Who Will be the Next Head Coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars?
On Sunday afternoon, the Jacksonville Jaguars fired embattled head coach Gus Bradley after his team blew a 20-8 second half lead to Tom Savage and the Houston Texans. Assistant head coach Doug Marrone, who previously went 15-17 in two seasons as the Buffalo Bills coach, will serve as the interim coach over the final two games of the season.
It’s tough to argue against the firing considering the Jaguars have gone 2-12 on the season and 14-48 overall in Bradley’s three-plus seasons. In fact, his 22.6% win rate is the worst in the Super Bowl era among coaches with a minimum of 50 games. For some context, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could go winless for 41 consecutive seasons and still have a better winning percentage than Bradley!
There are certainly many bettors bemoaning this firing since the Jaguars were prime fade material during Bradley’s tenure. The team went just 23-36 ATS (39%) including a 2-14 ATS record against non-conference opponents. Any $100/game bettors would have earned $1,254 by betting against the Jaguars in every game coached by Bradley.
On Thursday morning, BetOnline opened odds on who will replace Gus Bradley as the next full-time head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, was listed as the early favorite at +500. Haley previously coached the Kansas City Chiefs, posting a 19-26 record in two-plus seasons.
The table below examines the current odds at BetOnline. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
| Coach | Bovada (1/4) | BetOnline (12/28) | BetOnline (12/22) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Shanahan | +150 | +1200 | +1000 |
| Josh McDaniels | +300 | +650 | +600 |
| Matt Patricia | +300 | +700 | +650 |
| Kevin Sumlin | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Greg Roman | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Tom Coughlin | +750 | +800 | +800 |
| Teryl Austin | N/A | +1000 | +800 |
| Doug Marrone | N/A | +500 | +1000 |
| Mike Smith | N/A | +800 | +600 |
| Todd Wash | N/A | +1200 | +1200 |
| Anthony Lynn | N/A | +1200 | +1400 |
| Nathaniel Hackett | N/A | +1200 | +1000 |
| Todd Haley | N/A | +500 | +500 |
| Scott Linehan | N/A | +1000 | +1200 |
Many sources have speculated that Tom Coughlin, who got his first NFL head coaching job with the Jaguars before leading the New York Giants to two Super Bowl wins, has been a person of interest for the team’s head coaching vacancy. In eight seasons with the Jaguars, Coughlin went 68-60 with four playoff appearances, yet he’s viewed as a long shot candidate at +800.
I’m always skeptical when the field isn’t listed as an option for this type of prop, but there is one candidate with longer odds that could be offering value. Doug Marrone has an opportunity to impress the Jaguars over the final two games and, as we’ve seen with other vacancies including Ed Orgeron as LSU, it’s not that difficult to have that interim tag removed — especially if you gain the respect of the players. Marrone coached the Bills to a 9-7 record in 2014, which is their only winning season since 2004. For that reason, I think he’s an interesting option at 10/1.
While we wait for this story to develop, make sure to track the latest odds and public betting trends on our free NFL odds page. Interested in following our winning picks? Sign up for a 4-day trial of our Pro subscription for just $49!
Who do you think Jacksonville will hire? Are there any dark horse candidates that oddsmakers are overlooking? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
No Comments