SB Nation Tampa Bay - Jaguars Coaching Search: Jacksonville Hires Mike Mularkey, According To Reports

Jaguars Hire Mark Lamping As Team President To Oversee Non-Football Operations

2012-02-13T16:05:57Z

Running a football organization is about a lot more than just the product that goes out on the field. New owner Shahid Khan has hired Mark Lamping to oversee all non-football aspects of the organization, according to Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union.

Lamping will oversee all non-football operations starting February 27. He and Jaguars general manager Gene Smith will both report directly to Khan. This hiring did not change Jaguars CFO/Senior Vice President of Stadium Operations Bill Prescott's position, nor any others at this time. Lamping was the president of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals for 13 years. Since 2008, Lamping has been president and CEO of MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and Jets play.

Having a team president is not an essential part of the organization, in fact the Jaguars didn't even have one for the past ten years, but the Jaguars and Khan must have felt it was necessary for an organization that is such an important state of transition.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jacksonville Jaguars Coaching Staff: Hiring Concludes With Ron Prince As Asst. Offensive Line Coach

2012-02-09T17:49:46Z

The Jacksonville Jaguars and head coach Mike Mularkey are finished putting together a coaching staff for the 2012-13 season Thursday, as Ron Prince was hired to coach special teams. Price was the last of 21 assists coaches that were hired by Mularkey, who is hoping his second head coaching stint goes better than his first.

"Prince has 20 years of coaching experience, 18 in the college ranks, including three years as the Kansas State head coach from 2006-2008."

Here's a wrap up of the coaching staff:

Head Coach: Mike Mularkey

Offensive Coordinator: Bob Bratkowski

Assistant HC/Quarterbacks: Greg Olson

Running Backs: Sylvester Croom

Tight Ends: Bobby Johnson

Wide Receivers: Jerry Sullivan

Offensive Line: Andy Heck

Asst. Offensive Line: Ron Price

Defensive Coordinator: Mel Tucker

Defensive Line: Joe Cullen

Asst. Defensive Line: Paul Spicer

Linebackers: Mark Duffner

Secondary: Tony Oden

Asst. Secondary: Marlon McCree

Defensive Assistant: Brandon Blaney

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching search, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jaguars Coaching Staff Update: Ron Zook Interviews For Special Teams Coordinator Position

2012-01-19T14:28:36Z

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already filled a lot of the spots in their coaching staff, and are now working on some of the ancillary characters. According to Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union, they brought in former NFL assistant and college head coach Ron Zook to interview for the special teams coordinator position.

The Jaguars interviewed former Florida Gators head coach Ron Zook for their special teams coordinator position on Wednesday morning. Zook coached at Illinois from 2005 to 2011 after being the head coach at Florida from 2002 to 2004. He hasn’t coached in the NFL since 1999, when he was the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. Zook worked on the same Pittsburgh Steelers staff as Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey from 1996 to 1998. He was the special teams coordinator for the Steelers.

Zook would bring a lot of experience to the position.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching search, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jaguars To Retain Mel Tucker, Joe Cullen As Defensive Assistants

2012-01-13T14:29:50Z

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Mike Mularkey to help with the offense, but it seems like he is content to let things ride on the defensive side of the ball. According to Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union, Mularkey has already retained two defensive assistants, including coordinator Mel Tucker.

Jaguars defensive line coach Joe Cullen will return to Jacksonville's staff next season, according to a source. The Jaguars hired Cullen before the 2010 season and tasked him with fixing a unit that had 14 sacks in 2009. Cullen's return is the second defensive coach known to be returning to Jacksonville from last season's staff. New Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey also retained defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.

Mularkey does not have a lot of experience with the defensive side of things, so it makes sense that he would try to establish some continuity in this way.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching search, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jaguars Coaching Search: Bob Bratkowski Set To Join Mike Mularkey As Offensive Coordinator In Jacksonville

2012-01-13T03:59:48Z

Just two days after hiring Mike Mularkey to be the new head coach, the Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Bob Bratkowski to be the team's offensive coordinator. Bratkowski is 56 years old and served as the quarterbacks coach alongside Mularkey with the Atlanta Falcons last season. He had served as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2001 to 2010 before he was replaced in that role by Jay Gruden. Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the hire.

Via Adam Schefter of ESPN:

The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to hire former Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski as their offensive coordinator, according to a team source.

Bratkowski will once again work with new Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey, as they did in Atlanta.

Bratkowski is often cited for his success in developing former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. The Jaguars are making a concerted effort to hire a coaching staff which will aid the development of young quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Mularkey, and now Bratkowski, accomplish that end.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching search, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jaguars Coaching Hire: Reactions To Mike Mularkey Are Mixed

2012-01-12T16:37:46Z

The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Mike Mularkey to coach their football team, and there are some mixed reactions about the hire. On the positive side is Tom Donahoe, who hired Mularkey when he was the GM of the Bills, according to Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.

“He’s an outstanding candidate to be a head coach,” Donahoe said “He’s a tough guy who understands the game and what it takes in terms of practice, and offensively he’s very creative. He does a good job of utilizing personnel.”

But the Jacksonville media and some National outlets weren't so positive.

In The Sports Xchange, veteran NFL writer Len Pasquarelli wrote after the Falcons’ loss that, “chances are that, on the flight home from here, [team owner Arthur] Blank was penning letters of recommendation, perhaps hoping for some addition by subtraction.”

For Shahid Khan, the hire wasn't about sizzle so much as it was about building a consistent winner in Jacksonville, according to Tania Ganguli.

"To me, it was after the splash are they going to be successful?" Khan said. "When you start sobering up, how does it feel? That’s the key issue. After the binge, how do you feel? ...

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching search, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jaguars Mike Mularkey Is Tied To General Manager Gene Smith

2012-01-11T21:38:20Z

The Jacksonville Jaguars introduced new head coach Mike Mularkey on Wednesday at a press conference. "Gene (Smith) conducted the search for the Jaguars. I can share with you it was thorough, professional, confidential and no drama," Jaguars owner Shahid Khan told the media at the press conference. It didn't take very long for the Jaguars to find their new head coach and it's a coach the franchise is familiar with. Mularkey was in the running for the Jaguars head coaching position back in 2003, when the Jaguars hired recently fired head coach Jack Del Rio. Mularkey's son is also on the Jaguars scouting staff.

"The goal is to win the Super Bowl," Mularkey said when he was asked what his time line was in Jacksonville. "I think that's everybody, that's the ultimate goal. That's the objective here." Over the past eight years, the Jaguars have had issues not only winning, but being a consistent winner. "It's really important that you guys understand I'm here to put a winner on the field. A consistent winner," said the new Jaguars head coach.

Another reason the Jaguars targeted Mike Mularkey is because he has experience developing a "franchise" quarterback. Mularkey was with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan his rookie season and has helped mold him into one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. "You have to careful of how much you overload them," Mularkey said about developing young quarterbacks. "Play to their strengths overall. It's got to be very player friendly." Mularkey again reiterated that overloading a young quarterback just hinders them. "At that position it's critical that you don't overload them early on with terminology and too much information."

One of the big things Mularkey will need to do is develop Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who struggled in his rookie season as the Jaguars starting quarterback. "Blaine is a competitor. I like that to start. I see some field command from him. I told this to Shad (Khan) and Gene (Smith), first thing I felt the lockout really put him behind the eight-ball," Mularkey said when asked about his thoughts on Gabbert. "When you miss an off season and don't have a chance to be in that meeting room where it's not a rush, rush.. ...that put him behind."

Given the fact that Mularkey's new contract is only for three years, the same for general manager Gene Smith, it's clear their fates will go hand in hand with the development of Gabbert. "It's tied to the hip with Gene (Smith)," Khan told reporters after the press conference. The clear focus going forward for the Jaguars will be putting pieces in place on the leagues worst ranked offense to help Gabbert succeed.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars and their new head coach, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Jaguars Hire Mike Mularkey To Work With Blaine Gabbert

2012-01-11T13:34:29Z

Once the list of candidates that the Jaguars were going after started to get whittled down, it became clear that they were looking to bring in an offensive coach to help their woeful performance on that side of the ball this season. They ended up hiring Mike Mularkey, and according to National Football Post, it is partly because of his ability to mold Matt Ryan into a successful quarterback, and the hopes that he can do the same with Blaine Gabbert.

With the Jaguars finishing last in the league in passing offense, the team targeted offensive coordinators from other teams in its coaching search. Mularkey helped to quickly develop Matt Ryan in Atlanta and now will be charged with improving Blaine Gabbert, who was thrown to the wolves as a rookie and often looked to be overwhelmed, especially in terms of pocket presence and reads.

If Mularkey could have the same kind of impact with Gabbert that he had with Ryan, then his hiring would be a boon for the franchise. Considering he also has Maurice Jones-Drew to work with, there is no reason to believe that he can't establish a successful offense over time with the Jaguars.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching search, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.