Jaguars search extends for month without a new head coach hired yet. What's the holdup?

The Jacksonville Jaguars were the first franchise to take advantage of the NFL's new rule that allowed teams with a head coach vacancy to begin interviewing candidates during the final two weeks of the regular season.

It has been 30 days since the Jaguars interviewed their first candidate, former Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson, and they still have not finalized a deal to name a new head coach to replace Urban Meyer, who was fired on Dec. 16.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is the frontrunner and the fans' top choice to land the job, but the way the Jaguars search has transpired, nothing is assured.

Speculation persists that the most significant problem the Jaguars have experienced in their search is some of the candidates interviewed don't want to be part of a team that includes Trent Baalke remaining as general manager.

Leftwich remains in negotiations with the Jaguars, but reports surfaced Thursday that he is not in favor of having a pre-arranged situation in which Baalke would remain as general manager.

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Leftwich wants the Jaguars to hire Adrian Wilson, the vice president of pro scouting with the Arizona Cardinals.

Mike Jurecki, who covers the Arizona Cardinals for the franchise's website, reported Thursday the Jaguars were close to hiring Wilson.

But as of Friday, Baalke remains the Jaguars general manager and is a member of their head coach search team that includes owner Shad Khan and his son, Tony Khan.

Jags would have to interview a second minority candidate for GM job

If the Jaguars hire Wilson, an African-American, the Cardinals will receive compensatory third-round picks in the 2022 and 2023 drafts. Because of the updated Rooney rule, the Jaguars would still have to interview a second African-American candidate for the general manager's job.

There is also speculation if Wilson is hired as general manager, Baalke could remain with the Jaguars but would serve in another capacity.

At the start of the Jaguars coaching search, a person familiar with the situation said Khan was retaining Baalke because he has not had an opportunity to solely oversee the franchise's football operations.

With the possibility that owner Shad Khan planned to retain general manager Trent Baalke, the Jaguars fan base took their unhappiness to Twitter by changing their profile pictures to a clown emoji with Khan's trademark handlebar mustache. Several Jaguars fans showed up for the season finale game Jan. 9 against the Indianapolis Colts dressed in clown outfits.

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The Jaguars hired Baalke in February 2020 to serve as director of player personnel under former general manager Dave Caldwell. When Caldwell was fired after a 10-game losing streak during the 2020 season, Baalke was promoted to interim general manager, and he was promoted to the job full time after Meyer was hired as head coach last January. But Khan agreed for the Jaguars to be a coach-centric franchise, with Meyer having the final say in the majority of personnel matters.

Baalke's reputation around league remains poor

That arrangement worked for Meyer, but Baalke's reputation around the league, particularly among the majority of the league's coaches, remains poor since getting in a power struggle with former San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. The rift forced Harbaugh's departure after the 2014 season.

When Baalke was in charge, the 49ers organization was known for having constant leaks to the media that undercut both Harbaugh and their starting quarterback at the time, Colin Kaepernick.

Meanwhile, at the moment, the Jaguars coaching search appears to be at a standstill. Leftwich remains the lone available finalist, having been interviewed twice. Of the Jaguars' two other finalists, the Denver Broncos hired Nathaniel Hackett to become their next head coach and Matt Eberflus accepted the Chicago Bears' offer to become their new head coach.

The Jaguars are also not the only team making a push for Leftwich. The New Orleans Saints have requested permission to interview Leftwich for their head coaching job that became vacant Tuesday when Sean Payton announced he was stepping down after 16 years. If the Jaguars cannot reach an agreement with Leftwich or he takes a job with another franchise, they would essentially have to re-start their search and consider previous candidates they interviewed or bring forth new candidates.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars search goes on without new head coach; what's the holdup?