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Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff Writer
DETROIT — Doug Pederson doesn’t know if Sunday’s embarrassing 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions will be his last as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, so he’s going to continue to operate as normal as the team heads into its bye week.
“I can’t control that,” Pederson said. “I’ve been around this league a long time, and if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, obviously, but at the same time I still have a job to do and that’s to get ready for a good division opponent [the Houston Texans] in two weeks.”
The Jaguars are now 2-9 and have lost 14 of their past 17 games under Pederson after an 8-3 start to the 2023 season. This comes after owner Shad Khan told the team the night before training camp began that this was the best Jaguars team ever assembled and he expected it to reach the playoffs. If Khan chooses to fire Pederson (and potentially general manager Trent Baalke as well) before the season ends, this would be the logical week to do it.
The Jaguars are scheduled to be in the facility through the middle of the week before the players are given the rest of the week off.
Multiple players expressed support after the game for Pederson, who led the team to an AFC South title in 2022 after a 3-7 start to the season.
“I love playing for Doug,” tight end Evan Engram said. “Doug and this team have been through so much over the last three years. And like I said, I told him, ‘We’re going to ride together. We’re going to die together.’
“That’s out of my control, but I’m going to keep fighting for Doug as much as I can. I know the team will and we’re going to keep pushing.”
Safety Andre Cisco said he was hoping Khan doesn’t fire Pederson.
“I love Doug,” he said. “Doug’s been great to me, and so I think he’s a leader that we need, especially for the rest of this year. I think with four division games coming up, I don’t see change being the best option, but I understand it’s a business.”
Said defensive end Josh Hines-Allen: “We love Doug. We fight for him, but I have no comment for that [Sunday potentially being Pederson’s final game].”
Even if Khan decides not to make a move with Pederson this week, there could still be a smaller shake-up. Pederson said he would contemplate potential staff changes after Sunday’s 46-point loss, which was the largest in the franchise’s 30-year history (eclipsing the 44-0 loss the team had in Detroit to the Lions in its inaugural season in 1995). The Jaguars gave up 645 yards, which is the second-most allowed in a single game in franchise history.
The offense, with backup quarterback Mac Jones starting in place of Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) for the second week in a row, managed just 170 yards a week after putting up 143 in a loss to Minnesota, which was the fifth-lowest single-game total in franchise history.
“It’s hard to put it all on one person,” Pederson said. “I think coaches have to look at themselves. I have to start there, look at myself and obviously the staff and what are we doing, how are we preparing our players? And then same way with the players, right? They have to look at themselves and be critical of themselves and then make the changes, make the corrections that we need to get better.
“So, I’ll process a few things, but I’m glad that we have the bye right now, though.”
Pederson is 20-25 in his two-plus seasons with the Jaguars. He led the team to 9-8 regular-season records in 2022 and 2023, the first time the franchise has had back-to-back winning seasons since 2004-05. Sunday’s loss eliminates the chance for the Jaguars to post three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the franchise did it four years in a row from 1996 to 1999.
“At the end of the day, it’s the reality of this business,” linebacker Devin Lloyd said. “Obviously [Pederson getting fired] is not something anybody wishes for. You’ve got so much love for everybody in this locker room and on this team. It’s not something you wish for, but it’s the reality. We’re not winning, and so it is what it is.”