Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor doesn’t care who calls plays this fall. What he does care about is winning, and if it takes him relinquishing play-calling duties to achieve that, he’d happily step aside.
Taylor spoke with the media on Tuesday, ahead of the fourth organized team activities session at the Miller Electric Center.
It was his first availability of the offseason. His first time publicly speaking since the disappointing 9-8 finish in 2023 where Jacksonville’s offense underperformed.
It was the first full season with Taylor calling plays and he’s since drawn ire from fans for the overall performance last year.
The topic of play-calling has been discussed several times with head coach Doug Pederson, but Pederson hasn’t given a clear indication of whether he’ll resume play-calling duties this fall.
When last asked about the subject his response was simply, “[We] don’t play a game until September, so got some time.”
Even quarterback Trevor Lawrence has weighed in on the matter. Lawrence said last month that he’s “expecting” the play-caller to be Taylor, noting that he hasn’t been briefed on any discussions that’d indicate a change is coming.
For Taylor, the bottom line is improving on the nine wins and becoming a legitimate contender to win a Super Bowl.
“Our goal is to win and not to go 9-8, not to be close, not to be a fringe contender,” he said. “That’s not the goal. The goal is to win.”
New-look offense? Taylor and company sure hope so
The Jaguars have spent the offseason self-evaluating their needs. They addressed several of those issues during free agency, bringing in veterans Mitch Morse and Gabe Davis to raise their floor on offense.
Behind the scenes, Taylor and company have critiqued themselves. From terminology to scheme, no stone has been left unturned.
“I don’t think we tore everything down but probably took it to the studs,” Taylor said. “[We] looked at it from the very beginning of ‘what have we been good at?’ and then trying to be really critical, why have we struggled with this?”
Explosivity is something that the team lacked last year. It’s a point of emphasis for the coaching staff this offseason and something they’re hoping second-year back Tank Bigsby may be able to help with.
“I think even in year one in the system we were explosive, so we were kind of able to counteract that a little bit,” Taylor said. “Year two, for whatever reason, that kind of fell off for us. So that’s something in the run game definitely that we’re looking at to improve upon but also in the pass game.”
Passing wise, the receiving core looks completely different from a year ago. Davis brings multiple assets to the team with his ability to be a downfield threat but also his blocking skills.
And the team drafted rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round of the draft. Thomas led the nation in touchdown catches last season and is explosivity exemplified.
He runs routes with speed and power while possessing the ability to go up and snag passes over defenders with his height. He brings a skillset that Lawrence hasn’t had in the NFL and Taylor has been impressed with the rookie in his first month in the league.
“Football comes naturally to him,” he said. “Learning, picturing concepts, understanding routes, how we’re attacking certain coverages. You see his growth every day, which is fun to see.”
Go Long: Jaguars have receivers to test defenses downfield
Thomas and Davis give the constant threat of the deep pass whenever they’re on the field. But don’t forget about the returning pass catchers Christian Kirk and Evan Engram.
Engram topped 100 catches and earned a Pro Bowl nod last season, emerging as the most reliable pass catcher the team had. And Kirk has fully recovered from the core injury that shortened his season last year.
The early indication is that he’ll return to the form where he recorded career highs in every major receiving statistic in 2022.
When you add in the growth of Lawrence, the Jaguars’ offense is trending in a positive direction this offseason.
“We have been particularly explosive when you look at our numbers in terms of concepts we’ve called and opportunities to push the ball. We’ve done a good job with that,” Taylor said. “Evan and Christian from the inside, working inside out and being able to get matched up on safeties at times depending on the principles of the coverage.”
“We feel like we have people that we’re able to push the ball down the field. Just got to get the opportunity and call those types of plays throughout the course of games.”
