A week ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were in a serious state of flux. They had no head coach, no offensive coordinator, their star defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker, was looking elsewhere for work, and their entire coaching staff was without contracts. Oh what a difference a week makes in the NFL.
Earlier in the week, the Jaguars announced Mike Mularkey as their 3rd head coach (not counting Tucker this season). Mularkey, as with virtually every candidate they interviewed, is considered a “quarterback guru.” His best work may have been back in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s when he made Tommy Maddox look like an all-star, and he found similar results in Atlanta with Matt Ryan.
A week ago, the Jaguars had no assistant coaches. Everyone on the Jaguars’ coaching staff had their contracts expire at the end of the 2011 season. The man in the center of the public eye was Mel Tucker. He interviewed for the Jaguars’ head coaching job, but he wasn’t expected to be hired in that capacity, and the Minnesota Vikings interviewed him to be their defensive coordinator. Despite all those opportunities, the Jaguars were able to retain Tucker.
Since the beginning of the week, the Jaguars have also added an offensive coordinator. One of the questions posed to Mike Mularkey in his introductory press conference was whether he would be calling offensive plays himself. He was rather matter of fact in saying that he would not be doing so and indicated he would bring in an offensive coordinator to call plays.
Enter Bob Bratkowski, the now former quarterbacks coach in Atlanta. Such a move should come as no surprise to anyone that follows the NFL closely. The Falcons likely expected some of their coaches to follow Mularkey to Jacksonville, and that seems to be the case. Before making the move to Atlanta, Bratkowski was the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2001 through 2010, otherwise known as the best years of the Bengals’ offense in recent memory. His philosophy will likely mirror Mularkey’s run first approach, but while in Cincinnati he did have an increased tendency of throwing on first down.
The week was rounded out by more good news for the Jaguars in the coaching department. Late last night, Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union reported via Twitter that the Jaguars would be retaining Joe Cullen as their defensive line coach. The Jaguars’ D-line (called “rushmen” in Jacksonville) has shown continuous improvement under Cullen, especially in terms of pressuring the quarterback. He is seen as a key component in continuing that improvement with the Jaguars’ young linemen.
The NFL can change in the blink of an eye. There’s some islands of stability, but the turnover rate in the NFL is absolutely unbelievable for coaches. A week ago the Jaguars were sure of having the service of exactly zero coaches. A week later, they have a head coach, two coordinators, and a prized assistant. That’s how fast the NFL moves. Quick, frenzied, and always a blast.
