The Jacksonville Jaguars brought in former Illinois head coach Ron Zook for an interview earlier this week. Well, according to Zook's former boss' assistant... The Illinois Fighting Illini assistant athletic director Kent Brown, he got the job.

Former Illini football coaches in the news. Ron Zook in as special teams coordinator at Jacksonville and Ron Turner out at Indianapolis.

— Kent Brown (@kentbrown) January 19, 2012

Zook has plenty of experience as a special teams coordinator and as a coach in the NFL. He also worked with Mike Mularkey when they were both on the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff in the late 1990's. He had stints as a defensive backs coach and a defensive coordinator in the NFL as well before heading back to the college ranks with the Florida Gators and Illinois. I haven't been able to confirm the hire through my own sources, however. Florida Times-Union beat writer Tania Ganguli contacted Ron Zook and he denies even being offered the job.

Just spoke with Ron Zook who says he has not even been offered the Jaguars special teams coordinator job. "Not accurate," he said. #Jaguars

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 20, 2012

COACHING MYSTERY, YOU GUYS.

About this time last season, I questioned if it could be one and done for Aaron Kampman as a Jacksonville Jaguars player. I made the point that Kampman was 31 years old and coming off his second ACL tear in as many seasons, not to mention the fact that Kampman was due no guaranteed money in 2011. Fast forward to this season and Kampman has played just three games this season, and to be frank has just been a body out there, doing absolutely nothing when he's been on the field.

Now, there are some rumblings that it's very possible Kampman could wind up on injured reserve again, and with the Jaguars signing another defensive end in George Selvie it certainly makes that seem possible, if not likely later in the week. Kampman suffered a hamstring injury sometime during the bye week and missed the game against the Colts. If Kampman winds up in injured reserve again, I have a hard time seeing him back on the Jaguars again in 2012. It was a low-risk move this season, given Kampman's salary was only $2.45 million. In 2012 however, his salary jumps to $4.9 million. That's a lot of money to pay an older defensive end who's suffered two ACL tears in back to back seasons and has ended up on injured reserve three years in a row.

The Jacksonville Jaguars placed a few players on injured reserve today in Eben Britton (back), Kyle Bosworth (broken hand), and veteran defensive back Rashean Mathis (ACL). This opens up three roster spots, including a hole in the defensive backfield. One player who the Jaguars could sign in that regard is cornerback Ashton Youboty, according to Pro Football Talk.

Youboty was a 3rd round pick in the 2006 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills.  Youboty was with the Bills until this past season and then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Youboty's stint with the Bucs was only a few weeks and he was released on August 29th. Youboty has started six games in his career, appearing in 43 games total, mostly on special teams.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have denied the report by 1010XL that Fred Smith will be buying a minority share in the team. Our own Adam Stites contacted the Jaguars to get an official statement on 1010XL's report. This is the response he received via e-mail:

1010xl is wrong. That report is not true. Wayne Weaver is not selling the team.

The team has denied reports in the past of Weaver selling the franchise. Weaver himself denied the rumor when asked by ESPN'S Chris Mortensen and Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette when asked. Weaver has long said that there will come a time when he will sell the franchise, but he has also maintained it would be to someone committed to keeping the franchise in Jacksonville.

We will have more on this story develops, as it looks like it's going to be a back and forth for a while. Note: The team is not going to confirm anything until an actual deal is in place.

According to a report by 1010XL, a local Jacksonville sports radio station, Fred Smith is buying a minority stake in the Jacksonville Jaguars with the intent to take over as owner of the franchise when current owner Wayne Weaver steps down. I haven't listened to any sports radio today, so I cannot comment on this report, but the following was posted on 1010XL's Facebook page:

Breaking news! 1010 XL has learned that Wayne Weaver is selling a piece of the Jaguar franchise to Fred Smith of Fed Ex as a minority owner. When Wayne decides it's time to retire Fred would then transition into the majority owner with the agreement that the team will remain in Jacksonville. It's not official yet, but we're told it's almost a done deal.

Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver denied this rumor prior to Monday Night Football in an interview with Chris Mortensen and later denied the rumor to Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette. This has been a rumor in media circles and something I've investigated myself. Fred Smith, the current CEO of FedEx, has come up multiple times in people I've talked to, but I do not have anything solid to actually confirm this report. Personally, I do feel this is the succession plan for the Jaguars, however. I have also heard that when the team is sold, Wayne Weaver will attempt to have assurances in the sale that the team would stay in Jacksonville for a specific amount of time.

Currently, Fred Smith is the part-owner of the Washington Redskins. Back in 2009, Fred Smith was hotly rumored to be in the hunt to purchase the St. Louis Rams when they were going through an ownership change.

Yesterday the St. Louis Rams released former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker, which led a few to wonder if the Jaguars would be interested in bringing him back. While Sims-Walker likely isn't the answer to the Jaguars woes, he certainly wouldn't hurt. This morning, Sims-Walker tweeted "And the phone calls begin..."

Later on today, he tweeted "It's like deja vu..."

And most recently he tweeted "Duuuuuvaaaaallllll"

Sims-Walker makes sense for two reasons: First of all, he would come at veteran minimum, as the Rams are still also paying his 2011 salary. Second, Sims-Walker would already know the playbook and should be able to come in right away and help the team. It would also allow the Jaguars to properly shuffle their wide receiver set up and let guys like Mike Thomas get into the slot, where can do his most damage. Credit to Gene Smith for admitting his mistake in the first place.

In some "news" that's not really all that surprising, Gene Frenette of the Florida Times Union tweets that he's heard the Jacksonville Jaguars are not interested in pursuing Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd.

Lot of Jags fans won't like this, but my feedback indicates team not interested in acquiring Broncos WR Lloyd

Tania Ganguli followed up his tweet, mentioning that she had heard the same and then added:

Lloyd hasn't been especially productive outside last season and has other issues that are keeping the Jaguars away.

I don't know what the "other issues" are specifically, but I know in the past Lloyd was kind of viewed as a turd, attitude wise. I haven't gotten anything back from my sources on Lloyd other than "I don't know," but as I mentioned when this thing was initially brought up, it's doubtful the Jaguars were going to pursue him. However, I'm sure the Jaguars don't want to see Lloyd wind up somewhere like Tennessee and be productive.

If you haven't voted on the "Should the Jaguars trade for Brandon Lloyd" poll, please do so. Personally if I were the Jacksonville Jaguars, I would offer up a 4th round pick for Brandon Lloyd. The only teams named interested in trading for the Denver Broncos wide receiver are the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans. For a team like the Titans, it's a stop-gap move to replace an injured Kenny Britt, who the Titans lost for the season. For the Jaguars, Lloyd would be a multi-year stop gap player.

Currently, Lloyd is making $1.395 million for 2011 and is a free agent in 2012. I would give up a 4th round pick for Lloyd, and then try to sign him to a 3-year contract similar to what the Jaguars gave to Mike Thomas, around $18 million with $7-9 million guaranteed. It's a gamble for a 30-year old wide receiver, but Lloyd finally hit his stride last season and is on pace for similar numbers this season. Lloyd would immediately be the best receiver on the Jaguars and free up coverage on Mike Thomas. Not only that, but it lets the Jaguars open 2012 with a potential lineup of Brandon Lloyd, Mike Thomas, a first round pick at wide receiver, Marcedes Lewis, and Maurice Jones-Drew to go with a 22-year old Blaine Gabbert entering his second season.

I don't think the Jaguars will be in play, but I can't think of a reason why they shouldn't be. We all know I'm not typically a "trade for this player!" person, but in this instance I think it would help the Jaguars not only this year, but the next 2-3 years. The Jaguars certainly have the cap room and if it's just a 4th round pick, the risk is minimal.