Gene Smith fired by Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired general manager Gene Smith. Smith was originally hired by the Jaguars in the 2009 offseason, taking over for James "Shack" Harris and was tasked with rebuilding the Jaguars roster. After employing a "base hit" philosophy and missing on quite a few of his first-round picks, he has been relieved of his duties.

Under Gene Smith, the Jaguars failed to have a season with a winning record, topping out with a 8-8 record in the 2010 season. The Jaguars finished with at least 8 losses, including two seasons with double-digit losses during Smith's tenure. The coup de gras for Smith was likely his selection of quarterback Blaine Gabbert, whom he traded up for in the 2011 draft. Gabbert started just over 20 games for the Jaguars with minimal improvement, eventually being replaced by free agent signing Chad Henne.

Under Smith, the Jaguars accumulated a 22-42 record.

The Jaguars will now begin their search to hire just the second ever general manager in the team's history. The question now going forward is who will Shad Khan hire as his first general manager and will that general manager retain the current coaching staff, which was hired by Gene Smith.

It would behoove Khan to allow whomever he hires as general manager to choose his own staff or keep Mularkey and crew if he so desires.