NFL fans have their say as Jaguars fire GM Trent Baalke - "Too late for the Ben Johnson sweepstakes"

The Jacksonville Jaguars had an eventful Wednesday. After a disappointing season, the franchise cut ties with head coach Doug Pederson, starting a new era. According to multiple insider reports, the two favored names for the job were Ben Johnson (offensive coordinator, Detroit Lions) and Liam Coen (offensive coordinator, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

But neither of the two guys was interested. Although Pederson was fired, the Jaguars decided to keep general manager Trent Baalke on the job, leaving NFL fans and analysts baffled by the decision. Johnson signed with the Chicago Bears, while Coen withdrew his name from consideration on Wednesday.

The NFL circle speculated that the reason for Coen's withdrawal was Baalke remaining in the organization. But this changed hours later, when owner Shad Khan fired Baalke two weeks after Black Monday, and with some of the candidates already out of the running.

Even if they did the right thing, missing on Johnson and possibly Coen could set the franchise back for years to come, and NFL fans did not forget the awful timing from Jacksonville:

"Do you think they know that they’re too late for the Ben Johnson sweepstakes?"

"Better late than never, but man... just unfathomable levels of organizational incompetence in Jacksonville", said one fan.

"We lost out on the best offensive mind since Kyle Shanahan. And THEN YOU FIRED HIM???", asked an angry fan.

"Should have happened sooner. They missed out on Ben Johnson because of this guy", a third said.

Robert Saleh favorite to take the Jacksonville Jaguars job

Missing on Coen was a huge blow to Jacksonville. John Shipley, an insider for the team, noted that the Buccaneers offensive coordinator was their number-one option.

According to many reports, the focus has shifted to Robert Saleh, former head coach of the New York Jets who was fired midway through the 2024 season. He will meet with the Jaguars' for a second time, in person.

The big difference for this job is that a new head coach won't have to work with Baalke. The much-maligned general manager spent four years on the franchise and whiffed on many draft picks, including first-overall pick Travon Walker in the 2022 NFL Draft.