“I mean, there’s absolutely no fricking reason we shouldn’t be competitive every game we go out. We expect to win.”
Those are the words Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan spoke into existence in the summer. And Khan, for all of his patience, is an owner who expects his teams to meet his standards.
Through three games, the Jaguars have done anything but meet Khan’s expectations. The tension inside of EverBank Stadium has grown with each loss in the Jaguars’ current 0-3 skid, but it goes far beyond that.
Khan said after the 2022 season that the Jaguars had finally cracked the code for success; they had synergy at head coach, general manager and, most importantly, quarterback. But that code has changed, and the Jaguars are looking for answers and hope.
The head coach Khan hoped would bring a Super Bowl to Jacksonville appears at a loss for why his offense is taking a step backward for the second year in a row. The Jaguars’ 40 points through Week 3 are among the lowest in a decade-plus for the franchise.
The general manager who inherited loads of cap space and draft picks hasn’t been able to find the find pieces in several critical areas of the roster, ranging from the pass-rush depth to the offensive line room.
And the quarterback who Khan made the highest-paid player in franchise history seems to be regressing in his third season under Doug Pederson.
The player who was supposed to save the Jaguars and lead their offense to new heights looks like a shell of the MVP candidate people expected to see him develop into.
So … now what? Where do the Jaguars and Khan go from here? Because at the end of the day, it is Khan who holds the fate of the Jaguars in his hands. It isn’t Trent Baalke. It isn’t Pederson. And while he is a close second, it isn’t Lawrence.
Khan is the one who will eventually decide when enough is enough. Khan is the one who will decide if this regime can be salvaged, or if it will be yet another example of wasted potential.
Khan made his expectations clear several times this summer, both to the media and to the team themselves. But after an 0-2 start, the attitude around the stadium was described to Jaguars On SI as “tense and uneasy”.
After one of the worst losses of Khan’s entire ownership in a 47-10 embarrassment against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, you can expect the mood to only get worse. The Jaguars knew what was at stake in Week 3, and they turned in their worst performance yet.
Khan has been patient in the past. But for a man with high expectations, the only thing he can feel now is disappointment. And sooner than later, he will ultimately have to decide exactly what that disappointment will turn into.
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