Doug Pederson: Jaguars are back to being the hunter in the AFC South
After beating the Texans in Week 12 last season, the Jaguars were 8-3 and on track for a second straight AFC South title but the season took a left turn once the calendar flipped to December.
The Jaguars lost five of their final six games, including a Week 18 flop against the Titans that allowed the Texans to advance to the playoffs as the division champs. It was a big step in the wrong direction for head coach Doug Pederson in his second season with the club and it is one that Pederson said the team is eager to rebound from in 2024.
Pederson said from the league meetings on Monday that the late-season collapse is "fuel moving forward" and that the team's moves in free agency were targeted toward making sure that the team re-establishes itself in the division.
"I guess now we're going back to the hunter again, right?" Pederson said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. "But this is the culture that I want to establish in Jacksonville and this is the reason why you go get guys like Mitch Morse and Arik Armstead and the Darnell Savages and guys that have been to the postseason. These guys have been captains on their teams and they've been to Super Bowls, they've been to AFC Championship Games, so these guys know how to win and that's kind of the influx of talent that we want to bring onto [our roster]. Guys who have been there, done that."
Pederson showed he could orchestrate a major turnaround after taking over the team in the wake of the Urban Meyer debacle and he'll need to do so again to keep his own seat from getting hot after three years at the helm in Jacksonville.
