JPQ! wrote a great post about the Jaguars' event dubbed "An Evening With the Coaches." In the post, JPQ! mentioned that Gene Smith had a "4 year plan" for the Jaguars to become a competitor year in and year out. 4 years does seem like a long time, but building anything to last the test of time will take time itself. Simply put, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Looking back at the 2008 season is a painful thing for any Jaguars fans to do. In 2007, there was some needs for the Jaguars to address. Tom Brady made mincemeat of the Jaguars' defense in the playoffs, and that was something that needed to be addressed, but; I fully expected the Jaguars to be a dominant team again in 2008.
The season started about as rocky as any I can remember for the Jaguars. The Jags were able to pull out a close win against the Colts, however, and I thought that the Jaguars were turning the corner. Unfortunately, 3-3 was about as good as it got in 2008, and Jack Del Rio's job seemed very much in doubt.
Luckily, in my opinion, Wayne Weaver retained Del Rio, and he promoted Gene Smith to his current role. After gutting the roster, Gene and Co. began putting this team back together. If you would have told me after the 2007 playoffs that the Jaguars wouldn't make the playoffs for at least four more years, I would have said you were crazy.
In hindsight, 4 years seems reasonable and logical. The Jaguars still have serious holes in the defense, and that's what stopped the Jaguars from winning the AFC South last season. Fortunately, this defense has some young cornerstones that should lead the team to a high level of success in the future.
I think it's safe to say that the Jaguars have done a great job sticking to Gene Smith's 4 year plan. There is no doubt that some holes, especially in the secondary, need to be addressed going forward, but by and large, the core of the Jaguars team is in place, and the future looks very bright for the next decade.