Three hottest seats on the Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have spent the beginning stages of the 2024 offseason trying to piece together a roster that won’t suffer the same late-season collapse the 2023 team did (they started 8-3 and finished 9-8).

Here are three people in the Jaguars organization who are feeling the most heat:

Quarterback C.J. Beathard

Beathard has been Jacksonville’s backup for the last three seasons, but now he’s got some competition in Mac Jones, who was acquired from the New England Patriots less than two weeks ago for a sixth-round pick.

Jones has more starting experience (42 games to 13), has thrown for more yards (8,918 to 3,886) and more touchdowns (46 to 19), and is a former first-round pick. If Trevor Lawrence were to go down at any point, the Jags would likely feel better about Jones leading the team to some wins than Beathard. It’s possible Beathard could be looking for a new employer come training camp.

Center Luke Fortner

On paper, Fortner had a solid 2023 season. He played 1,163 offensive snaps as Jacksonville’s starting center, allowing 28 pressures, 21 hurries and four sacks. But his performance seemingly didn’t impress the Jags coaching staff enough to dissuade them from bringing in another center in free agency.

A Pro Bowler in 2022, Mitch Morse is a well-seasoned veteran with 126 starts over his nine-year career. The 31-year-old had better numbers than Fortner in 2023, allowing 31 pressures and 28 hurries but just one sack while playing 1,272 offensive snaps. The 25-year-old Fortner will likely be relegated to a backup role going forward, and he could want out if he’s not given a chance to compete for a starting spot.

Head coach Doug Pederson

The 2024 season might be the one where Doug Pederson finally stops skating by on the lone Super Bowl he won seven years ago with the Philadelphia Eagles. If you take away that one 13-3 season, Pederson is actually a below-.500 coach (47-50-1 record) with no double-digit win seasons.

With a roster that includes Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne, receivers Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis, tight end Evan Engram, defensive tackle Arik Armstead, edge-rusher Josh Allen and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, there’s no reason Pederson can’t not only get the Jags to the playoffs but challenge for a spot in the AFC Championship Game. Anything short of that may cause Jaguars ownership to start thinking long and hard about finding another coach with the team’s Super Bowl window still open.