While it was likely understood, Jaguars executive vice president Tom Coughlin needed to fully relinquish his desire to be a head coach in Jacksonville and focus on his over-arching management responsibilities.
But will the inclination still be there?
"I'm going to have to stifle myself on occasion, no doubt, so I don't say something stupid," Coughlin said, via ESPN.com.
Coughlin told NFL Network's Judy Battista at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix last month something similar, and added that head coach Doug Marrone told him he would appreciate any input.
When asked how he would handle himself when players report, Coughlin said, "I don't know. Check back later. I don't know."
As I noted on the Around The NFL Podcast from Indianapolis, I was struck at the scouting combine by how simpatico the new Jaguars power structure -- Coughlin, general manager Dave Caldwell and Marrone -- seemed to be. While some of this is an effort to put on a unified front and it's quite early for anything to go catastrophically wrong, behind the scenes there seems to be a legitimate mutual appreciation between the three. I think having Coughlin stay invested and in his lane will be essential toward keeping those good vibes alive despite interviewing for head coaching jobs only a year ago. Coughlin "stepped down" from his post as head coach of the Giants back in early 2016.
"This is sort of something that I thought would be a good concept for me," Coughlin said about his role. "And the way I explained it to the owner, Mr. (Shad) Khan, I said, 'Hey, I can help the owner. I can help personnel. I can help the coaches. I can help in a lot of ways, a lot of different ways, because of the things that I've done and seen over the course of my career.'"
Each of the last two seasons, the Jaguars have been the trendy pick to finally turn themselves around, but it's safe to say expectations have never been higher in the Khan era. The owner said it himself at a state-of-the-franchise meeting a few weeks ago and raised the stakes by bringing in a hyper-involved and regimented person like Coughlin to oversee operations.
Should it finally happen, Coughlin's presence could change the way front offices approach imported wisdom and experience.