DOES THE HIRING OF NICK SORENSEN MAKE SENSE FOR THE JAGS?

The Jaguars replaced Brian Schneider with his former special teams assistant.

BY JORDAN DE LUGO

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After special teams coach Brian Schneider left the team due to personal reasons, the Jaguars were once again on the hunt for a leader and teacher for the game's third phase.

The Big Cats reportedly interviewed former Lions' special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs for the job before ultimately settling on Nick Sorensen.

Sorensen, a former safety and special teams ace for the Jaguars from 2003-2006, spent the last eight seasons on the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff. Prior to that, he spent one season at Youngstown State as a defensive quality control coach. During his time in Seattle, Sorensen assisted Brian Schneider on special teams from 2013-2016 and then coached their secondary from 2017-2020. 

So, does this hire make sense?

Sorensen has no experience as a special teams coordinator in the pro or college game. Obviously, hiring someone with no experience in their new role represents some level of risk. But he did spend four years learning under Brian Schneider and nearly a decade in Seattle. His knowledge of Schneider's special teams philosophy, combined with his own playing experience, makes Sorensen an intriguing hire, to say the least.

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Jaguars' head coach Urban Meyer was heavily involved in special teams during his time as a collegiate head coach. Will the hiring of an inexperienced coordinator lead Meyer once again to focus much of his effort on special teams, or was that going to be the plan regardless of who the ST coordinator was? Could that lead to Meyer spreading himself too thin, an issue that led to added stress in his previous stops?

The Jaguars didn't expect to be searching for a coordinator at this point in the offseason. Still, Sorensen comes from a system the Jaguars have leaned on heavily under this new regime and should be able to help keep the continuity going after Brian Schneider's departure. 

Will this hire be a successful one? I'm not sure. With inexperience comes many unknowns. But with the Jaguars' emphasis on adding talented special teams players this offseason, like the league's premier return man Jamal Agnew, and several coverage aces, to go along with returning kicker Josh Lambo and punter Logan Cooke, the Jags appear to be in a good place on special teams, at least from a talent perspective.  

Two of three Jaguars' three coordinators, Joe Cullen on defense and Nick Sorensen on special teams, have never filled that role professionally. 

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