Jaguars extend Coughlin, Caldwell and Marrone

Jacksonville's leadership triumvirate produced a trip to the AFC Championship Game in its first season together, and is being rewarded for its efforts.

The Jaguars handed out contract extensions to head coach Doug Marrone, general manager Dave Caldwell and executive VP Tom Coughlin, the team announced Friday. The extensions run through 2021.

The most credit for Jacksonville's turnaround -- which took the better part of a decade -- is due to Caldwell, who's served in his current role since 2013. In that span, the Jaguars built the majority of their current roster through a combination of the draft and free agency. Caldwell constructed Jacksonville's swarming defense with notable signings Calais Campbell, Barry Church, Malik Jackson, Tashaun Gipson and A.J. Bouye, all acquired within the last two offseasons.

Coughlin and Marrone arrived at their current roles simultaneously. The franchise's first head coach returned in an executive role and Marrone was promoted from interim to permanent head coach on Jan. 9, 2017, after the franchise fired Gus Bradley following a 3-13 finish in 2016. Caldwell received an extension when the team made the two hires, bringing the trio in line through 2019.

Fresh off a 10-6 finish and playoff wins over Buffalo and Pittsburgh (the latter being an upset), Jaguars owner Shad Khan has seen enough to keep his group together for the near future. He has good reason to: Jacksonville is young, incredibly talented and was this close to its first Super Bowl appearance before a fellow named Tom Brady wiped that out on a January night in Massachusetts.

“The decision to extend the contracts of Tom, Dave and Doug isn’t so much a reward for last season, which no doubt was impressive, as it is to recognize their importance to our football team this coming season and for years to follow,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a team press release. “We’re past celebrating the accomplishments of our division title and playoff run, and now it’s time to take the next step. We need the right leadership firmly in place to make that happen, and it’s good to know we’ll have that with Tom, Dave and Doug secure in their roles with the Jacksonville Jaguars.”

“The success we had last season was due to the efforts of many people, but Doug and Dave certainly played key leadership roles in guiding our team,” Coughlin added. “They set the tone and managed the process on a daily basis, and we look forward to building on that process throughout this offseason and the coming season.”

The Jaguars had their first winning season since 2007 under the current leadership and right now the future looks bright.