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News came down on Tuesday afternoon from Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan that head coach Gus Bradley would be returning for the 2016 season, despite his abysmal win-loss record (12-35) as a head coach through three seasons in charge. That doesn’t mean there won’t or shouldn’t be changes to the coaching staff. In fact, if Gus Bradley wants to remain the head coach beyond the 2016 season, the offseason is going to require a lot of changes on the defensive side of the ball, beginning with defensive coordinator Bob Babich.
At bare minimum, Babich must be relieved of play calling duties.
The Jaguars defense in 2015 has been a trainwreck, to be kind. They’ve allowed the most points per game in franchise history and they can’t seemingly stop any quarterback that’s put in front of them, save for a beat up 40-year old Matt Hasslebeck. Yes, the team is missing both Sen’Derrick Marks and first round pick Dante Fowler, which aren’t helping things, but the defensive scheme has rarely been adjusted to help out the rest of the defense.
Bradley begrudgingly made massive changes on the offensive side of the ball last season, bringing in Greg Olson, Doug Marrone, Nate Hackett and Kelly Skipper. Essentially, outside of wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan, the staff was blown out. It worked and the Jaguars have one of the most explosive passing attacks in the NFL.
The same will need to be done on the defensive side of the ball. Quite a few young players have either stagnated in their development or actually regressed from their rookie seasons, and quite a few veterans have seemingly plateaued when they should still be improving. In order for Gus Bradley to be successful next season, along with a good draft and a lot of money spent in free agency on the defense, he’s going to need to fire some of his yes-men on the defensive side of the ball and bring in replacements.
Will Bradley actually do it?
That remains to be seen. He’s certainly not under any impression to make that decision immediately though, as he’s just been assured his job is safe for next year.