Big Cat Country Q&A: What was Tom Coughlin’s biggest mistake?

Let’s answer some questions ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars facing the Indianapolis Colts in the Week 17 season finale!

Griffin from Toronto, Canada

Q: Looking towards next season, which game(s) do you think will have the highest attendance? Thanks.

A: We’ve got a list of all the 2020 opponents right here, but if I had to guess highest attendance I’d say the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the London game. The Steelers travel well and have a ton of fans in and around Jacksonville. And London always sells out.

Will from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Could there be a scenario where the Jaguars trade for Josh Rosen?

A: No.

Dallas from Pensacola, FL

Q: It’s such a weird thing to think about, but are we going to have to look at Leonard Fournette as a receiving back going forward? It’s not like he had a season like Marshall Faulk or Alvin Kamara, but it seems like he’s traded in his power and volume for durability and more versatility on third down.

A: I don’t think so. The reason Fournette had so many targets this year isn’t because he’s a great talent in the passing game. It’s because our receivers and quarterbacks stunk out loud. You have a sixth round rookie throwing to DJ Chark and a bunch of backups. We’re on our seventh-string tight end. The offensive line was average at best and a liability at worst. If we had anyone at receiver to pair with Chark or we had a quarterback who was worth a damn, I don’t think we would have seen the kind of passing volume thrown Fournette’s way.

Devin from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Is Dave Caldwell getting fired on Monday?

A: No.

JagsFan80 from Las Vegas, NV

Q: I thought Shad Khan buying this team was the resurrection we needed. We have swimming pools in the stadium, record breaking Jumbotrons, and indoor practice fields. Yet the wins still don’t match the money spent on “other things”. Is Shad Khan’s promise to keep stability in Jacksonville going to get in the way of his promise to bring championships to Jacksonville? And are his statements on stability going to get in the way of what he needs to do?

A: Khan is hesitant to make the football decisions he needs to. I think he doesn’t want to meddle (and I think he knows his own limitations when it comes to understanding the game) but it should be blatantly obvious by now that the product on the field has been bad for most of his tenure. He should be able to watch other NFL teams and see that we don’t have a roster that will be competitive. And he knows who has been in charge of putting that roster together. He demoted Dave Caldwell once because he wasn’t doing a good job and now that same guy is about to not only be retained but given more responsibility going forward? I don’t get it.

Big from Philadelphia, PA

Q: What was your choice for Tom Coughlin’s biggest mistake for the roster?

A: Passing over Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes in favor of sticking with Blake Bortles in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Chevin from Jacksonville, FL

Q: One of our two first round picks this year should be spent on a defensive tackle, right?

A: Right.

Chris from Jacksonville, FL

Q: I think Dave Caldwell isn’t as bad a general manager as everyone else may think, but if he is retained who do you think would be the best coach available for him to pick?

A: Dave Caldwell isn’t that bad? The Jaguars have just five players on the roster from his first four drafts combined and I’d argue only two of them are good.

As far as the head coach for next season, if Caldwell is staying I think that means Doug Marrone is safe.

Hunter from Asheville, NC

Q: Is Calais Campbell going to finish his career with the Jaguars?

A: I hope so.

Carlos from Silver Spring, MD

Q: I’m not sure I’m sold on Gardner Minshew being our future at quarterback. How confident do you feel in him giving us a chance at competing at a high level week in and week out?

A: Not very confident right now. However, I think he’s done more than enough to warrant being The Guy going into 2020. He has five wins this year and he didn’t even start four games. He’s led three game-winning drives. Use next season to build around him and give him an offseason where you establish him as your QB1. If he ain’t it, then package your two first round picks in 2021 for your guy.

Keith from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Why are the national pundits pegging the Jaguars to take a wide receiver in most of the mocks?

A: Because outside of DJ Chark, our receivers aren’t very good.