Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan confirms head coach Doug Marrone will be retained
Sunday 30 December 2018 21:48, UK
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan has confirmed the NFL franchise will retain the figures at the top of their football operation despite finishing the season with a 5-11 record.
Khan released a statement on Sunday after the Jaguars' season-ending 20-3 loss to the Houston Texans, revealing executive vice president Tom Coughlin, general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone will all stay on.
The Jaguars made a strong start to the season as they won three of their opening four games before falling away from playoff contention, but Khan, who also owns Premier League club Fulham, has decided not to make any changes.
"I informed Tom Coughlin this week that I want him to see through our shared goal of bringing a Super Bowl title to Jacksonville," Khan said via the Jaguars' Twitter account.
"Given our overall body of work over the past two seasons, I offered to Tom that I preferred entering the 2019 season with as much stability as reasonable or possible at the top of our football operation.
"I am pleased that Tom sees our situation and opportunity similarly, so we will return to work this week fully confident and optimistic with Dave Caldwell as our general manager and Doug Marrone as our head coach."
Marrone, who was initially hired on an interim basis in December 2016, was given the permanent job a month later at the same time Coughlin was appointed to his role.
A playoff run in 2017, built around the team's young defensive core, appeared to suggest the franchise was on the up as they reached the AFC Championship Game.
"I have the same trust in Tom, Dave and Doug as I did upon their introduction two years ago, and I do believe our best path forward for the moment is the one less disruptive and dramatic," Khan said.
"Stability should not be confused with satisfaction however. I am far from content with the status quo and while it's best to put 2018 behind us, I will not overlook how poorly we accounted for ourselves following a 3-1 start."
"There were far too many long Sundays over the last three quarters of the season, with today's loss in Houston being the final example, and that cannot repeat itself in 2019."
