Gene Frenette: Jags coaching staff can't let Trevor Lawrence down like they did with previous QBs

Now that Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson has made it official by completing his coaching staff, few things become more critical for quarterback Trevor Lawrence than having stability among those coaches with the biggest influence on his production.

Unfortunately, that continuity has been missing for the last four full-time starting quarterbacks because the Jaguars, like most NFL teams stuck in a losing culture, often made changes in search of the right formula.

During his two seasons, Gardner Minshew (2019-20) had two offensive coordinators and two quarterback coaches. Blake Bortles (2014-18) went through two head coaches, three coordinators and three QB coaches, while backup and part-time starter Chad Henne (2012-17) had three head coaches, four coordinators and three QB coaches tutoring him.

Nobody had a more worst-case scenario than 2011 first-round draft pick Blaine Gabbert (2011-13), who had three different head coaches, coordinators and QB coaches during his brief stay with the Jaguars.

This isn’t to suggest Gabbert, Bortles, Henne and Minshew would have had a much better record as quarterbacks without all the staff turnover, but it sure couldn’t have helped their development.

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Now Pederson will have three coaches working with Lawrence on a daily basis — offensive coordinator Press Taylor, passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy — that have 40 years of combined NFL experience.

Pederson believes his long-standing relationship with Taylor, dating back to the various roles and promotions he gave him during their years together with the Philadelphia Eagles, will be beneficial for Lawrence's development.

"(Taylor) was always one of those guys I kept my eye on," said Pederson. ", I'm so excited for him because of the working relationship that we've had and how we think alike and how we bounce ideas off each other, and just looking forward to watching him flourish from here. I've got great teachers in the room that can help Trevor be successful."

Since Pederson is the play-caller and will also be a major influence on Lawrence, how well this offensive tag team meshes together is paramount to No. 16 having success. Due to how ill-prepared fired head coach Urban Meyer was for the NFL life, it impeded Lawrence’s progress in a significant way because offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (also 40 years of combined NFL experience) couldn’t overcome the suspect talent around their rookie QB.

The Jaguars upgrading the roster is more critical than anything, but as the team’s history indicates, the benefit of having a stable coaching staff for the quarterback cannot be dismissed.

Jaguars quarterbacks in the past decade know all too well about constantly having to change offensive systems. For the proper development of Trevor Lawrence, it’d be nice to have some continuity.

Tony Boselli's wife steps up

A tip of the hat to Angi Boselli, wife of Tony, the Jaguars’ impending Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. As reported by Peter King, she arranged for her father-in-law, Tony Boselli, Sr., — 12 days before he passed away from melanoma on May 31 – to congratulate his son on video for making the Hall of Fame. That video was the last of many tribute videos for Boselli revealed at a USC celebration party for the Jaguars’ legend following last week’s “NFL Honors” program.

“I had my head buried in my hands,” Boselli told King about his emotions at seeing the video. Bottom line: that was a thoughtful, Hall of Fame gesture by Angi.

The five modern-era candidates elected in the Class of 2022 had waited a combined 67 years of eligibility, including 18 as finalists, before getting into Canton. Longtime NFL writer Rick Gosselin, the gatekeeper of all HOF statistics, described this year’s voting this way: “All those guys had been waiting a long time, so this was a cleanup class.”

For those thinking Boselli and former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler from Lee High were forced to wait too long (each had been eligible for 16 years), consider this: Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Lynn Swann was rejected 13 straight years as a finalist before his election and pass-rusher Carl Eller of the Minnesota Vikings didn’t get in until his 19th year of eligibility.

Former WJXT-Channel 4 sports anchor Sam Kouvaris, who presented Boselli for the Hall of Fame before the voters for six straight years, on finally seeing him elected: “As the vote was happening, I could feel my body reacting to some emotional stress. You’re just waiting to hear the names. I was happy and pleased for Tony more than anything else. Part of me thought it’s either this year or he’s never getting in. I felt there was a finality to this year, even though he had four years of eligibility left.”

More NFL questions

One of the reasons NFL free agent defensive lineman Calais Campbell wants to play at least one more season is he likes the idea of reaching 100 career sacks, but he still needs 6.5 more to get there. Campbell hasn’t hit 6.5 sacks since his final season (2019) with the Jaguars. Of the 28 players with at least 100 sacks who are eligible for the Hall of Fame, 13 are in Canton.

Speaking of which, no sooner had Matthew Stafford led the game-winning drive in Super Bowl LVI for the Los Angeles Rams than media types at ESPN and NFL Network triggered discussion on whether the 13-year quarterback belongs in the HOF. Please, stop with this nonsense.

Even if Stafford won another Super Bowl, he wouldn’t be a slam dunk for Canton because he’s got a losing record (86-95-1) as a starter. Remember, Jim Plunkett (72-72) guided the Oakland Raiders to two Super Bowl titles and in 20 years of modern-era eligibility, he was never even an HOF finalist. Stop lowering the bar for a place that is reserved for truly elite players.

Unless quarterback Carson Wentz can convince Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich that he can turn around a career plummeting faster than the Winter Olympics television ratings, you have to wonder if he’s even going to be on the Colts’ roster next season.

Credit to UNF basketball coach Driscoll

You’d never know it by his team’s rare last-place standing in the ASUN East Division, but University of North Florida basketball coach Matthew Driscoll has actually done one of his better coaching jobs this season. UNF has played nearly half of its conference schedule without top player Carter Hendricksen (elbow) and is still missing starting point guard Jose Placer with a hand injury, not knowing if either will return this season.

Yet the Ospreys (9-18, 5-8) have managed to win five of their last seven games, and UNF would likely host an ASUN tournament game if it wins the remaining three games and possibly if winning just two. Losing that much firepower at the mid-major level would be a killer for most programs, but UNF has held things together quite well.

Florida faltering

Florida’s gut-wrenching 56-55 road loss to Texas A&M means the Gators (16-10, 6-7) will probably have to win two of three remaining games against ranked teams — No. 2 Auburn, No. 4 Kentucky and No. 23 Arkansas — to beef up their resume and get back into the NCAA Tournament picture. Without a consistent scorer outside of Colin Castleton, that’s going to be a tough task.

Vocal critics of coach Mike White would like to see a change, but with his contract extended through the 2026-27 season — and Florida already paying football coach Dan Mullen $12 million in buyout money — the Gators appear financially obligated to stick with White for now.

Final thoughts

Phil Mickelson has hit his share of wayward shots over his golf career, but he's never been more out of bounds than ripping the PGA Tour for being "greedy," while implying that he might play for big money on the new Saudi golf tour. Not sure what the usually PR-savvy Mickelson is thinking, but that's the very definition of hypocrisy. He might want to take a mulligan on this topic. . . .

Daytona 500 forecast: 1. Denny Hamlin, a win would allow him to join Richard Petty (1971-74) as the only driver to win three 500s in a four-year stretch; 2. Kyle Busch; 3. Ryan Blaney. . . .

Taking a one-week vacation after a whirlwind football season and Jaguars coaching search. My column will resume the first week of March.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trevor Lawrence needs Jaguars coaching stability predecessors lacked