both Mangini and Shurmur. Jacksonville management seems happy to have landed two former head coaches to go along with Reid.

“They might be considered under-the-radar hires, but we feel that they both bring something great to the table,” said co-general manager Ashy Larry. “They are real good bargains.”

 

That was my thinking.