A look back at the highs and lows of the Trent Baalke era in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s the end of an era in Jacksonville.

RELATED: Tell Us: How do you feel about the Jaguars future now that Trent Baalke is out of the picture?

On Wednesday, the Jaguars announced that they are moving on from general manager Trent Baalke after a rollercoaster tenure with the team that witnessed the disastrous Urban Meyer era, a shocking playoff berth and win, a season that began promising before falling off the rails, and the most recent debacle in the form of a 4-13 season that will see the team pick within the top five of the NFL Draft for the third time in five seasons.

Below is a timeline of Trent Baalke’s run with the Jaguars, chronicling the highs and lows of a regime that included a litany of solid draft selections and back-to-back winning seasons, which was unfortunately overshadowed by some expensive misses in free agency, an inability to select the right coach, and a misuse of high-value draft picks who never panned out.

Before Jacksonville

Before arriving in Duval County, Baalke spent six seasons as the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, and similarly to his time in Jacksonville, his time in the Bay Area showed moments of promise but ultimately ended in disappointing fashion.

After being promoted to the general manager position in January 2011 (10 years before accepting the position with Jacksonville), Baalke’s first major decision was helping hire Jim Harbaugh as the 49ers head coach, a decision that would pay immediate dividends.

The Harbaugh and Baalke era produced three consecutive NFC Championship Game appearances, with one trip culminating in a trip to the Super Bowl in 2013 against the Baltimore Ravens.

However, as noted by Bleacher Report at the time, “The 2014 NFC Championship Game would be the unofficial end of the good times in San Francisco.”

That NFC Championship Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks would be followed by an 8-8 season and constant reports of internal struggles between Harbaugh and Baalke. Following the 2014 season, Harbaugh was relieved of his coaching duties, but not before telling local media that “I didn’t leave the 49ers, I felt like the 49er hierarchy left me.”

Following Harbaugh’s departure, the 49ers under Baalke hired Jim Tomsula, who was fired after a 5-11 season. Then, the team hired former University of Oregon and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, who was fired after a 2-14 season.

“Though it would be hard for any NFL franchise to survive the exodus of talent San Francisco has endured in recent years, Baalke struggled with what was supposed to be his best asset: player evaluation and development,” a Bleacher Report article states.

Baalke would spend the next couple of years out of the NFL before accepting a position as director of player personnel with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars tenure begins

After serving as the director of player personnel in 2020, Baalke was promoted to interim and then full-time general manager following the dismissal of the Jags former general manager David Caldwell.

His first coaching hire as Jags GM was Urban Meyer, the former college football head coach who brought the University of Florida and Ohio State University each to national championships.

To put it lightly, that hire didn’t work out. Meyer was fired before the end of his first season with the team, which left former offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in charge of running the show for the team’s final four games. Jacksonville finished the season with a 3-14 record and the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

2021 Offseason

In the 2021 Draft, alongside Meyer, Baalke selected franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and while Lawrence has shown flashes of greatness, many believe the jury’s still out on whether he’s capable of leading the Jaguars to the promised land.

The Lawrence pick was followed by the questionable decision to take a running back in the first round (Travis Etienne), and the following selections (in order):

• Round 2: DB Tyson Campbell (recently signed a 4yr/$76.5 million contract extension)

• Round 2: OL Walker Little (recently signed 3yr/$45 million contract extension)

• Round 3: DB Andre Cisco (currently a free agent)

• Round 4: DT Jay Tufele (waived in 2022)

• Round 4: LB Jordan Smith (waived in 2023)

• Round 5: TE Luke Farrell (13 receptions, 155 yards in 2024)

• Round 6: WR Jalen Camp (waived in 2021)

Free agency acquisitions in the 2021 offseason included WR Marvin Jones, TE Tim Tebow, CB Shaq Griffin and DB Rayshawn Jenkins.

2022 Offseason and regular season

Then, in 2022, Baalke hired former Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson, and it seemed like the organization had finally found its guy.

Following Pederson’s hiring, the Jags selected defensive end Travon Walker with the first overall pick, and while some will argue that Aidan Hutchinson was the right pick, Walker has had a pretty successful tenure with the Jaguars so far, increasing his sack total each season (3.5 in 2022, 10 in 2023, 10.5 in 2024).

These were the draft selections made by the Jags in 2022 that followed Walker:

• Round 1, Pick 27: LB Devin Lloyd (109 total tackles, 2 sacks, 1 int, 1 forced fumble in 2024)

• Round 3: OL Luke Fortner (played one game in 2024)

• Round 3: LB Chad Muma (32 tackles in 2024)

• Round 5: RB Snoop Conner (waived in 2023)

• Round 6: DB Gregory Junior (waived in 2024)

• Round 7: DB Montaric Brown (played in all 17 games in 2024, 72 tackles, 1 interception)

The team’s free agency haul was also a little better, including the addition of WRs Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, TE Evan Engram, OL Brandon Scherff, LB Foyesade Oluokun and DB Darious Williams.

Just one season after Meyer’s mess, Pederson managed to lead the Jags to an AFC South title and a playoff appearance. The team pulled off an incredible comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers on the road before losing 27-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs, the team that would eventually hoist the Lombardi trophy.

Things seemed to be headed in the right direction. The team finished with a 9-8 record, wasn’t picking in the top 10, and had just managed to win a playoff game.

2023 Offseason and regular season

During the 2023 NFL Draft, the Jaguars used the 27th overall pick on OL Anton Harrison, who played all 17 games in his rookie year. The other draft selections included the following:

• Round 2: TE Brenton Strange (40 catches, 411 yards, 2 touchdowns in 2024)

• Round 3: RB Tank Bigsby (766 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns in 2024)

• Round 4: LB Ventrell Miller (75 tackles in 2024)

• Round 4: DE Tyler Lacy (24 tackles in 2024)

• Round 5: LB Yasir Abdullah (16 tackles in 2024)

• Round 5: DB Antonio Johnson (65 tackles in 2024)

• Round 6: WR Parker Washington (32 catches, 390 yards, three touchdowns in 2024)

• Round 6: DB Christian Braswell (5 tackles in 2024)

• Round 6: DB Erick Hallett (waived in 2024)

• Round 7: OL Cooper Hodges (appeared in one game in 2024)

• ROund 7: DT Raymond Vohasek (waived in 2023)

• Round 7: DL Derek Parish (waived in 2023)

Despite the draft and an uneventful free agency (signed RB D’Ernest Johnson, OT Josh Wells and K Brandon McManus), the Jags came out the gates of the 2023 season on fire, marching to an 8-3 record before a Week 13 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.

And just like the 49ers 2014 NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks, the good times would abruptly come to an end.

A 34-31 overtime loss to the Bengals would be followed by a 1-4 finish to the season, which included a season-finale loss to the Tennessee Titans that eliminated the Jags from the playoffs.

The positive takeaways from the season include the team finishing with a winning record in back-to-back seasons and once again drafting outside the top 10; and, despite an epic collapse at the end of the season, fans had reason to believe that the organization was only a few moves away from returning to the postseason.

Little did they know just how bad things were truly going to get.

2024 offseason and regular season

The 2024 NFL Draft saw the Jaguars enter with the 17th overall pick, but Baalke decided to move down six spots to No. 23, where Baalke made potentially the best decision during his time with the Jaguars: Drafting LSU standout WR Brian Thomas Jr.

BTJ proved to be everything the Jaguars wanted and more, breaking multiple franchise rookie records and finishing the year with an absurd stat line (87 catches, 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns) despite inconsistent quarterback play all season long.

The 2024 NFL Draft selections made by the Jaguars following BTJ included:

• Round 2: DT Maason Smith (16 tackles, three sacks in 2024)

• Round 3: DB Jarrian Jones (37 tackles, two sacks, one interception in 2024)

• Round 4: OL Javon Foster (appeared in four games in 2024)

• Round 4: DT Jordan Jefferson (11 tackles, one sack in 2024)

• Round 5: DB Deantre Prince (6 tackles in 2024)

• Round 5: RB Keilan Robinson (appeared in two games in 2024)

• Round 6: K Cam Little (made 93% of field goal attempts in 2024, 8/9 between 40-49 yards, 5/6 between 50-59 yards)

• Round 7: OLB Myles Cole (8 tackles in 2024)

Following the draft, the Jags were as aggressive as they’ve ever been during Baalke’s time with the team. The team spent nearly $150 million on the 2024 free agent class, which included signing DB Darnell Savage, C Mitch Morse, WR Gabe Davis, DB Ronald Darby, DL Arik Armstead, and more.

The free agent signings, coupled with the draft, led owner Shad Khan to make the now-notorious remark that he believed the roster was “the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever.”

At this point in time, it’s safe to say he was wrong.

The 2024 season began just as rough as the previous one had ended. Jacksonville lost its first four games (0-4), won two of its next three (2-5), went on a five-game losing streak (2-10), and finished the season with only two more wins over their last five games, each coming against the Titans, which finished the year as the worst team in the NFL.

Additionally, the team lost Lawrence to a concussion after he took a brutal hit while sliding against the Houston Texans along with season-ending shoulder surgery, lost three pass catchers to season-ending injuries (Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, Evan Engram), and every free agent they acquired in the offseason did not live up to the hype.

Jacksonville finished the season with a 4-13 record and again entered the NFL Draft with a top-five pick.

Pederson firing

Rewind the clock to November 2024. The Jaguars, without Lawrence, had just taken a 12-7 loss at home to the Minnesota Vikings after intercepting opposing quarterback Sam Darnold three times.

Following the loss, News4JAX posted an article explaining just how hot Doug Pederson’s seat had gotten. The team was 2-8 and preparing to face a red-hot Detroit Lions team that was believed by many to be the best in the NFL.

The last line of the article reads, “Regardless of who is to blame in Jacksonville, most fans would likely agree on one thing: a change at the top is necessary, whether it‘s the head coach, the general manager, or both.”

Fast-forward to Jan. 6, the moment that the dominoes begin to fall.

Pederson was officially fired by the Jaguars on what is colloquially known as “Black Monday,” after going a miserable 5-18 over his last 23 games as the team’s head coach.

But, it was the absence of another name that had fans questioning just how serious the team was about turning things around: Trent Baalke.

“Pederson was only a part of the problem,” one fan relayed to News4JAX. “Baalke and his poor personnel decisions, hiring, firing, and paying seem to be the primary problem this team has had since he arrived.”

Longtime Jags fan Patrick Jones said he’d rather see Baalke go instead of Pederson, citing the lack of “growth” and “wins” under Baalke, but adding that with Pederson, “you started to see a little bit of growth.”

Nonetheless, in a joint press conference held by Khan and Baalke, Khan said, “We’re all in this together…That includes me, Trent, everyone on the football side…[but] coaching is where we need the most change.”

During the news conference, Baalke was asked if he was surprised that he remained in his position with the Jags, despite multiple requests from fans for him to be fired.

“I don’t know if surprised is the right word,” Baalke explained. “Ultimately that’s not my decision, and I certainly respect the decision that was made, and I don’t take the job lightly, the bottom line is we weren’t productive on the field we didn’t win enough games.”

Regarding the search for a head coach, Baalke said, “We’re going to move quickly to get some people lined up to talk to…the process will take as long as it takes to identify the right individual.”

Baalke officially let go

On Wednesday, Jan. 22, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that the Jacksonville Jaguars “respectfully separated” themselves from Baalke, bringing a tumultuous four-year stretch to an end.

In a released statement on the matter, Shad Khan said:

Following several discussions with Trent Baalke this week, we both arrived at the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interests to respectfully separate, effective immediately. Trent leaves us with my deepest appreciation for his efforts over the past five seasons. Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager and play an important role, with others, as we continue the process of interviewing candidates to serve as our new head coach. I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville and look forward to introducing a new head coach who will make that happen for our players and fans alike.

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan

After being promoted to the general manager position in 2021, Baalke’s time with the Jaguars can only be summarized as underwhelming. The team went 25-68 under his watch, never found the right answer at head coach, consistently made lackluster investments at crucial positions, and left the organization as directionless as ever following the team’s AFC Championship appearance under Doug Marrone in 2017.

Ethan Waugh will serve as the interim general manager, the team announced.

Now, with an ongoing search for a head coach, the team can add the search for a new general manager to their to-do list.