Team History: Jaguars had early success under Coughlin, but have struggled since

Team History: Jaguars had early success under Coughlin, but have struggled since 

Jacksonville, Florida, has a good reputation when it comes to football. The city has hosted the Gator Bowl since 1947 and the annual Florida vs. Georgia college football game since 1933. Jacksonville was the site of the AFL All-Star Game in 1968 and ’69. Gator Bowl stadium was also the home field of the Sharks and Express in the World Football League, the Firebirds in the American Football Association and the Bulls in the United States Football League.

However, Jacksonville could not land a professional team. The Colts were rumored to move there in 1984 before choosing Indianapolis, and the Oilers saw the city as a possibility, but Houston taxpayers gave $67 million to renovate the Astrodome.

When the NFL decided to expand to 30 teams in the mid-1990s, Jacksonville was one of five candidates for a new franchise, joining St. Louis, Charlotte, Baltimore, and Memphis. The first ownership group for the city decided to drop out after difficulty in getting funding to upgrade the Gator Bowl. The city decided to revisit the issue in late 1993 and approved $121 million to basically demolish and then rebuild the stadium.

In late November, the NFL named Jacksonville as its 30th team, a month after selecting Charlotte as the other city. The new group was headed by J. Wayne Weaver, who founded and owned several shoe stores. The team took on the name Jaguars, which was the original name of the Firebirds in the AFA, and Tom Coughlin was named the first head coach. Coughlin had been the coach of Boston College, and before that, was a receivers coach with the New York Giants.

The Jaguars and Panthers stocked their rosters in the expansion draft, with Jacksonville taking former Cardinals quarterback Steve Beuerlein with the first selection. Other players have chosen who eventually became starters included guard Jeff Novak, linebacker Keith Goganious and receivers Desmond Howard and Kelvin Martin

Jacksonville had two first-round selections in the 1995 draft, taking USC left tackle Tony Boselli with the second pick and Tennessee running back James Stewart 19th. Other draft picks who contributed right away were tackle Brian DeMarco, linebacker Bryan Schwartz, and Rob Johnson, who would become the third quarterback behind Beuerlein and former Packers backup, Mark Brunell. Kicker Mike Hollis was also signed as a rookie free agent after the draft.

Beuerlein started the first game and Brunell played as well, but it didn’t matter. The Oilers defense stifled the expansion club, holding the Jaguars to 146 yards in their 10-3 victory. Beuerlein sprained his right medial collateral ligament in the second game, and Jacksonville finished with a 4-12 record. Brunell found Howard with a 15-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute left to give the franchise its first victory, 17-16 over Houston in Week 5.

Before the 1996 season, the team signed Keenan McCardell and paired him with Jimmy Smith, giving Brunell two young, talented receivers. Both had over 1,000 yards and Brunell led the league with 4,367 passing yards. Despite starting 3-6, the team won six of its final seven games to finish the regular season 9-7 and earn its first playoff bid.

Jacksonville held off the Bills, 30-27, in the Wild Card round, then edged the Broncos by the same score to reach the AFC Championship Game. The dream season ended there, as the Patriots’ defense held the Jaguars to two Hollis field goals in a 20-6 victory.

After two straight 11-5 seasons, including the team’s first division title in 1998, Jacksonville finally put everything together the following year. Brunell led the offense, and the defense featured Pro Bowlers Tony Brackens, Kevin Hardy, and Carnell Lake. The Jaguars got home field advantage with a 14-2 mark in the regular season, then blew out Dolphins in the Division round, 62-7. Brunell and backup Jay Fiedler each threw two touchdown passes, and the running game, led by Fred Taylor, scored three times.

In the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars faced an old nemesis that now played in a new city, the Tennessee Titans. Brunell found tight end Kyle Brady with a touchdown pass and Stewart ran for a score to put Jacksonville up 14-10, but Tennessee put up 26 straight points for a 33-14 victory.

The Jaguars finished out of the playoff picture the next three seasons before Coughlin was fired in 2002 and Brunell was benched in favor of Byron Leftwich the following year. Taking over the coaching duties was Jack Del Rio, a former linebacker who earned praise as the linebackers coach on the stellar Ravens teams of the early 2000s.

After a 5-11 record in Del Rio’s first season, the team steadily began to improve. The Jaguars went 9-7 in 2004, missing the playoffs by one game, then improving to 12-4 and earning a wild card spot behind the 14-2 Colts the following year. Two of the losses came against Indianapolis.

The 2005 season ended with disappointment, as the Jaguars were stifled in a 28-3 loss to the Patriots in the Wild Card round. Tom Brady threw three touchdown pass and Asante Samuel closed out the New England victory by intercepting Leftwich and returning it 73 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville only went 8-8 record in 2006, but rookie Maurice Jones-Drew gained some attention after scoring 13 rushing touchdowns. The pair of Taylor and Jones-Drew helped the Jaguars to an 11-5 mark and a return to the playoffs the following season.

Jones-Drew scored twice and Josh Scobee kicked a 25-yard field goal with 37 seconds left, giving Jacksonville a 31-29 win over Pittsburgh in the Wild Card round. However, a familiar foe awaited the following week. Brady outdueled Garrard, throwing three touchdown passes, and Laurence Maroney ran for 122 yards and a score in New England’s 31-20 win.

The Jaguars failed to make the playoffs the next three years and started 3-8 in 2011 before Del Rio was fired. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker finished out the 5-11 season as interim coach. Weaver announced he was selling the team to Shahid Khan, a Pakistan-born businessman who owns the auto parts manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate.

Mike Mularkey, the former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator, was named head coach for 2012. The Jaguars won at Indianapolis in Week 3, but that was one of the few bright spots in the 2-14 season, which resulted in Mularkey getting fired after one year.

Jacksonville had some optimism in 2013. The Jaguars had just hired a new coach in Gus Bradley, who had great success as Seattle’s defensive coordinator. Also, the team had just agreed to play one game in each of the next four seasons at London’s Wembley Stadium in hopes of expanding the NFL’s influence. However, the team struggled on the field, starting 0-8 and finishing with a 4-12 record overall.

The Jaguars drafted quarterback Blake Bortles, receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson, and linebacker Telvin Smith in 2014, but the improvement was slow. The team endured two more losing seasons and Bradley was fired after a 2-12 mark in 2016. He was replaced by Doug Marrone, a former Syracuse coach who had recently led the Bills.

Marrone’s first year was successful, as Jacksonville went 10-6 and won the AFC South. The Jaguars allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL, and the defense sent six players to the Pro Bowl. On the offensive side, Bortles was solid, despite having receivers who were not household names. He also had help from the first-round pick Leonard Fournette, who rushed for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns.

In the playoffs, Jacksonville won a defensive struggle 10-3 against Buffalo in the Wild Card game, then held off a late Pittsburgh rally to win 45-42 to return to their third AFC Championship Game. Although this game was closer than other meetings between the teams, Brady came through in the end once again. He threw for 290 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the 24-20 New England victory.

Jacksonville’s defense wasn’t quite as dominant in 2018 and the club lost several players to injury, including four starters on the offensive line. The Jaguars finished 5-11 and dropped to the bottom of the AFC South.

Despite the recent downturn, things are looking up for the Jaguars. The team brought back Coughlin to serve as Executive Vice President of Football Operations. The defense returns mostly intact, including linemen Yannick Ngakoue, Calais Campbell and Marcell Dareus, linebackers Smith and Myles Jack and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

After five inconsistent seasons, Bortles signed with the Rams and the Jaguars brought in Nick Foles, who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl LII win against the Patriots. Jacksonville is hoping he can finally get the team past New England in the playoffs. 

-By: Kevin Rakas