REPORT: JAGUARS PUTTING SEARCH FOR EVP 'ON HOLD'

The Jaguars are hitting the pause button on their search for an Executive Vice President.

BY JORDAN DE LUGO

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After weeks of speculation about the Jaguars potentially adding an Executive Vice President to head the front office, Shad Khan confirmed that team had submitted a request to the NFL to hire an EVP. That was nearly a month ago at new head coach Doug Pederson's introductory press conference.

Now, according to Ian Rapoport, the Jaguars are putting the EVP search on hold. 

"Jaguars owner Shad Khan is putting his search for an Executive VP on hold," Rapoport tweeted. "After taking part in coaching and planning meetings under Doug Pederson for the last 3 weeks. Pederson has been impressive & Khan doesn’t want to impede significant progress with a new voice."

The timing of this report makes sense. With the NFL Scouting Combine taking place this week in Indy, and free agency just two weeks away, hiring someone to lead the front office into the future at this moment would throw a wrench into the plans that Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke have made over the past month. 

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Rapoport added, "The Jaguars are still moving forward on their search for an assistant GM under Trent Baalke and may hire other personnel jobs. But for now, the EVP search that has been ongoing is placed on the backburner."

Again, this seems to make sense given the timeline. Adding more brain power to the operation is a good idea, but taking power away from the top personnel decision maker with free agency and the draft looming would be curious.

Will the Jaguars look for an EVP after the 2022 free agency and draft cycle are complete? Or will Shad Khan continue to lean on Trent Baalke as the top decision maker in the front office?

Baalke has a spotty track record in free agency, including an underwhelming 2021 class, but he appears to have made some big hits in his first draft as the Jaguars' GM. 

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