After three consecutive seasons of lackluster defensive performances, the Jacksonville Jaguars have moved on from defensive coordinator Bob Babich. Head coach Gus Bradley has said that he will be more involved in the defense this offseason in terms of determining the best fits for players in the scheme, but it’s possible that increased involvement will continue into next season.
Gus Bradley could take over defense next season after Jaguars dump DC Bob Babich
After a disappointing defensive performance in 2015, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley will be more involved in the defense moving forward.
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Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Bradley has not yet decided if he will assume defensive play-calling responsibilities next season, but that is one possibility for the Jags. Bradley spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks prior to accepting the head coaching job in Jacksonville. The scheme the Jaguars are trying to run is similar to the one Bradley ran under Pete Carroll in Seattle.
The year before Bradley took the head coaching job in Jacksonville, the Seahawks ranked in the top 10 in every major defensive category, including first in the league in scoring defense.
The Jags may also decide to promote a new defensive coordinator from within the organization. Bradley said Monday that the team would not pursue "wholesale changes" defensively, which suggests they would prefer to stick with the same scheme. Defensive line coach Todd Wash is a possibility should the Jags fill the defensive coordinator vacancy from within. Wash has a long history with Bradley, having coached alongside him in Seattle. Bradley and Wash also coached together at North Dakota State and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s also possible that the Jaguars will opt for hiring a defensive coordinator from outside of the organization, though Bradley’s insistence that wholesale changes aren’t coming suggests that the team may prefer for Bradley to take over or to promote from within the organization. Bradley also said Monday that the team has approached player acquisition with the current scheme in mind.
“Everything we’ve done in the draft and free agency has been guided toward the skill set we need,” Bradley said.
Bradley said that they are in the process of determining who will be responsible for Jacksonville’s defense in 2016.
“The obligation is to do what’s best for the organization,” Bradley said. “I really want to gather all of the information, see what’s best and go from there.”
Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell doesn’t seem to think it will be that difficult to improve the defense’s performance next season.
“It’s easier in this league to fix a defense than it is an offense,” Caldwell said.
Regardless of whether the team decides to let Bradley assume control, promote from within or pursue a defensive coordinator from outside the organization, whoever takes over the Jaguars defense will face a difficult challenge. Jacksonville ranked near the bottom of the league in every statistical category in 2015. The Jags ranked 31st in points and gave up an average of 375 yards per game, placing them 25th in the league. Meanwhile, their percentage of third-down conversions allowed -- 46.3 percent -- was the second-worst.
The Jaguars competed in a weak AFC South, but still finished the season at 5-11. They lost 30-6 in their season finale to the division champ Houston Texans.
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