The Jaguars are in the midst of rolling out a massively exciting uniform "change." While the Jaguars can't make wholesale changes to the uniform this year, they are allowed to change which color they wear with the primary home uniforms. Starting on Monday, the team began spelling out Teal Is Primary via the first letter of each of their tweets. E_Dilla first noticed the pattern, and then the excitement started. Jaguars fans across the globe have been clamoring for the team to make teal their primary home jersey color for years. The team initially made the switch away from the teal home tops when Shad Khan took over the club ownership back in 2012. Now, after nearly a decade of teal being an alternate jersey color, it will once again be the Jaguars' identity at home. The Jaguars probably should never have strayed away from teal, but Khan and company appear ready to appease their loyal fan base. The Jaguars also officially announced the additions of Ryan Stamper and Tom Gamble to the team's personnel staff. Stamper has a long history with Jaguars' head coach Urban Meyer, while Gamble has been a chief lieutenant for general manager Trent Baalke. "Tom and Ryan are key additions to the personnel department," said Baalke. "Tom brings 30 years of NFL experience in player personnel, and, given our extensive history together, his counsel, expertise, and wealth of relationships in the business will help us in every aspect of player acquisition and retention." Stamper hails from Jacksonville, having attended First Coast High School. He played linebacker for Meyer at Florida, won two national titles, and was a team captain twice. Stamper spent the last eight years working in player development at Ohio State. He'll now serve as the director of player assessment for the Jaguars.
"As a native of Jacksonville, Ryan knows this area, and his track record of working with young men and preparing them for life on and off the field is impressive and well documented. He will play an important role in helping us bridge the gap between player acquisition, player development, and player retention. The energy and expertise that both Tom and Ryan bring to the organization will serve us well as we strive to build a winner, both on and off the field, in Jacksonville." Trent Baalke noted during his introductory press conference that Gamble had been working with the team well before it was officially announced on Monday. Gamble has worked in the NFL for three decades and is a trusted voice for Baalke. He started back in the NFL back in 1988 as a scout for the Eagles and notably worked for the Colts during Peyton Mannings' early days before assisting Baalke with the 49ers. The Jaguars have also hired Alan "Trip" MacCracken as the Director of Roster Management, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media. MacCracken might be the coolest name in sports. But he also comes with a long and intriguing resume. MacCracken, 46, most recently served as the Director of Player Personnel for the New York Guardians of the now-defunct XFL. Just a year prior, he served as the Personnel Director for the Arizona Hot Shots of the AAF. But before joining those startup leagues, MacCracken was the Browns' salary cap manager from 1999-2009 and then the Director of Football Administration for the Chiefs from 2010-2017. Having graduated from Duke with his Juris Doctor, he'll likely serve the same role that John Idzik did under Jacksonville's previous regime. Ensuring the Jaguars are managing player contracts and the salary cap properly will be his primary function. The only worrisome history here is that MacCracken allowed the Chiefs salary cap to get out of hand on a nearly yearly basis while he was in Kansas City. Was this his doing? Or was he acquiescing to the demands of then general manager John Dorsey? Either way, the Chiefs have had a solid ten year run, and were regularly competitive, with strong rosters, while MacCracken was there. Follow Jordan on Twitter for all the latest Jaguars news and analysis. |
