12/21/24
January 10, 2013
Jaguars Fire Coach Mike Mularkey: New Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell has fired head coach Mike Mularkey after only one season leading the team, a 2-14 disaster that was the worst in franchise history. Caldwell and Mularkey worked together for four years when Caldwell was the Atlanta Falcons director of pro player personnel and Mularkey the offensive coordinator.
Not wanting to start a run on the bank by being the first in line, the Jags fired Coach Mike Mularkey today.
On edit: in the time it took me to type out a handful of words, yerfatma hustled up a full paragraph or so.
posted by beaverboard at 12:48 PM on January 10, 2013
My only coach hope is for Todd Haley to get the Cards job. man i want him out of Pittsburgh
posted by Debo270 at 12:56 PM on January 10, 2013
posted by kokaku at 01:04 PM on January 10, 2013
This trend of new GMs turfing the existing coach no matter what seems suspect.
A new GM is going to put in the staff he wants as soon as he gets clearance from ownership to do so: buying out contacts, etc. Yeah, that's a flawed statement I know, but there you are. Other than that, one year generally isn't enough time to do what you want to do, and a 2-14 record isn't always a fair indicator that the installed system is a failure. That said, Jacksonville probably needs to blow up and start over. (Think a certain controversial figure from New York might be available pretty soon if they're on the lookout for a QB, hint hint).
When the next season kicks off, at least one of every four teams will now have a new head coach. And it doesn't look like the merry-go-round will stop after the playoffs either.
posted by NerfballPro at 01:11 PM on January 10, 2013
It's not fair to Mularkey to give him only one season, but it wasn't fair when he quit on the Bills as head coach after only two seasons either. His first season was so terrible it was hard to contemplate a second.
When Mularkey was hired a year ago, it was pretty clear that GM Gene Smith was on the hot seat and had to prove himself in 2012. 2-14 doomed him. Caldwell evidently wasn't impressed enough with Mularkey from their time in Atlanta to tie their fates together.
It's a smart move for Caldwell to bring in his own guy when the owner let him do it. His college roommate was 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, so there's an obvious frontrunner right there.
posted by rcade at 01:32 PM on January 10, 2013
It's not fair to Mularkey to give him only one season, but it wasn't fair when he quit on the Bills as head coach after only two seasons either.
Oh, well yikes, I did not remember that. My sympathy meter just dropped to 0.
yerfatma hustled up a full paragraph or so.
Further proving brevity to be the soul of wit.
posted by yerfatma at 02:24 PM on January 10, 2013
I'm actually convinced that the Jaguars are running the same strategy as the Indians did in Major League: be deliberately terrible so they can move (though in this case, not to Florida).
posted by Bonkers at 02:31 PM on January 10, 2013
The Jaguars can't get out of their stadium lease before 2030 unless they show a financial loss in three consecutive seasons or convince a local judge that the city of Jacksonville had failed to provide proper upkeep for the facility.
Showing a loss would require the team to open its books, which NFL teams are extremely reluctant to do.
They'd be a tough team to relocate. Former owner Wayne Weaver locked them in to a lease that discourages a move.
posted by rcade at 02:57 PM on January 10, 2013
Asked about Tim Tebow, Caldwell just said, "I can't imagine a scenario where he would be a Jacksonville Jaguar."
Maybe they really do want to move. Tebow would've sold 3,000 to 5,000 season tickets.
posted by rcade at 05:01 PM on January 10, 2013
Thank you kokaku. Mavis could be my key to a better, more productive life.
If she ever saw me try to text from the number keypad of my Amish cell phone, she might consider me to be more of a challenge than she's interesting in taking on at this point in her career.
posted by beaverboard at 09:28 PM on January 10, 2013
Tebow would've sold 3,000 to 5,000 season tickets
Why?
I like the intangibles Tebow brings to a team .. that any team other than the Jets could benefit from .. there's just no tangibles from an ability to play QB.
Would folks in Jacksonville really be happy to shell out money to see Tebow lead the Jags to 4-12 record next year?
Here I was under the impression all of the dumbest sports fans were already supporting the Toronto Maple Leafs.
posted by cixelsyd at 12:13 AM on January 11, 2013
Here I was under the impression all of the dumbest sports fans were already supporting the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hey!
I resemble that remark!
*sob*
posted by grum@work at 12:59 AM on January 11, 2013
I resemble that remark
posted by kerjawa at 05:56 AM on January 11, 2013
Why?
Because he has an enormous following here dating back to when he was a 16-year-old high school phenom in St. Johns County, which is immediately south of Jacksonville.
When Tebow was playing for Denver and the team was on that hot streak, people I know who'd never shown an interest in football would bring him up all the time. When Tebow was almost acquired in trade, that's all the city talked about. Jacksonville hadn't been as excited about football since 1999, when the Jaguars were 14-2 and reached the AFC Championship Game.
Locals watched as many Broncos games as Jags games last season.
Would folks in Jacksonville really be happy to shell out money to see Tebow lead the Jags to 4-12 record next year?
Given that the alternative is watching Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne, do you have to ask?
Gabbert was going to be awful this season and will be awful next season, if Caldwell and the new coach have the bad judgment to keep him in. Tebow would have sold thousands of season tickets. He is a once-in-a-lifetime marketing opportunity for a franchise whose location makes it a challenge to stay viable.
Jacksonville has only 827,000 residents in a city that's the largest by area in the United States. The metropolitan area is 1.3 million people. The Jags have diehards who've brought the attendance up to the middle of the pack in the NFL with no blackouts for three years in a row. But when the new franchise smell wore off and the Florida economy was hit as hard as any state in the U.S., it became a lot tougher to fill seats. No team has a smaller region of fans to draw from than Jacksonville.
Tebow's obviously a longshot to have another run like he did in Denver. But does he really lower the odds of this team succeeding in its present state? I think it was a no brainer to bring him here and experiment for two seasons and reap the marketing benefits.
posted by rcade at 09:40 AM on January 11, 2013
Can someone explain to me what Mike Mularkey was supposed to do? I know 2-14 isn't what you're looking for, but he didn't pick Blaine Gabbard either. Not saying he's the best coach available, just wondering why you fire him after one year. This trend of new GMs turfing the existing coach no matter what seems suspect. Given how few good coaches there are in the league, why does a new GM definitely know of someone better?