The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South Division. The team plays its home games at EverBank Stadium.
Founded alongside the Carolina Panthers in 1995 as an expansion team, the Jaguars competed in the AFC Central until they were moved to the AFC South in 2002. The franchise is owned by Shahid Khan, who bought the team from its original majority owner Wayne Weaver in 2012.[7][8][9]
The Jaguars saw early success during their second through fifth seasons, which saw them make the playoff each year, win two division titles, and appear in two AFC Championship Games. They are the youngest NFL expansion team to appear in a conference championship (by their second season in 1996, along with the Panthers) and clinch their conference's top seed (by their fifth season in 1999). The Jaguars have been less successful since, with only four playoff appearances and two division titles since 2000.[10] They are one of four NFL franchises that have never played in the Super Bowl.
In 1989, the prospective ownership group Touchdown Jacksonville! was organized with the intention of bringing an NFL franchise to Jacksonville.[11] In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams.[12] In 1994, Touchdown Jacksonville! announced a bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists, along with Charlotte, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Memphis.[13] Charlotte was awarded the first franchise, which would become the Carolina Panthers, in October 1993.[14] The decision for selecting the second expansion city was delayed a month. At the time, St. Louis was considered the favorite for the second franchise.[15] However, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville.[16] For their opening season in 1995, the Jaguars took part in the 1995 NFL expansion draft to help bolster their roster. The Jaguars, along with the Panthers, alternated picks from lists of unprotected players from existing franchises.[17][18]
Tom Coughlin was hired to be the first head coach of the franchise on February 21, 1994.[19] The Jaguars took part in their first NFL Draft in 1995. Their first pick in franchise history was the second overall pick in the first round, which was used on eventual Hall of Fame offensive tackle Tony Boselli out of USC.[20][21]
On September 3, 1995, the Jaguars played in their first regular season game, a 10–3 loss to the Houston Oilers.[22] In Week 2, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Randy Jordan caught the first touchdown in franchise history, a 71-yard reception from quarterback Steve Beuerlein.[23] The Jaguars would lose their first four games before breaking through against the Oilers in Week 5 in a 17–16 victory.[24] Over the course of the season, they would suffer through a seven-game losing streak before closing the season out with a 24–21 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Jaguars went 4–12 in their first season.[25] The team saw Mark Brunell and Steve Beuerlein both start games at quarterback.[26]
Prior to their second season, the Jaguars drafted Kevin Hardy with the second overall pick in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. The team also got Tony Brackens and Aaron Beasley in the draft.[27] With Mark Brunell leading at quarterback, the team improved in 1996. With the team sitting at 4–7, the Jaguars reeled off five straight wins to finish with a 9–7 mark, finish second in the AFC Central, and make the postseason for the first time. The team had two wide receivers go over 1,000 yards in Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith.[28] The Jaguars won their first postseason game in franchise history with a 30–27 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round.[29] Following a 30–27 win over the Broncos in the Divisional Round, the Jaguars saw their run end in the AFC Championship with a 20–6 loss to the New England Patriots.[30][31]
The 1997 season saw the team go 11–5 and finish second in the AFC Central. McCardell and Smith once again both recorded over 1,000 receiving yards.[32] The Jaguars qualified for the postseason, which was short-lived with a 42–17 loss to the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round.[33] The 1998 season saw the team win their first divisional title by going 11–5. The team had their first ever player rush for over 1,000 yards, Fred Taylor.[34] The team defeated the New England Patriots 25–10 in the Wild Card Round before falling to the New York Jets 34–24 in the Divisional Round.[35][36] The Jaguars reached new heights in the 1999 season with a franchise-best division-winning 14–2 season.[37] The team defeated the Miami Dolphins 62–7 in the Divisional Round, which would be Dan Marino's final game.[38] The Jaguars saw their season end in the AFC Championship with a 33–14 loss to the Tennessee Titans, who were responsible for all three of their losses that year.[39] Despite Taylor, McCardell, and Smith all putting together successful statistical seasons in 2000, the Jaguars took a step back and missed the postseason in 2000.[40] The team slipped further in 2001 with a 6–10 record.[41] In the 2002, the team went 6–10 once again and Coughlin was fired following the season.[42][43]
The Jaguars hired Jack Del Rio to be the team's second head coach following the 2002 season.[44] The Jaguars drafted quarterback Byron Leftwich with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft.[45] Leftwich would eventually replace Mark Brunell as starting quarterback. The Jaguars went 5–11 in the 2003 season. One bright spot on the season was Fred Taylor rushing for over 1,500 yards.[46] The team improved to a 9–7 mark in 2004 but missed the postseason.[47] In the 2005 season, Del Rio led the team back into the postseason with a 12–4 finish and 2nd-place finish in the AFC South.[48] The return to the postseason was short-lived with a 28–3 loss to the New England Patriots in the Wild Card Round.[49] The 2006 season saw the arrival of quarterback David Garrard. The Jaguars went 8–8 and missed the postseason.[50] The 2007 season was an improvement to a 11–5 record and return to the postseason.[51] The team defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–29 in the Wild Card Round before falling to the New England Patriots 31–20 in the Divisional Round.[52][53] The following year saw the team take a major step back with a 5–11 mark and last place finish in the division.[54] In 2009, the team improved with a 7–9 mark but once again finished last in the division.[55] In 2010, the team finished second in the division with an 8–8 mark but missed the postseason.[56] The team used their first round draft pick (#10 overall) on Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert prior to the 2011 season.[57] Following a 3–8 start, Del Rio was fired and Mel Tucker finished the year with a 2–3 mark as interim.[58][59][60]
Mike Mularkey was hired to be the Jaguars' third head coach prior to the 2012 season.[61] The team went 2–14, which marked the worst season in franchise history at the time.[62] Mularkey was fired following the season.[63]
Prior to the 2013 season, Gus Bradley was hired to be the team's fourth head coach.[64] Chad Henne was the starting quarterback for the majority of the 2013 season, which saw the team go 4–12.[65] Prior to the 2014 season, the Jaguars drafted Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.[66] The change at quarterback did not see instant improvement as the team finished 3–13.[67] The 2015 season saw the team finish 5–11. One bright spot was quarterback Blake Bortles passing for the most yards and touchdowns in franchise history with 4,428 and 35.[68][69] Following a 2–12 start to the 2016 season, Gus Bradley was fired.[70] Interim coach Doug Marrone split the final two games of the season.[71]
Marrone was named the full-time head coach prior to the 2017 season.[72] The 2017 season saw the Jaguars win the AFC South with a 10–6 mark being led by a strong defensive unit.[73][74] The season marked the first division title for the team since 1999.[75] The team made the playoffs for the first time since the 2007 season.[76] In the Wild Card Round, the Jaguars defeated the Bills 10–3.[77] In the Divisional Round, they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 45–42.[78] In their first AFC Championship since the 1999 season, they lost to the New England Patriots 24–20.[79] The game featured a controversial defensive play where Myles Jack recovered a Patriots fumble and had a path for a touchdown but the play was blown dead.[80]
The Jaguars were not able to capitalize on the success of the 2017 season in the following year. The 2018 team went 5–11 and featured Bortles getting benched later in the season.[81][82] The Jaguars signed Super Bowl LII MVP quarterback Nick Foles prior to the 2019 season.[83] However, Foles was lost for most of the season from a broken collarbone suffered in Week 1 against the Chiefs.[84] The team turned to 2019 sixth-round draft pick Gardner Minshew, who filled in for most of the 6–10 season.[85][86] The 2020 season was the worst season in the history of the franchise with a 1–15 mark.[87] Minshew suffered multiple injuries to his throwing hand during the season, which forced Mike Glennon and Jake Luton to start at quarterback.[88][89] Following the end of the 2020 season, Marrone was fired.[90]
In what would become one of the most ill-fated coaching hires in NFL history, the Jaguars hired Urban Meyer to be the next coach of the team prior to the 2021 season.[91] The team drafted Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.[92] Meyer was fired after a 2–11 start.[93] He was only the fourth head coach since the AFL-NFL merger to not finish a full season.[94] Darrell Bevell finished the year as interim with a 1–3 mark.[95]
Prior to the 2022 season, the Jaguars hired Super Bowl LII-winning coach Doug Pederson to be their next head coach.[96] The team saw immediate improvement with a 9–8 record and a division title.[97][98] The Jaguars defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 31–30 in the Wild Card Round.[99] The game featured the third-largest comeback in NFL postseason history with the Jaguars trailing 27–0 at one point.[100] The Jaguars' season ended with a 27–20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.[101]
In the 2023 season, the Jaguars finished with a 9–8 mark once again but failed to qualify for the playoffs.[102]
The day after the NFL awarded the expansion team to Jacksonville, Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver held up the Jaguars' proposed silver helmet and teal jersey at the NFL owners' meeting in Chicago. The team's colors were to be teal, gold, and silver with black accents. However, this jersey and helmet design, with a gold leaping jaguar, created controversy. Ford Motor Company, then-parent of the automaker Jaguar, believed that the Jaguars' logo bore too much resemblance to the automaker's logo. Though no lawsuit was brought to trial, lawyers from the team and the automaker negotiated an ultimately amicable agreement whereby Jaguar would be named the official car of the Jaguars, and the Jaguars would redesign their uniforms.[103]
The new logo was a snarling jaguar head with a teal tongue, which Weaver said was his wife's touch. He also claimed that the teal tongue came from "feeding Panthers to our Jaguars" — an obvious jab at their expansion brethren. During the Jaguars' first-ever preseason game teal-colored candies were handed out to all the fans who attended, turning their tongues a teal color just like on the logo. Additionally, raspberry lollipops were handed out by the "Candy Man" in section 142 to also turn the home fans' tongues teal.
In 2009, Weaver announced that he wanted to "clean up" the team's image. This meant the elimination of the full-body crawling Jaguar logo, the clawing Jaguar, and the two previous wordmarks which bent the text around these logos.
In February 2013, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who had acquired the team in late 2011, introduced a new brand identity for the team that included a new logo, wordmark, and secondary logo. The new Jaguar head logo was intended to be "fiercer" and more realistic.[104] The secondary logo incorporated the new Jaguar head logo along with the first official usage of the team's popular nickname "Jags". The two images were encased in a shield-style shape, designed to be a tribute to Jacksonville's military community.[4]
Beginning in 2013, the Jaguars began to feature gold more prominently than in the past. From 2009 to 2012, gold had only been used in the team logo and as a minor accent color.
