Dave Caldwell out as general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville has lost 10 straight games this season, and have gone 39-87 since Caldwell took over in 2013.
Caldwell’s biggest downfall was his inability to draft a franchise quarterback, which included sticking with ineffective Blake Bortles for too long. Bortles was the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, going 24-49 in 73 regular-season starts and a 2-1 mark in the playoffs.
During the regular season, Bortles threw 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions and posted a quarterback rating of 80.6 before he was released by the Jaguars in March 2019. Bortles is now on the Denver Broncos practiced squad.
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Caldwell failed at his job from talent evaluations to sending away too many veterans in trades in exchange for draft picks instead of equal talent in return. Caldwell traded veteran defensive captain Calais Campbell, cornerback A.J. Bouye, quarterback Nick Foles, safety Ronnie Harrison and disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, all for draft picks this offseason.
”We can’t afford a rebuilding year,” Caldwell said in early September. ”Our mindset is to put the best team out there to play, to compete, and to win. We feel like these guys, the guys in this locker room, nobody has seen them play together. Nobody has seen them play a game so, like I said, we’re going to know where we measure up.”
The Jaguars have lost 10 or more in seven of the eight seasons under Caldwell. His lone successful season was in 2017 when the Jaguars fared 10-6 and advanced to the AFC title game. Currently, the Jaguars have lost 16 of their 19 games, which includes 11 by 10 or more points.
Keep a very close eye on the Detroit Lions. Matt Patricia is either hanging on by a thread, or is awaiting a real hanging, by rope, very soon. I don’t know what it is, but Detroit never seems to hire the right coach for the team. Some years they appear to have the talent, but the coach doesn’t get the team to go anywhere.
However, the Detroit Tigers, in the off season, with Ron Gardenhire having retired mid season, due to health concerns, have hired AJ Hinch, of the Houston Astros, after he sat out a forced year for his part in the sign stealing scheme. He is a proven manager, who is coming in with a very young team, that had been learning from one of the best at building young players, in Ron Gardenhire.
We always used to feel bad for the Cubs. Now,it is for anyone who lives in Michigan. But as we say, there is always next year.