The Jacksonville Jaguars are making another change after missing out on several of the NFL's top head coaching candidates this offseason.
The team will part ways with general manager Trent Baalke despite initially saying he would be sticking around.
Owner Shad Khan confirmed the news in a statement Wednesday.
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“Following several discussions with Trent Baalke this week, we both arrived at the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interests to respectfully separate, effective immediately," Khan said. "Trent leaves us with my deepest appreciation for his efforts over the past five seasons.
"Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager and play an important role, with others, as we continue the process of interviewing candidates to serve as our new head coach. I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville and look forward to introducing a new head coach who will make that happen for our players and fans alike.”
Baalke took over as general manager in 2021 as the team went 25-43 over his four seasons. He hired and fired Urban Meyer in 2021 before working with coach Doug Pederson for the last three years.
The Jaguars have already interview a number of head coaching candidates with Baalke as part of the process, but their top options either went elsewhere or pulled out of consideration.
NFL
The first was Ben Johnson, who was hired by the Chicago Bears. And next up was Liam Coen, who said Wednesday he was staying as Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, were two of the Jaguars' reported targets.
Despite having a young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and playing in the AFC South, Baalke's presence was a deterrent for potential candidates. He was announced to be returning on Jan. 6 when the team fired Pederson.
According to the Jaguars' team website, there have been 10 head coaching candidates who have been interviewed so far. Two have already been hired by other teams (Johnson to the Bears and Aaron Glenn to the Jets), and Coen has pulled himself from consideration.
That leaves seven known options for Jacksonville: Joe Brady, Kellen Moore, Brian Flores, Todd Monken, Steve Spagnuolo, Patrick Graham and Robert Saleh.
It is unclear if the team will try to hire a new general manager before moving forward with a new head coach, or vice versa.