JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars players have cleaned out their lockers as what should be a very eventful offseason has begun.
Shahid Khan takes control of the franchise on Wednesday. Among his first orders of business is to find a new head coach. General Manager Gene Smith will also be instrumental during the interview process.
Several candidates for the job previously held by Jack Del Rio have emerged including the team's interim head coach for the final five games, Mel Tucker. The Jaguars won two of their final five games with Tucker in charge.
According to multiple reports, some other people that the Jaguars have asked for permission to interview are Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, Jets Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, Patriots Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien, Broncos Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy, and Cowboys Special Teams Coordinator Joe DeCamillis.
Schottenheimer, Chudzinski, and DeCamillis are available to interview for the job at any time since their current teams are not in the playoffs. Mularkey and McCoy will likely not interview for the job this week since their teams play this weekend. O'Brien's Patriots have a bye this weekend, therefore he is also available to interview this week. It's believed that he is a candidate to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State.
In addition to finding a head coach, another priority is upgrading the roster, especially on offense where the Jaguars did not get a lot of production in the passing game. The Jaguars will have the 7th overall pick in April's NFL Draft.
Last year at this time, upgrading the defense was a major priority. The team did that in free agency with the additions of Paul Posluszny, Clint Session, Dawan Landry, Drew Coleman, Dwight Lowery, and Matt Roth.
"Hopefully they put as much energy into upgrading the offense this year as they did with the defense last year," said defensive tackle Terrance Knighton.
Rashean Mathis, Josh Scobee, and Jeremy Mincey are among the players who will be free agents this offseason.
First Coast News