Doug Pederson job status: Will Bill Belichick be the Jaguars next head coach?

Bill Belichick will coach again in the NFL, he's just waiting for an opportunity. Passing Don Shula for No. 1 in all-time coaching wins — Belichick remains 14 wins shy — means more to him than he’ll ever admit.

Could the Jacksonville Jaguars, a franchise headed for a major overhaul, actually be the right fit for the 72-year-old future Hall of Famer in 2025?

Based on what Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is hearing, Belichick to Jacksonville is very much a possibility following the Jaguars’ embarrassing, 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

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Florio dropped this juicy piece of commentary during the Football Night in America pregame show:

“Before the season started, team owner Shad Khan said, ‘This is the best team the Jaguars have ever assembled, let’s prove it by winning now.’ So here we are, 2-9, worst loss (on Sunday) in franchise history, bye week coming up … Doug Pederson was asked after the game about the possibility of being fired. He said, ‘If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen,’ and it could happen soon. What about the guy that put together the ‘best team ever assembled,’ general manager Trent Baalke? I’ve talked to several people throughout the league, and there’s a belief in some circles — he could potentially survive into next year as part of a package deal that would reunite him with someone he worked with back in 1998-1999 with the New York Jets. That coach is available. He’s won a few Super Bowls. His name is Bill Belichick.”

That should certainly stoke the fire heading into Monday morning, when Khan will likely make a final decision on whether or not to fire Pederson midseason.

Florio isn’t the first to speculate on Belichick eventually landing with the Jaguars. SI.com's Albert Breer pegged Jacksonville as a “sneaky” destination for Belichick in a September appearance on the Dan Patrick Show:

“That's just a sneaky one with Belichick for me. Tony Khan [the son of Jags' owner Shahid Khan] has a really strong relationship with Belichick,” Breer said. “To the point that, when they hired Doug Marrone full-time and removed the interim tag in 2017, that was largely on the advice of Belichick to do it. So Bill's had the ear of ownership in that place for a while now. And I just wonder if that's not rattling around in the heads of ownership there, especially when you're renovating your stadium. You've got sponsorships to sell, you've got suites to sell, all of that stuff. Do you need some more credibility? There's some things that line up there where I wouldn't totally rule that out as a viable possibility for Belichick in 2025.”

Is Belichick the right fit for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Belichick will turn 73 in April of 2025. Teams with more championship-ready rosters — like the Atlanta Falcons, who brought Belichick in for a second interview this past coaching cycle — make the most sense at this stage of his career.

Belichick clearly has the right relationships with the right people within the organization, but the Jaguars' situation feels more like a project. The team’s young defense would certainly be in good hands with Belichick, but what about Trevor Lawrence?

The Patriots ruined Mac Jones after a Pro Bowl rookie season under Belichick’s watch. His agenda at this point is simple: He wants to break Shula’s all-time wins record while chasing his first Super Bowl championship as a head coach without Tom Brady. Taking over a team with a young roster, just to turn it over to the next guy in two or three years, makes Jacksonville feel like an imperfect fit.

With that being said, the rumblings following Jacksonville's worst loss in franchise history are hard to ignore.

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