Jacksonville Jaguars fans have given a vote of no confidence in general manager Trent Baalke. They are starting to fly airplanes over the stadium in Duval County calling for his termination.
Jaguars Fans Give Up On Baalke, Want Him Dismissed Immediately.
Baalke did a great job in rebuilding the San Francisco 49ers during their period with Jim Harbaugh where they went to the Super Bowl with Colin Kaepernick. Jacksonville fans were hoping the Baalke magic would work in Duval County. It has not, and they are calling for him to be fired.
An airplane banner calling for Jaguars owner Shan Khan to part with Baalke was seen flying near EverBank Stadium.
An airplane banner calling for Jaguars owner Shad Khan to fire GM Trent Baalke was seen flying near EverBank Stadium 😬
(via Prognotperf / reddit) pic.twitter.com/Hh9sTJ5HVL
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 29, 2024
The Jaguars are buried in the cellar of their division. Jacksonville is 3-12 and going nowhere quickly. It has wasted its top draft choices and cannot seem to get things going. Head coach Doug Pederson seems to be on a track toward losing his job on Black Monday after losing seven of his last eight heading into Week 17.
Baalke was a rare re-tread hire by the Jaguars in 2021, as NFL executives rarely get a second chance at being a general manager.
Following a six-year stint as the 49ers’ general manager, Baalke joined the Jaguars’ front office in 2020 and eventually got promoted to replace former GM Dave Caldwell.
Since taking over as Jacksonville’s GM, Baalke has been criticized for over-investing in non-premium positions such as linebacker and tight end. Yet, his biggest mistake might have come in the 2022 NFL Draft.
With the No. 1 overall pick, Baalke made a surprising choice in EDGE Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson. Several years later, it appears to be the wrong decision; not necessarily because of Walker’s shortcomings but because of the opportunity cost of passing on Hutchinson, who was considered at the time to be the simple answer.
Giving Trevor Lawrence a five-year, $275 million deal (with $200 million guaranteed) that made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks is also looking like a mistake based on early returns in the 2024 season (65.2 grade, D, according to PFN’s QB+ metric, good for 31st through 16 weeks of action).
Entering this season, Khan described this as “the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever” after making some key offseason additions (Brian Thomas Jr., Gabe Davis, Arik Armstead, etc.). Given the team’s struggles, Baalke is now on “a scorching hot seat,” reports NFL insider Jordan Schultz.