The Jacksonville Jaguars will have a finalized coaching staff — soon. The Jaguars moved on from 10 coaches following the conclusion of the 2023 season. A month-and-a-half later, and the Jaguars appear to be close to releasing the names of the new-look staff. Most of those names will come on defense, with a host of new coaches set to join the franchise and new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.
“We have the pieces in place. It will be announced here soon. I will say this, I’m excited about the guys, I’ve worked with some of them, haven’t worked with others. Coached a few, so it’s a great group of guys that I’ve been very close to,” Nielsen said on Thursday. “I know that first and foremost, good men. Secondly, really good teachers of the game. When you put those two things together, they’re eager and excited. We see a lot of similarities.” Previous defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell was fired the day after the Jaguars’ 2023 season ended, joining other defensive staff members such as Defensive Line Coach Brentson Buckner, Defensive Quality Control Coach Sean Cullina, Inside Linebackers Coach Tony Gilbert, Safeties Coach Cody Grimm, Defensive Quality Control Coach Tee Mitchell, Senior Defensive Assistant Bob Sutton, and Passing Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach Deshea Townsend. Now, the new staff will be a mix of coaches with and without ties to Nielsen.
“First of all, it’s fundamentals and technique, then scheme. Putting it together and we wanted men that are very talented in both aspects and bringing that together. Also, part of that is the relationship part,” Nielsen said. “Players got to trust in what we’re saying and teaching and coaching. A lot of these guys have background of that, so when our players come in, they’ll be like, ‘This guy has done it and this is the system in how we go about teaching things.’ I think they’re really going to like that with all of the coaches in the room. I personally am very excited about the group of men we’re working with and getting our players and starting this thing. The best time is on the grass with the players and so you can only be so excited. I’d go out there right now if I could. But really excited about that process and can’t wait for that to get going.”
