Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone to fans: ‘They can be proud to wear that shirt on Monday’

The Jacksonville Jaguars opened up TIAA Bank Field yesterday for their home opener and dominated the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots — and head coach Doug Marrone gave one of his longest, most substantive quotes in the day after press conference praising the fans who showed up for the hottest game in franchise history.

“I still talk about the fans. I have never seen a team win a lot of games at home that doesn’t have the support. I think the fans were outstanding. It’s an important part. I know we’re a young football team. I know our fans fire us up. I hate to say that because you would think we are professionals and maybe I could do a better job of getting the team ready to go, but the fans are great. They are here. We’re trying to go out there every day and play the type of game and win games or have the opportunity to win games that the fans of Jacksonville can be proud of. They can be proud to wear that shirt on Monday. Sometimes when you don’t play well it’s tough. It’s tough to wear that shirt. We’re trying to do that. It’s about more than just the team. I like to be able to sit here and say we don’t talk about anyone else, but we talk about our support. We talk about the advantage that we have. We have a good understanding that we have to play well to gain that support. I think that’s the way it is. I think that’s the truth. The fans have been great. They have done their part. We’re excited about it this week, playing our division home opener. You can label it however you want. We’re hoping that they come out again and cheer this team on. When we win, they are a part of it.”

Make no mistake, y’all — the players and coaches are professionals but they’re human just like anyone else. When you have nearly 70,000 rocking The Bank for three hours it gives this team an advantage.

Go Jaguars.