JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Somebody is going to be calling plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024.
Whether that's head coach Doug Pederson, offensive coordinator Press Taylor or a combination of both, well, that's not clear at this point.
"We don't play a game until September, so we've got some time," Pederson said last Friday before the first day of the Jaguars' two-day rookie minicamp.
Pederson gave playcalling to Taylor in 2023 after splitting halves of games with him in 2022, but Pederson admitted earlier this offseason that he wasn't sure how playcalling duties would be handled in 2024. He said he needed to evaluate himself and Taylor as decision-makers and those were ongoing conversations he and Taylor were going to have before the season.
Based on Pederson's comments last week, it's likely that any decision won't be made until the season gets closer -- or at least won't be announced yet. There are still 10 OTAs and the mandatory minicamp before the team breaks for six weeks and then returns for training camp in July, so there's no reason to rush it.
But the fact that Pederson isn't ruling out a return to some level of playcalling is not necessarily a sign that he has lost confidence in Taylor, who was criticized heavily throughout the 2023 season for his decisions. Pederson likes calling plays and his experience while working under Andy Reid in Kansas City was one of the main reasons he got hired in Philadelphia. He's also good at it, as he showed in his five seasons with the Eagles, turning Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate in the QB's second season and winning the Super Bowl with backup signal-caller Nick Foles.
One of the reasons Pederson cited for giving up the playcalling duties in 2023 was that he wanted to take a step back and get a bigger picture of the team. He fired eight defensive coaches (including coordinator Mike Caldwell) one day after the season ended, so it's not a stretch to conclude that Pederson had concerns about that side of the ball.
Taylor didn't exactly have the ideal situation with his offense last season. WR Zay Jones missed eight games with a knee injury, WR Christian Kirk missed five with a groin injury, QB Trevor Lawrence suffered four injuries (knee, ankle, shoulder and concussion) and missed one game, LT Cam Robinson missed eight games (four by suspension for violating the NFL's PED policy) and four players started games at left guard.
In addition, the run game took a major step back from 2022. The Jaguars had the second-most rushes in the league that went for no gain or a loss (120), and a league-high 26.5% of their rushes either gained zero yards or lost yardage.
As a result, the Jaguars faced 132 second downs with 9-11 yards needed for a first down. Only the Cleveland Browns (134) faced more. Add in the number of third downs with 9-11 yards needed for the first time and that number rises to 178. Again, the only team with more was Cleveland (189).
Which makes calling plays almost impossible, Pederson said.
"When you struggle offensively like we did at times, I don't care who is calling plays, you might as well look at that thing with your eyes closed and just pick a play," Pederson said after the season ended. "Because it's hard, it's difficult. I've been there. You're trying to find that one play or a spark that gets your offense rolling and with the struggles we had at times, that's a difficult thing to do. Whether it's in the run game or the pass game, whatever it might be."
The Jaguars didn't help themselves with turnovers, either. They finished minus-3 in turnover ratio. That ranked 23rd and was nowhere close to the worst teams in the league (Atlanta and Minnesota were minus-12 and Washington was minus-14), but the Jaguars were also plus-7 after the first six games of the season and went on to have three four-turnover games on offense after that point.
That has nothing to do with playcalling.
"It's not playcalling, it's not the scheme or the design of plays, it's just having the urgency of, 'We have to protect the football better,'" Pederson said. "You jump offsides, now you're first-and-15. Now, you're looking at first-and-15 and anticipating maybe being second-and-8, second-and-7. All of that, everything we do matters. As a playcaller, yeah, you want to be as efficient as you can, especially on early downs. But at times, you get handcuffed just a little bit by trying to find the right play. Especially when you're struggling as an offense."
If Pederson is more confident in what's happening on defense under new coordinator Ryan Nielsen he could jump back into some level of calling plays. Or he may opt to see what Taylor can do with a healthy group of players.
Either way, it's going to be a while before any change -- if there is one -- is announced.