JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Let's start this argument with a simple fact - there is no such thing as a bad job in the NFL.
Currently, there are five jobs open in the league - Jacksonville, St. Louis, Miami, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. This week a report out of Tampa called the Jags job the worst of the five and said its "for a beggar, not a chooser."
We homers here in Jacksonville couldn't disagree more. Seriously, this is a team that many close to the organization think is on the verge of a playoff run. I subscribe to that school of thought by the way (hence the aforementioned homer lable).
The core of this team is in pretty good shape. The offensive line is in tact if a healthy Eben Britton returns. Eugene Monroe had a better year than most think and rookie Will Rackley got valuable experience starting 14 games.
The Jaguars have the best running back in the league and they have a quarterback that will show a ton of growth in year two. Obviously, we can debate how much growth Blaine Gabbert will make, but the arrow is up.
The article referred to an offense with holes everywhere. That's not true. There's one giant hole actually two of them -- both at the wide receiver position.
If a perspective coach does his homework then he'll see that this offense could make a huge turnaround in 2012. This gig is actually set up to make an offensive minded coach look awesome because you can't do much worse than the Jags offense did in 2011.
The Jaguars seem to be looking at offensive minded coaches. Well, if I'm a guy that knows that side of the ball then I'd love to walk into a situation where my defense was sixth in the NFL in 2011.
The defense is young, has to be healthier than last year and is a free agent or draft pick away from getting even better.
The Jags have three of the best special teams players in the league: Josh Scobee, Kassim Osgood and Montell Owens. That's a unit that won't need an overhaul.
The intangibles of the Jacksonville Jaguars job is maybe the best selling point. Shad Khan is the new owner and he is getting rave reviews. I've said it before that if you spend a few minutes with the billionaire businessman that you would want to work for him.
I'm not sure he's going to throw a check at everything but he is going to run the Jaguars efficiently and put them in a position to be successful. That means the next coach will have the resources to produce a winner.
Remember, the Jaguars are 30 million dollars under the cap and if Gene Smith can mirror what he did last July in free agency than the Jaguars are a playoff team.
I think Jacksonville is a dream for a coaching candidate because of the small market perception. Sure, we are a talented and sometimes cranky media group here in Jacksonville, but this isn't New York. Believe it or not, coaches don't always crave the big spotlight (but they do like the money).
Because of the smaller market and a hungry fan base, the next head coach of the Jaguars can own this town. This is a fan base ready to fall in love with a new coach that can win some big games.
I'm not close enough to the other jobs open in the NFL, but I can guarantee you that Jacksonville isn't the worst situation of the five available.
