Changes are inevitable for the Jacksonville Jaguars after an awful Week 11 loss added another chapter to a lost season. One potential change could be stymied, however, for an unusual reason.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported on NBC’s “Football Night in America” Sunday that Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke could keep his job for 2025 despite the team’s 23-38 record under his stewardship since the start of the 2021 season. The key reason for that, according to Florio, is that Baalke could be part of a “package deal” to lure Bill Belichick to the Jaguars as head coach.
“There’s a belief in some circles (Baalke) could potentially survive into next year as part of a package deal that would reunite him with someone he worked with back in 1998 and 1999 with the New York Jets. That coach is available. He’s won a few Super Bowls. His name is Bill Belichick,” Florio said.
Mike Florio reports on Football Night in America that Jaguars GM Trent Baalke could keep his job into next season… and be joined "as part of a package deal" in Jacksonville by Bill Belichick as the new head coach. #NFL pic.twitter.com/qTeYx5pa0O
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 18, 2024
As Florio noted, Baalke was a scout with the Jets while Belichick was the team’s defensive coordinator. It’s not clear that the two are close, but they do have that experience together. That might be why Baalke is seen as a factor, as there has been a great deal of speculation about Belichick wanting a degree of control over the roster if and when he takes a new coaching job. Perhaps Baalke is seen as an executive he would be comfortable working with.
The bigger question might be whether Belichick wants to go to the Jaguars in the first place. While the job is almost certain to become open in the near future, the former New England Patriots coach will presumably have options. We know of one team he definitely won’t be taking calls from, but there will be speculation about whether teams like the Cowboys or Raiders might decide to make changes and pursue Belichick. The Raiders, in particular, have a much stronger Belichick connection than Baalke would provide.
The Jaguars are certainly going to need some work no matter who their coach is in 2025. The ultimate question is whether keeping Baalke is a worthwhile trade-off if it means getting Belichick in the door, as the GM’s recent record does not inspire much confidence.
