While Jaguars owner Shad Khan has championed the patient rebuilding of Jacksonville over the past four years, he has sharpened his tone of late. Soon, he expects to see a winner in Florida.
"Before I continue, I do want to emphasize that this is the state of the franchise address, so we will touch on a lot of matters away from the field but I do want to be clear: I remain extremely unsatisfied with our performance last year and our disappointment predates the 2016 season," Khan said in Jacksonville on Wednesday in an address made to media, local politicians and others heavily involved and invested in the franchise. "That's why you see Tom Coughlin here and why Doug Marrone is our head coach. I hope you share in my optimism, but no one is fonder of saying that actions speak louder than words."
Khan was initially projecting last season as the year everything came together, and few could blame him. The Jaguars have come a long way in terms of roster foundation over the past three seasons. They can now point to several young stars on their roster and, unlike seasons past, are in the mix for top-tier free agents. There is a sheen of professionalism that exists around the franchise that may not have four years ago.
Bringing in Coughlin is the next step in that process.
Khan has lofty ambitions for the Jaguars, as should every owner, but it's been refreshing not to see him subject the organization to the kind of radical changes that end up permanently sinking a team. The addition of Coughlin has been praised in part because it should not disrupt the work already in place. The same can be said for the hiring of Marrone, who is already familiar with the roster.
Whether or not this phase of their plan works remains to be seen. What we do know is that Khan isn't just sitting by.
