JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The more Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan watched his team play, the more he realized one thing:"We needed a rebuild from the ground up," Khan said.So the Jaguars fired coach Mike Mularkey on Thursday after just one season, the worst in franchise history. The move came 10 days after Khan fired general manager Gene Smith.Khan also introduced new GM David Caldwell on Thursday, and by parting ways with Mularkey, gave him a clean slate heading into 2013."I've always been a part of a winner," said Caldwell, who signed a five-year deal. "I've never been a part of a losing team."But maybe the biggest news of the day came when Caldwell said New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, a Jacksonville native who starred at nearly Florida, is not in the team's plans."I can't imagine a scenario in which he'll be a Jacksonville Jaguar — even if he's released," Caldwell said.Caldwell took slightly more time to decide on Mularkey.Mularkey, who went 2-14 this season, became the eighth head coach fired since the end of the regular season. He looked like he would be one and done when Khan parted ways with Smith last week and gave Mularkey's assistants permission to seek other jobs.Even though Khan ultimately hired Mularkey, Smith directed the coaching search last January that started and ended with the former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator."I felt like we needed a fresh start here," Caldwell said. "Coming in here as a first-time general manager, I'm looking for a co-builder of our team. When I talked to Shad in terms of a culture change along the football side, I felt like it was more of that. I felt like it was an atmosphere of change. I felt like that to do that, you've got to have a fresh start across the board."Mularkey's brief tenure — he didn't even last a year — was filled with mistakes. His biggest one may have been his loyalty to Smith, who assembled a roster that lacked talent on both sides of the ball.Mularkey probably stuck with Smith's franchise quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, longer than he should have. And the coach's insistence that the team was closer than outsiders thought and his strong stance that he had the roster to turn things around became comical as the losses mounted. The Jaguars lost eight games by at least 16 points, a staggering number of lopsided losses in a parity-filled league.CLEVELAND — Rob Chudzinski's first head coaching job will be with the team he loved as a kid.Chudzinski, who spent the past two seasons as Carolina's offensive coordinator, has been hired by the Cleveland Browns as their sixth full-time coach since 1999.The Browns are hoping the first-time head coach can end years of despair and constant losing and maybe resurrect a franchise that has made just one trip to the playoffs in the past 14 years.A Browns spokesman confirmed Chudzinski's hiring Thursday night and said he will be introduced at a news conference on Friday.Chudzinski will be the Browns' 14th coach in team history. For the past two years, the 44-year-old has worked with talented Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.Chudzinski has had two previous stints with the Browns as an assistant coach. He coached tight ends for Butch Davis in 2004, and then came back to the Browns in 2007 and was Cleveland's offensive coordinator for two seasons under Romeo Crennel.Chudzinski grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he pulled for the Browns. Chudzinski interviewed with the team on Wednesday, and was viewed by many to be a long shot for the job.NEW YORK — When he ended his life last year by shooting himself in the chest, Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease often linked with repeated blows to the head.Researchers from the National Institutes of Health said on Thursday the former NFL star's abnormalities are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.The hard-hitting linebacker played for 20 NFL seasons with San Diego, Miami and New England before retiring in 2009. He died at age 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot in May, and his family requested the analysis of his brain."We saw changes in his behavior and things that didn't add up with him," his ex-wife, Gina, said. "But (CTE) was not something we considered or even were aware of. But pretty immediately (after the suicide) doctors were trying to get their hands on Junior's brain to examine it."The NIH, based in Bethesda, Maryland, studied three unidentified brains, one of which was Seau's, and said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
Showing posts with label Jaguars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaguars. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Jaguars running back Jones-Drew ends holdout
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Maurice Jones-Drew remains as passionate as ever about his value.
Coming back: Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew ended his contract holdout on Sunday. APSo when the Jacksonville Jaguars running back ended his 38-day holdout Sunday — without a new contract — he had no apologies, no regrets and no concerns about his standing with the franchise."I'm in a good place," he said. "I did something I felt was right, and I'm always going to feel right. I'm not going to feel wrong for what I did it at all. And that's why I can come back and not have a negative attitude. I think if you regret things, you're going to come back salty, be a distraction, things like that."I don't feel that way 'cause what I did was right. No one can tell me it was wrong. Not one person here can tell me what I did was wrong."Jones-Drew arrived at the team facility Sunday morning, chatted with teammates and then had a 40-minute conversation with coach Mike Mularkey.Later, he spent nearly half an hour answering questions about his holdout, even getting to a point where he told reporters to "make sure we all get this out of the way because I'm done after this.""This is the last talk about the whole contract situation," he said. "We're going to move forward to football after this."Jones-Drew considered skipping games, missing paychecks and causing an even bigger distraction for the team. Ultimately, though, he opted to report a week before the season opener."It really wasn't about budging," said Jones-Drew, who took a conditioning test later in the day. "For me, it got to the point where I wasn't going to be traded. Obviously, they weren't going to pay me. I could have easily sat out until Week 10, come back and been a distraction. It wasn't about that. I'm not going to come back and distract guys from playing the game the right way."The NFL's leading rusher in 2011, Jones-Drew skipped the team's entire offseason schedule in what became a nasty contract dispute.Jones-Drew is scheduled to make $4.45 million in 2012 and $4.95 million next year.He wanted to renegotiate the final two years of a five-year, $31 million deal that paid him nearly $22 million the last three seasons. Owner Shad Khan and general manager Gene Smith refused, not wanting to set a precedent of paying players in the middle of lucrative deals.Things got tense after Khan said publicly that Jones-Drew's absence "doesn't even move the needle." Khan also said his message to Jones-Drew is the "train's leaving the station. Run, get on it."Those comments didn't sit well with Jones-Drew, who would have accepted a trade if it meant getting a new deal."I was disappointed about the comments," Jones-Drew said. "I expect you guys or people outside the organization to make those comments like that. But when you do get it inside the organization, with how hard we work, with the time you put in through the offseason, the time you spend away from your family here at the facility, you expect a little more appreciation."Khan welcomed Jones-Drew aboard Sunday."The Jaguars are a better football team today than we were yesterday, and now our entire franchise can move forward together and as one," Khan said in a statement. "Nothing more needs to be said."
Coming back: Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew ended his contract holdout on Sunday. APSo when the Jacksonville Jaguars running back ended his 38-day holdout Sunday — without a new contract — he had no apologies, no regrets and no concerns about his standing with the franchise."I'm in a good place," he said. "I did something I felt was right, and I'm always going to feel right. I'm not going to feel wrong for what I did it at all. And that's why I can come back and not have a negative attitude. I think if you regret things, you're going to come back salty, be a distraction, things like that."I don't feel that way 'cause what I did was right. No one can tell me it was wrong. Not one person here can tell me what I did was wrong."Jones-Drew arrived at the team facility Sunday morning, chatted with teammates and then had a 40-minute conversation with coach Mike Mularkey.Later, he spent nearly half an hour answering questions about his holdout, even getting to a point where he told reporters to "make sure we all get this out of the way because I'm done after this.""This is the last talk about the whole contract situation," he said. "We're going to move forward to football after this."Jones-Drew considered skipping games, missing paychecks and causing an even bigger distraction for the team. Ultimately, though, he opted to report a week before the season opener."It really wasn't about budging," said Jones-Drew, who took a conditioning test later in the day. "For me, it got to the point where I wasn't going to be traded. Obviously, they weren't going to pay me. I could have easily sat out until Week 10, come back and been a distraction. It wasn't about that. I'm not going to come back and distract guys from playing the game the right way."The NFL's leading rusher in 2011, Jones-Drew skipped the team's entire offseason schedule in what became a nasty contract dispute.Jones-Drew is scheduled to make $4.45 million in 2012 and $4.95 million next year.He wanted to renegotiate the final two years of a five-year, $31 million deal that paid him nearly $22 million the last three seasons. Owner Shad Khan and general manager Gene Smith refused, not wanting to set a precedent of paying players in the middle of lucrative deals.Things got tense after Khan said publicly that Jones-Drew's absence "doesn't even move the needle." Khan also said his message to Jones-Drew is the "train's leaving the station. Run, get on it."Those comments didn't sit well with Jones-Drew, who would have accepted a trade if it meant getting a new deal."I was disappointed about the comments," Jones-Drew said. "I expect you guys or people outside the organization to make those comments like that. But when you do get it inside the organization, with how hard we work, with the time you put in through the offseason, the time you spend away from your family here at the facility, you expect a little more appreciation."Khan welcomed Jones-Drew aboard Sunday."The Jaguars are a better football team today than we were yesterday, and now our entire franchise can move forward together and as one," Khan said in a statement. "Nothing more needs to be said."Thursday, January 12, 2012
Mularkey to be Jaguars head coach
Jacksonville, Florida — The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey as their new head coach, a move the team hopes will help improve the worst offense in the NFL.The team plans to introduce Mularkey at a news conference Wednesday. The Florida Times-Union newspaper first reported the hire late Tuesday.Mularkey's Falcons managed only two points in a playoff loss to the New York Giants on Sunday. Nonetheless, his long relationship with Jaguars general manager Gene Smith made him a front-runner from the beginning of the search."Mike recognizes the challenge and opportunity before all of us, and that's to make the Jacksonville Jaguars one of the premier franchises in the National Football League, bar none," new owner Shahid Khan said in a statement.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Chargers rip reeling Jaguars
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — No matter how many interceptions he threw, no matter how many turnovers he committed, Philip Rivers refused to play it safe.He knew things would change.They finally did. On "Monday Night Football" no less, and with his San Diego Chargers in the deepest of holes.Rivers threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns, burning Jacksonville's depleted secondary early and often, and the Chargers beat the Jaguars 38-14 to snap a six-game losing streak.The Chargers (5-7) had been waiting for the three-time Pro Bowl selection to return to form. Some questioned whether it would happen this season. But Rivers never lost faith even though he leads the NFL in interceptions (17) and turnovers (21) and was a key part of the team's disappointing slide."It's been a rough six weeks," Rivers said. "I haven't put a complete game together, but I don't care about the numbers. I just want to win."Rivers was nearly perfect against Jacksonville (3-9), adding to the team's tumultuous week.He completed 22 of 28 passes — hooking up with Vincent Brown, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd for long scores — before sitting out the final few minutes. Rivers finished with a 146.1 QB rating, by far his highest of the season.The Chargers scored on five of their first six drives, then sent most of the home crowd scrambling for the exits with Ryan Mathews' 31-yard TD run in the fourth. Mathews ran 13 times for 112 yards."That's the type of chemistry coming into this season we knew we had," tight end Antonio Gates said. "We stayed on course despite what we've been through these last six weeks. That we were able to get a win tonight speaks volumes for this team."It was a much-needed victory for a team that trails Denver and Oakland by two games in the AFC West with four to play.And it was another blow to the Jaguars, who endured the most sweeping changes in the 17-year history of the franchise last week.Team owner Wayne Weaver fired coach Jack Del Rio and announced he was selling the club to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan. Interim coach Mel Tucker fired receivers coach Johnny Cox, reassigned quarterbacks coach Mike Sheppard and waived starting receiver Jason Hill.The moves seemed to invigorate a franchise that had seemingly gone stale in Del Rio's ninth season. Fans showed up energized for a prime-time game that signaled the start of a new era. Some wore "Yes We Khan" T-shirts. Other donned fake mustaches to emulate the owner-in-waiting.It made little difference on the field, mostly because Jacksonville's defensive injuries proved too much to overcome.The Jaguars played without their top three cornerbacks — Rashean Mathis, Derek Cox and Will Middleton — and lost safety Dwight Lowery (shoulder) and defensive end John Chick (knee) during the game."No excuses here," Tucker said. "We won't allow ourselves to go down that road."Rivers took advantage of the injuries, picking on a pair of cornerbacks who were signed off the street in recent weeks.Rivers threw a 22-yard TD pass to Brown and a 35-yarder to Jackson on the final two drives of the first half as the Chargers overcame a brief deficit to seize control. Those scores came in the final 2:32 of the half.The opening drive of the third quarter didn't take long, either. On the fifth play, Rivers found Floyd deep down the right sideline for a 52-yard score.NEW YORK — Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Tyrann Mathieu and Montee Ball are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy.Luck, the Stanford quarterback and preseason favorite, is a finalist for the second straight season.Griffin is the first Baylor player to be picked as a finalist. The school has never had a player finish better than fourth in the Heisman voting.Richardson is the second Alabama running back to be a finalist in the last three years. Former teammate Mark Ingram won the Heisman in 2009.Ball has scored 38 touchdowns for Wisconsin and needs one more to match Barry Sanders' NCAA record.Mathieu, the LSU defensive back nicknamed Honey Badger, has made numerous game-changing plays for the top-ranked Tigers.The Heisman Trophy will be presented Saturday night.
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