Jaguars GM uses gift fan trolled him with as motivation
Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke during an April 30 press conference at TIAA Bank Field. Credit: Bob Self/Florida Times-Union
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke has not always been popular among the team’s fans, and he likes to keep one specific reminder of that in his office.
In the opening scene of the latest season of the Jaguars’ documentary series “The Hunt,” a small blow-up clown is shown sitting on Baalke’s desk. The GM explained the significance.
“Some fan sent that to me,” Baalke said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “It was a little clown figurine, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to put it there to remind myself every day why I come to work,’ what my purpose is, I guess. It’s to prove them wrong.”
It seems like just yesterday that Jaguars fans wore clown costumes to a home game to express their displeasure with Baalke. That was after the Urban Meyer disaster and reports that Baalke’s presence was hurting Jacksonville’s chances of find a suitable replacement.
Baalke then hired Doug Pederson. The Jaguars were a completely different team last season and won the AFC South with a 9-8 record. The clown costumes disappeared, but Baalke’s clown figurine did not.
