Jacksonville Jaguars
Encyclopedia
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football
team based in Jacksonville, Florida
, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division
of the American Football Conference
(AFC) in the National Football League
(NFL). The Jaguars, along with the Carolina Panthers
, joined the NFL as an expansion team
in 1995.
The club has played all of its home games at EverBank Field, located near the St. Johns River
in downtown Jacksonville. The team headquarters is also located in the stadium. The Jaguars practice during the season and training camp in the stadium and on adjoining practice fields. They are the only team in the "big four" sports leagues to play in the city of Jacksonville. Since their inception the Jaguars have won two division championships and have made six playoff appearances.
, an annual civic highlight traditionally accompanied by parties, ceremonies, parades and other events leading up to the game. The annual Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic, a major college football
rivalry game between the University of Florida
Gators
and the University of Georgia
Bulldogs
is also played in Jacksonville.
The Gator Bowl stadium was built out of steel trusses during the Great Depression and was frequently built onto, with the final addition of the reinforced-concrete west upper deck coming in 1982. The stadium hosted short-lived teams in both the World Football League
(Jacksonville Sharks/Express) and the United States Football League
(Jacksonville Bulls
) and the occasional NFL exhibition game. The city also hosted the American Football League
All Star Game in 1967 and 1968. The city briefly attempted to lure the Baltimore Colts
, whose owner Robert Irsay
famously landed a helicopter in the stadium as thousands of Jacksonville citizens urged him to move the team there. City leaders also attempted to get the Houston Oilers
to move to Jacksonville at one point in the late 1980s. Great efforts were made to lure the Oilers, including the creation of a "Jacksonville Oilers" banner and designation of a specific section of the Gator Bowl as a non-alcohol, family section for proposed home games (a feature utilized today at Jaguars games).
In 1992, the NFL announced that it would add two new teams, originally in time for the 1993 season. The league had not expanded since the 1976 season with the addition of Seattle Seahawks
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
; with the sport growing the NFL felt the time was right to add additional franchises. Five cities were ultimately chosen as finalists for the two new teams: Charlotte, North Carolina
; St. Louis, Missouri
; Baltimore, Maryland; Memphis, Tennessee
; and Jacksonville. From the beginning, Charlotte and St. Louis were considered the heavy favorites; Baltimore also a strong possibility. Though not as strong a bid, Memphis was still considered an outside possibility, as the NFL did not have a presence in the area.
For many reasons, Jacksonville was considered the dark horse in the field. Florida
already had two NFL teams: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, who played about a four-hour ride away, and the Miami Dolphins
. Any expansion team would also have to compete with Florida's three major college football teams—Florida State, Florida and Miami—and the Georgia Bulldogs
. Jacksonville was also the only television market in the running not ranked in the top 50 Nielsen markets. While Jacksonville was the 15th largest city in the nation at the time, it was (then as now) only a medium-sized market because the surrounding suburban and rural areas are smaller than the city itself. There were 635,000 people in Jacksonville proper according to the 1990 census, but only 900,000 people in the metropolitan area.
However, the biggest potential obstacle for the Jacksonville bid was nonstop turmoil and conflict surrounding the potential ownership group. It had formed even before the NFL announced its intentions to expand, in 1989. The group called itself Touchdown Jacksonville! and placed its formal application with the NFL in 1991. The original ownership group included future Governor Jeb Bush
and Jacksonville developer and political kingmaker Tom Petway
. In 1991 this group confidently announced that it would call its team the Jacksonville Jaguars. After some defections and mutinies, the group came to be led by J. Wayne Weaver, shoe magnate who served as the first President of Nine West
from 1978 until February 2, 1993, and later founder of Shoe Carnival
.
From the time Touchdown Jacksonville! came to being, it faced several challenges. In April 1993, the NFL indicated to Jacksonville officials that additional renovations to the Gator Bowl would be needed. After several weeks of negotiations, and at least one breakdown, an agreement was reached that capped the city's liability for construction and was sent to the City Council for approval. However, on July 21, 1993, the Council failed to approve the financing package, dooming the bid. Deposits on season tickets were refunded, and Touchdown Jacksonville!'s offices were shuttered.
Largely due to being underwhelmed by the remaining suitors, the NFL and others encouraged Jacksonville interests to revisit the issue and resurrect their bid. About a month later negotiations between the city and Touchdown Jacksonville! resumed, and a slightly revised aid package was approved by a solid majority of the City Council. Officially back in the race, Jacksonville officials were energized, indicated by a drive to sell club seats that resulted in over 10,000 seats being sold in 10 days. The Jaguars also gained a high-profile investor when former NFL star player Deron Cherry
signed on as a limited partner.
After Charlotte was unanimously granted the 29th franchise on November 1, the NFL announced they would name the 30th franchise on or before November 30, 1993. By this time, conventional wisdom was that St. Louis would get the 30th franchise. In fact, T-shirts of the "St. Louis Stallions
" (the proposed new team name) briefly went on sale at some St. Louis area sporting goods shops. However, it was not to be.
At 4:12 p.m. (EST) on the afternoon of November 30, Jacksonville was announced as the winning franchise. The next evening, 25,000 fans celebrated at the Gator Bowl as season ticket sales were kicked off. Within ten days, the Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville's daily newspaper) announced sales had passed the 55,000 seat mark (Incidentally, the three other finalists all eventually became the home of a relocated franchise: the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed the Baltimore Ravens
and Memphis would briefly serve as the home of the former Houston Oilers in 1996 before the team moved into its new stadium in Nashville and was renamed the Tennessee Titans
).
After the Gator Bowl game on December 31, 1993 the old stadium was essentially demolished and replaced with a reinforced concrete superstructure. All that remained of the old stadium was the west upper concourse and a portion of the ramping system. To accommodate construction, the 1994 and 1995 games of "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" were split between the home fields of Florida and Georgia, and the 1994 Gator Bowl
was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
in Gainesville
. The new stadium (now called EverBank Field) opened on August 18, 1995 with a preseason game against the St. Louis Rams
.
In 1995, Tom Coughlin
was hired as the first ever head coach of the Jaguars. He previously had great success with Boston College but many believed it was a risky move because of Coughlin's lack of coaching experince in the NFL.
Along with the Carolina Panthers
, the Jacksonville Jaguars entered the NFL as the first expansion teams in almost 20 years. Both teams participated in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft
, with the Jaguars taking Steve Beuerlein
with the first pick. Beuerlein quickly lost his starting job to former Green Bay Packer backup Mark Brunell
. The Jaguars finished their inaugural season with a record of 4–12. Both the Jaguars and the Panthers (7–9) broke the previous record for most wins by an expansion team (3) set by the Cincinnati Bengals
in 1968. The inaugural season featured many of the players who would lead Jacksonville into the playoffs in the team's next four seasons, including quarterback Mark Brunell
(acquired in a draft day trade from Green Bay), offensive lineman Tony Boselli
(drafted with the 2nd pick overall in the 1995 NFL Draft
) running back James Stewart
(also drafted in 1995), and wide receiver Jimmy Smith (signed as a free agent).
The team played its first regular season game at home before a crowd of 72,363 on September 3, 1995, a 10–3 loss against the Houston Oilers. The team picked up its first win in Week 4 as the Jaguars defeated the Oilers 17–16 on October 1 in Houston. The next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jaguars earned their first home win by defeating the eventual AFC Champions 20–16. The team's other two wins came in a season sweep of the Cleveland Browns
including a Week 17 24–21 victory sealed by a Mike Hollis 34-yard field goal in the Browns' final game before the team relocated to Baltimore and was renamed the Ravens.
in favor of Jimmy Smith after a game against the St. Louis Rams in which Brunell threw 5 interceptions. The interceptions were blamed on Rison and he was benched. In the team's final game of the regular season against the Atlanta Falcons
, needing a win to earn a playoff berth, the Jaguars caught a bit of luck when Morten Andersen
missed a 30 yard field goal with less than a minute remaining that would have given the Falcons the lead. The Jaguars clinched the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.
Their first playoff game was against the Buffalo Bills
at Buffalo, a game the Jaguars won 30–27. Their next game was on the road against the Denver Broncos
, who had dominated the AFC with a 13–3 record (and earned the top AFC seed). The upstart Jaguars were not intimidated by the Broncos or their fans, and they largely dominated from the second quarter on. A late touchdown pass from Mark Brunell to Jimmy Smith gave the Jags a 30–20 lead. They held on to win in a huge upset, 30–27, in a game that many people still consider the franchise's finest hour. Upon their return home, the Jags were greeted by an estimated 40,000 fans at the stadium. Many of these fans had watched the game on the stadium JumboTron
displays and had stayed into the early hours of the morning when the team arrived. In the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars acquitted themselves very well, playing a tight and close defensive game in a hostile environment for over three quarters before finally losing 20–6 to the New England Patriots
on the road. Their fellow second-year NFC expansion team, the Carolina Panthers, also got to the conference championship (in the NFC), where they lost 30–13 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers
.
at Mile High Stadium
. The Broncos, led by Terrell Davis
, ran at will against the Jaguars, rushing for 5 touchdowns and over 300 yards.
In 1998, the Jaguars again finished 11–5 and won their first AFC Central Division title. The team became the first NFL expansion team to make the playoffs three times in its first four seasons of play. In the wild card round, the Jaguars hosted their first home playoff game, a 25–10 win over the New England Patriots. The team's season ended the next week in the Divisional Round as the New York Jets
defeated the Jaguars 34–24.
In 1999, the Jaguars compiled a league best 14–2 regular season record, the best record in franchise history. The team's two losses were to the Tennessee Titans
. The Jaguars won the AFC Central Division for the second straight year and clinched the #1 seed in the AFC. The Jaguars hosted the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Divisional playoffs, a 62–7 victory in what would be Dan Marino
and Jimmy Johnson's last NFL game. Jacksonville's 62 points and 55-point margin are the second most ever in NFL playoff history, and Fred Taylor's 90-yard run in the first quarter is the longest ever in an NFL playoff game.
The Jaguars' bid for a Super Bowl title came to an end the next week in the AFC championship game. The Jags fell at home to the Titans 33–14 in a game that the Jaguars led 14–10 at halftime, before allowing 23 unanswered points in the 2nd half. The Jaguars finished the 1999 season 15–3, with all three of their losses coming against the Titans (the only time in NFL history that a 3-loss team had all of its losses to one team). The loss marked the end of an era that saw the Jaguars make the playoffs in four of the team's first five years and would be the team's last playoff appearance until the 2005 season.
, Tony Brackens
, Fred Taylor, Donovin Darius
, John Henderson, Marcus Stroud
, and David Garrard
. 2002 marked the last full season for Jaguars legend Mark Brunell
, who was benched in the third game of 2003 in favor of Byron Leftwich
. Brunell piled up over 25,000 yards as a Jaguar and earned three trips to the Pro Bowl
.
In 2002 the NFL split up the two conferences into four divisions, sending the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC South. This put them in the same division as Indianapolis, Tennessee and Houston.
as head coach. Del Rio was a linebacker during the late 80s and early 90s before retiring. He was formerly the Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator, bringing the team's defensive ranking from 30th to second. Prior to that, Del Rio was the Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach, participating in that capacity on the Ravens' record setting championship 2000 defense. The Jaguars selected quarterback Byron Leftwich with the seventh pick of the NFL draft. The Jaguars had high hopes for their new quarterback. The team had many failures and heatbreaking moments, ending the 2003 season at 5–11 and missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Despite resolving their salary cap problems, the team's rebuilding was clearly taking longer than expected.
The 2004 season, the tenth season of the Jaguars franchise, resulted in a winning record of 9–7 with road victories against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field
and the Indianapolis Colts at the RCA Dome
. The Jaguars' defense was a strong suit, as it included two Pro Bowl players, defensive tackles Marcus Stroud
and John Henderson
. Byron Leftwich enjoyed a solid year in 2004, helped by strong performances from holdovers Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith. Unfortunately, Taylor sustained a season-ending injury at Green Bay. The very next week the Jaguars fell to the Houston Texans, which would ultimately eliminate them from playoff contention. This denied them an opportunity to play the Super Bowl
at their home stadium. In 2004, the Jaguars became the first NFL team to have three African-American quarterbacks on their roster. The quarterbacks were Byron Leftwich
, David Garrard
, and Quinn Gray
.
The 2005 Jaguars hoped to challenge the Colts for the division title. However, due to their scintillating 13–0 start, including two victories against the Jaguars, the Colts easily clinched the AFC South title. With a 12–4 record, the Jaguars earned a wild card and their first playoff appearance since 1999. Among these 12 wins were a 23–20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
on October 9, 2005 and a 23–17 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers
on October 16. While the Jaguars managed to win key games in 2005, nine of their final ten games were against opponents with losing records. Though these games were wins, key players Byron Leftwich, Mike Peterson
, Akin Ayodele
, Paul Spicer
, and Rashean Mathis
were hurt during this stretch. The Jaguars ended the season losing 28–3 to the two-time defending champion New England Patriots on January 7, 2006 in the AFC wild card playoff round.
, Greg Jones, Donovin Darius
, Byron Leftwich, and Mike Peterson all suffered season-ending injuries. Marcus Stroud, Matt Jones
, Paul Spicer, and Fred Taylor also faced injuries during the season. The team started off 2–0, defeating the Dallas Cowboys
earning the NFL's highest winning percentage on opening days at .750 with a record of 9–3), and shutting out the defending champs Pittsburgh Steelers. But the team lost its next two games, and suffered embarrassing losses to the Houston Texans over the course of the season (Surprisingly, Jacksonville has struggled against the Texans since Houston entered the league in 2002). They missed the playoffs with an 8–8 record, but there were some positives.
Maurice Jones-Drew
, the Jaguars' second round draft pick, was one of the most surprising rookie sensations. He averaged 5.7 yards a carry, the highest in the league, and tied for 3rd in the NFL with 16 touchdowns. This season was also the first year the team played without their standout wide receiver Jimmy Smith as he decided to retire. His production is still missed as the Jaguars struggle to find an adequate replacement.
, who in 2010 was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals
. On June 15, 2007, the Jaguars released longtime strong safety Donovin Darius, who had seen diminished playing time in recent years due to mounting injuries. On August 31, 2007, the Jaguars announced that long time back-up quarterback David Garrard
would start for the team, ahead of former 1st round draft pick, Byron Leftwich
who was released in the team's final roster cuts. Garrard led the Jaguars to an 11–5 record and the playoffs. On January 5, 2008, the Jaguars defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–29 to win their first playoff game in almost 8 years and their first road playoff win since 1997. It was also the first time in the 50+ year history of the Steelers that they had been beaten twice at home by the same team in the same season. However, in the divisional round, the Jaguars fell to the as of then undefeated New England Patriots
; the teams were tied at halftime, but the Patriots pulled ahead and won 31–20. Tom Brady
completed 22 of 24 passes in this game, being pressured by the Jaguars' defense only once, on the first play. This game, more than any other, gave the Jaguars' front office a strong desire to upgrade the pass rush during the offseason.
The team's offense in 2007 was largely a run-first offense, with Maurice Jones-Drew
and Fred Taylor putting up a lot of yards. David Garrard, however showed to be an accurate passer in 2007, throwing only 3 interceptions.
of Auburn and Derrick Harvey
of Florida to address the team's most glaring needs. (Porter was released the following year and Groves was traded to Oakland in 2010.) Journalists including ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert predicted the Jaguars were poised to make a Super Bowl run.
However, the Jaguars failed to live up to those expectations, struggling to a 5–11 finish, the franchise's worst record since 2003. The team's struggles were in part, the result of a rash of injuries to the team's offensive line. The Jaguars lost starting guards Vince Manuwai
and Maurice Williams
for the season within the first quarter of the opening game. Tackle Richard Collier
's career ended in early September when he was brutally attacked and shot 14 times. Center Brad Meester missed the first two months of the season and guard Chris Naeole, signed to the roster mid-season in response to these injuries, was injured in pregame warmups before playing a single snap. Against teams with smaller defensive linemen, the 2008 Jaguars offense resembled the 2007 offense, because the line was able to dominate. An example is the 23–21 victory in Indianapolis against the Colts that saw David Garrard drive the Jaguars into field goal range in the final minute and Josh Scobee boot the game winning 51-yard field goal. However, the Jaguars struggled mostly, especially in the second half of the season as evidenced by a 19–21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
who entered the game with an 0–8 record.
2008 marked the end of running back Fred Taylor's 11 year career as a Jaguar. Taylor, who is considered to be one of the greatest Jaguars in the history of the franchise, rushed for over 10,000 yards in his time with Jacksonville and earned one trip to the Pro Bowl
. In 2009, he signed with the New England Patriots
. Taylor's departure opened up the door for Maurice Jones-Drew
to become the team's feature running back.
. Smith made his mark early on in the 2009 NFL Draft
by acquiring talent such as Eugene Monroe
, Terrence Knighton, Derek Cox
, Eben Britton
and Mike Thomas
, who all made significant contributions in their rookie years. The Jaguars finished off this season 7–9 and did not manage to make the playoffs. In the offseason, the Jaguars parted ways with veteran players John Henderson and Reggie Hayward
as part of the team's "youth movement".
However, 2009 also saw the team's attendance numbers plummet, leading to television blackouts
and speculation that the team could eventually be moved or sold. 2009 marked a low point, with the team's attendance averaging around 40,000, causing seven of the eight home games to be blacked out, and leading NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
to address the issue with owner Wayne Weaver. Contributing to this decline in ticket sales is the fact that Jacksonville is one of the league's smallest markets, though its stadium is relatively large; since 2005 the teams owners have covered nearly 10,000 of the stadium's 73,000 total seats with tarp in order to lower the stadium's official capacity to a more typical size and reduce blackouts. 73,000 total seats still ranks as one of the largest in the NFL. From 2008 the team further suffered from the late-2000s recession, which hit Florida particularly hard, and structural changes within the NFL that disadvantage teams in smaller markets. As such, various commentators speculated that the team may relocate in the future, perhaps to Los Angeles, California
, or even London
.
To address this issue, in 2010 the team and the City of Jacksonville undertook several measures aimed at ensuring the franchise's continued viability in Jacksonville. Supporters began the "Team Teal" drive to drum up ticket sales. The city negotiated a five-year, $16.6 million naming rights deal with Jacksonville-based EverBank
to rename the stadium EverBank Field. As a result the Jaguars' attendance increased dramatically in 2010. While attendance figures were stagnant for most of the NFL, Jacksonville saw an increase of 36.5%, by far the highest in the league, and had none of their home games blacked out.
The 2010 season proved a big year for the Jaguars on the field as well. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew
emerged as second in the league in rushing yards and David Garrard
threw for 23 touchdowns, a franchise record. Marcedes Lewis
went to his first pro bowl and the Jags had one of the best young defensive tackle duo with Terrance Knighton
and rookie Tyson Alualu
. Heading into December, Jacksonville was at the top of the AFC South and in playoff contention. In Week 15, they lost to Indianapolis, 34–24, which placed the Colts back atop the AFC South. The Jaguars lost their last two games, placing themselves out of playoff contention. They finished the season with disappointing record of 8–8.
In the 2011 NFL draft
, the Jaguars traded a first and a second round pick in order to move up to the 10th pick and select Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert
. They also selected offensive lineman Will Rackley
and wide receiver Cecil Shorts III
in the 3rd and 4th round.
On September 6, 2011, David Garrard was cut from the team and Luke McCown
was named starter. He started two games but Blaine Gabbert took over the starting gig after McCown threw 4 interceptions in a 32 to 3 loss to the Jets. The Jaguars offense would continue to struggle under the rookie quarterback, losing the next 4 games in a row, until a miraculous upset against the Baltimore Ravens
at home on Monday Night Football
.
On November 29, 2011, the Jaguars (3-8 through twelve weeks) fired Del Rio. He will be succeeded by defensive coordinator
Mel Tucker
on an interim basis. On the same day, Wayne Weaver announced that the team would be sold to Shahid Khan
.
The day after the NFL awarded the expansion team to Jacksonville, a triumphant 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, an amicable agreement was ultimately reached where Jaguar would be named the official car of the Jaguars, and the Jaguars would redesign their uniforms.
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.
Following the logo change, the redesigned uniforms feature an all-black helmet, white pants with teal, black, and gold stripes, and numbers with gold inner trim and black outer trim. The home jersey was teal with white numbers and the away jersey was white with teal numbers. Both jerseys had a black collar but no sleeve stripes.
A prowling jaguar on each sleeve replaced the leaping jaguar going across both shoulders in the original design. The Jaguars in 1995 were the first NFL team to have 2-tone borders on their numbers and lettering, and the first NFL team to show a complex logo (the crawling Jaguar) on the sleeve. Teams such as the Ravens, Bucs, and Eagles copied these innovations in the late 90s, driving up the cost of their jerseys. An authentic Jaguars jersey had been among the most expensive in the league for fans to buy.
Minor modifications were introduced to the Jaguars uniform during this time, most notably the font of the jersey numbers, replacing the original block numbers with a unique font. Two stripes were also added to the end of the sleeves below the prowling jaguar.
Until 2004, the Jaguars would always wear their white jerseys for afternoon games at home during the first half of the season.
The team introduced an alternate black jersey in 2002. During that same year, the team also started to wear black pants, with either the white or the teal jersey. After the black pants were introduced, the white pants would only be seen for the first few games of the year, presumably due to the heat. The black pants originally included two teal stripes down each side. The fan reaction to the extra black in the alternate jersey and alternate pants was positive, so in 2004 the Jaguars went through a formal uniform change, which teams are only allowed to do once every 5 years.
These changes were mostly to the away look. Before 2004, the white away jerseys had teal numbers with black and gold trim, but after, the white jerseys had black numbers with teal and gold trim. The black pants were also changed, the teal stripes replaced with the Jaguar logo on each hip. Teal almost disappeared from the road look.
The stripes on the white pants were altered in 2008 so that the center, thickest stripe was black, and its accents were teal. The black jersey was not used in 2008. In the 2008 year, the gold in the uniforms noticeably shifted from a bright yellow metallic appearance to more beige.
For most of their short history, the Jaguars did what many other NFL teams located in subtropical climates traditionally practice: wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season — forcing opponents to wear their dark ones under the sweltering autumns in Jacksonville. But in 2004 the Jaguars wore their colored uniforms for all home games. The Jaguars again wore their colored jerseys (all in teal) for all home games in 2008. Until 2004 (in 2005–2007 the Jaguars went back to wearing white at home for early season games) and then 2008, the Jaguars would always wear their white jerseys for afternoon games at home during the first half of the season. In the preseason, the Jaguars wear teal at home since these games are played at night when there is very little advantage with the heat. However, there have been games through the years where the Jaguars wore white at home in the preseason. Jacksonville last wore white at home for early season games in 2007. From 2008 until 2010 the Jaguars wore teal for all home games. The Jaguars wore white at home again in 2011. Jacksonville most recently wore white in their 2011 preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons
, and for the 2011 regular season home opener wore all white against the Tennessee Titans.
. Team owner Wayne Weaver reportedly wanted to "clean up" the look, feeling that the team had too many uniform styles. The new uniforms were introduced in a press conference on April 22. At this press conference, Weaver elaborated that different people had taken different liberties with the Jaguars' image over the years, singling out the 'All Black' look which the team wore for every prime-time home game from 2003 to 2007 as a point of regret. He also said that the team will continue to wear teal
jerseys at home even on hot days, saying that the practice of choosing to wear white on hot days which ended in 2008 had also diluted the team's image.
Overall, the new jerseys have fewer features than the old ones. The collar and sleeve ends are now the same color as the rest of the jersey. The crawling jaguar is gone. The only feature on the sleeves that will remain is two standard Reebok
logos. The numbers on the jerseys are now a simpler, block font with a thicker, single color border. After all of these subtractions, two features were added. The first is a "JAGUARS" wordmark underneath the NFL insignia on the chest; this mimics the Titans' and Eagles' uniforms, for instance. The second is two thin 'stripes' of off-color fabric which were added to each midseam of the jersey, curling up to the neckline on the front and below the number on the back. The stripe on the home jersey is a white line next to a black line, matching the color of the numbers, and the stripe on the away jersey is a black line next to a teal line, again matching the numbers. The pants have similar stripes, both for the home and away uniform. The away uniforms are still basically black pants and numbers on a white jersey, but they now have a little more teal overall; it is the only accent color. Before, gold was more prominent than teal on the away uniform.
The Jaguars' identity, in terms of colors, as of 2009 is exclusively teal and black, with gold only being used in the logo; just as the Steelers identity is gold and black, with red and blue only being used in the logo.
The final change made to the Jaguars' uniforms in 2009 was to the helmet. The new helmet and facemask are black just like the old ones, but when light hits the new ones a certain way, both the helmet and face mask will sparkle with a shiny teal appearance. These are the first helmets in professional football which change color with different angles of light. The logo and number decals also incorporate this effect.
Since his introduction in 1996, Jaxson de Ville has served as the Jaguars' mascot. Jaxson entertains the crowd before and during games with his antics. The mascot has established a reputation for making dramatic entrances including bungee jumping off the stadium lights, sliding down a rope from the scoreboard and parachuting into the stadium.
Jaxson's antics got him into trouble in 1998 and stemmed the changing of the NFL's mascot rules, and also caused him to calm down. However, Jaxson was still seen, by some, as a mascot that gets in the way during the game. After the October 22, 2007 game against Indianapolis, Colts President Bill Polian complained to the NFL, and Jaxson was reprimanded again.
Jaxson's first appearance was on August 18, 1996 and has been played by Curtis Dvorak since his inception.
, and has been the home of the Jaguars since the team's first season in 1995. The stadium has a capacity of 67,246, with additional seating added during Florida-Georgia Game and the Gator Bowl
.
The stadium served as the site of Super Bowl XXXIX
in addition to three Jaguar playoff games including the 1999 AFC Championship Game. It also hosted the ACC Championship Game
from 2005–2007 and the River City Showdown from 2007–2008.
From 1995–1997 and again from 2006–2009, the stadium was named Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. From 1997–2006, the stadium was referred to as Alltel Stadium. The naming rights were purchased by EverBank
prior to the 2010 season.
, Indianapolis Colts
, and Houston Texans
). They have geographic rivalries with the Miami Dolphins
and Tampa Bay Buccanneers. The Jaguars also have a rivalry with their 1995 expansion brethren, the Carolina Panthers. The Jaguars also have rivalries with other teams that arose from the AFC Central days, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers
.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!rowspan="2" | Season
!rowspan="2" |Team
!rowspan="2" | League
!rowspan="2" | Conference
!rowspan="2" | Division
!colspan="4" | Regular season
!rowspan="2" | Postseason
Results
|-
!Finish
!Wins
!Losses
!Ties
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1995
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center;"|5th
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|12
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1996
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"| 2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|9
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bills
) 30–27
Won Divisional Playoffs (Broncos
) 30–27
Lost Conference Championship (Patriots
) 20–6
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Broncos) 42–17
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1998
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|1st
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 25–10
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Jets
) 34–24
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1999
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|1st
| style="text-align:center; background:#c8a2c8;"|14
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins
) 62–7
Lost Conference Championship (Titans
) 33–14
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center;"|4th
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|9
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2001
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center;"|5th
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2002
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2003
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2004
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|9
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|12
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 28–3
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2006
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|2007
| style="text-align:center;"|2007
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers
) 31–29
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 31–20
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 4th
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 11
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 4th
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2010
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 2nd
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 3rd*
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;" rowspan="5" colspan="6"|Totals
! style="text-align:center;"|136
! style="text-align:center;"|130
! style="text-align:center;"|0
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|All-time regular season record (1995–2011)
|- style="text-align:center;"
||5
||6
||-
| colspan="3"|All-time postseason record (1995–2011)
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|141
! style="text-align:center;"|136
! style="text-align:center;"|0
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|All-time regular season and postseason record (1995–2011)
|-
* Season currently in progress
has not been worn since 2002. According to team officials the number has been "taken out of service."
.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:140px;"|Name
! rowspan="2" | Term
! colspan="4" | Regular Season
! colspan="2" | Playoffs
! rowspan="2" | Awards
! rowspan="2" | Reference
|-
! W
! L
! T
! Win%
! W
! L
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|Tom Coughlin
| style="text-align:center;"|–
| style="text-align:center;"|68
| style="text-align:center;"|60
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|.531
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|Jack Del Rio
| style="text-align:center;"|–
| style="text-align:center;"|68
| style="text-align:center;"|71
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|Mel Tucker
(Interim)
| style="text-align:center;"|–present
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|
|}
The Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation was established in 1995, when the franchise deal was first announced. Since then, the Foundation has given over $20 million to area efforts in community improvement. In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on youth programs, such as Honor Rows and Fresh Futures. The Jaguars also have a program called Playbooks, which is designed to help stop illiteracy. Delores Barr Weaver, wife of majority owner Wayne Weaver, is Chairperson and CEO of the foundation, which grants over $1 million annually to organizations that assist "economically and socially disadvantaged youth and families", according to their mission statement.
The Jaguar's first head coach, Tom Coughlin, established the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation
in 1996 to help young cancer victims and their families with emotional and financial assistance. The charity remained in Jacksonville after Coughlin left to coach the New York Giants
.
.
Since 2007, WOKV simulcasts on both AM 690 and on 106.5 FM. Brian Sexton, Sports Director for WAWS
& WTEV-TV, and a past contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
, is the play-by-play announcer, Jeff Lageman
is the color analyst, and Cole Pepper serves as the pre-game and post-game show host with former NFL star and Georgia Tech stand out Marco Coleman serving as post-game analyst. During preseason games, telecasts not seen nationwide are on WTEV
channel 47, the CBS
affiliate. Since 2007, the announcers were Paul Burmeister
and former Jaguars Left Tackle Tony Boselli
.
|-
!City !! Call Sign !! Frenquency
|-
| Cocoa
|| WMMV-AM || 1350 AM
|-
| Daytona Beach
|| WELE
-AM || 1380 AM
|-
| Gainesville
|| WRUF-AM || 850 AM
|-
| Jacksonville
|| WOKV
-AM || 690 AM
|-
| Jacksonville
|| WOKV
-FM || 106.5 FM
|-
| Lake City
|| WNFB
-FM || 94.3 FM
|-
| Melbourne
|| WMMB
-AM || 1240 AM
|-
| Orlando
|| WYGM-AM || 740 AM
|-
| Port St. Lucie
|| WPSL
-AM || 1590 AM
|-
| St. Augustine
|| WAOC
-AM || 1420 AM
|}
|-
!City !! Call Sign !! Frenquency
|-
| Brunswick
|| WHFX
-FM || 107.7 FM
|-
| Jesup
|| WIFO-FM
|| 105.5 FM
|}
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division
AFC South
The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...
of the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
(AFC) in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). The Jaguars, along with the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, joined the NFL as an expansion team
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
in 1995.
The club has played all of its home games at EverBank Field, located near the St. Johns River
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
in downtown Jacksonville. The team headquarters is also located in the stadium. The Jaguars practice during the season and training camp in the stadium and on adjoining practice fields. They are the only team in the "big four" sports leagues to play in the city of Jacksonville. Since their inception the Jaguars have won two division championships and have made six playoff appearances.
Pre-franchise era (1989–1994)
Every year Jacksonville hosts the Gator BowlGator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, an annual civic highlight traditionally accompanied by parties, ceremonies, parades and other events leading up to the game. The annual Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic, a major college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
rivalry game between the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
Gators
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
and the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...
is also played in Jacksonville.
The Gator Bowl stadium was built out of steel trusses during the Great Depression and was frequently built onto, with the final addition of the reinforced-concrete west upper deck coming in 1982. The stadium hosted short-lived teams in both the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
(Jacksonville Sharks/Express) and the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
(Jacksonville Bulls
Jacksonville Bulls
The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985...
) and the occasional NFL exhibition game. The city also hosted the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
All Star Game in 1967 and 1968. The city briefly attempted to lure the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, whose owner Robert Irsay
Robert Irsay
Robert Irsay , was an American professional football team owner. He owned the National Football League's Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise and, briefly, the former Los Angeles Rams.-Biography:...
famously landed a helicopter in the stadium as thousands of Jacksonville citizens urged him to move the team there. City leaders also attempted to get the Houston Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
to move to Jacksonville at one point in the late 1980s. Great efforts were made to lure the Oilers, including the creation of a "Jacksonville Oilers" banner and designation of a specific section of the Gator Bowl as a non-alcohol, family section for proposed home games (a feature utilized today at Jaguars games).
In 1992, the NFL announced that it would add two new teams, originally in time for the 1993 season. The league had not expanded since the 1976 season with the addition of Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
; with the sport growing the NFL felt the time was right to add additional franchises. Five cities were ultimately chosen as finalists for the two new teams: Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
; St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
; Baltimore, Maryland; Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
; and Jacksonville. From the beginning, Charlotte and St. Louis were considered the heavy favorites; Baltimore also a strong possibility. Though not as strong a bid, Memphis was still considered an outside possibility, as the NFL did not have a presence in the area.
For many reasons, Jacksonville was considered the dark horse in the field. Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
already had two NFL teams: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, who played about a four-hour ride away, and the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Any expansion team would also have to compete with Florida's three major college football teams—Florida State, Florida and Miami—and the Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...
. Jacksonville was also the only television market in the running not ranked in the top 50 Nielsen markets. While Jacksonville was the 15th largest city in the nation at the time, it was (then as now) only a medium-sized market because the surrounding suburban and rural areas are smaller than the city itself. There were 635,000 people in Jacksonville proper according to the 1990 census, but only 900,000 people in the metropolitan area.
However, the biggest potential obstacle for the Jacksonville bid was nonstop turmoil and conflict surrounding the potential ownership group. It had formed even before the NFL announced its intentions to expand, in 1989. The group called itself Touchdown Jacksonville! and placed its formal application with the NFL in 1991. The original ownership group included future Governor Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
and Jacksonville developer and political kingmaker Tom Petway
Tom Petway
Thomas Franklin Petway, III is a lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Florida and one of the most successful business and civic leaders in Jacksonville and the state of Florida.-Personal:...
. In 1991 this group confidently announced that it would call its team the Jacksonville Jaguars. After some defections and mutinies, the group came to be led by J. Wayne Weaver, shoe magnate who served as the first President of Nine West
Nine West
Nine West is a fashion wholesale and retail company best known for quickly translating runway trends into styles attainable by mass consumers. Initially founded as a fashion footwear brand, Nine West has since expanded into handbags, sunglasses, legwear, outerwear, jewelry, belts, watches, cold...
from 1978 until February 2, 1993, and later founder of Shoe Carnival
Shoe Carnival
Shoe Carnival is a retailer of family footwear in the United States. The company operates over 400 stores throughout the midwest, south, and southeast regions. It was founded by David Russell in 1978 and is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana....
.
From the time Touchdown Jacksonville! came to being, it faced several challenges. In April 1993, the NFL indicated to Jacksonville officials that additional renovations to the Gator Bowl would be needed. After several weeks of negotiations, and at least one breakdown, an agreement was reached that capped the city's liability for construction and was sent to the City Council for approval. However, on July 21, 1993, the Council failed to approve the financing package, dooming the bid. Deposits on season tickets were refunded, and Touchdown Jacksonville!'s offices were shuttered.
Largely due to being underwhelmed by the remaining suitors, the NFL and others encouraged Jacksonville interests to revisit the issue and resurrect their bid. About a month later negotiations between the city and Touchdown Jacksonville! resumed, and a slightly revised aid package was approved by a solid majority of the City Council. Officially back in the race, Jacksonville officials were energized, indicated by a drive to sell club seats that resulted in over 10,000 seats being sold in 10 days. The Jaguars also gained a high-profile investor when former NFL star player Deron Cherry
Deron Cherry
Deron Leigh Cherry is a retired professional American football strong safety who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1981 to 1991. Deron was a free safety and punter at Rutgers University. In 1979, he was named the team’s MVP. In 1979 and 1980, Cherry earned AP All-East honors...
signed on as a limited partner.
After Charlotte was unanimously granted the 29th franchise on November 1, the NFL announced they would name the 30th franchise on or before November 30, 1993. By this time, conventional wisdom was that St. Louis would get the 30th franchise. In fact, T-shirts of the "St. Louis Stallions
St. Louis Stallions
The St. Louis Stallions were a proposed National Football League expansion team to be located in St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis had lost the Cardinals franchise, which moved to Phoenix and became the Arizona Cardinals. The city entered the race to get a team for the 1995 NFL season.The team would...
" (the proposed new team name) briefly went on sale at some St. Louis area sporting goods shops. However, it was not to be.
At 4:12 p.m. (EST) on the afternoon of November 30, Jacksonville was announced as the winning franchise. The next evening, 25,000 fans celebrated at the Gator Bowl as season ticket sales were kicked off. Within ten days, the Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville's daily newspaper) announced sales had passed the 55,000 seat mark (Incidentally, the three other finalists all eventually became the home of a relocated franchise: the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
and Memphis would briefly serve as the home of the former Houston Oilers in 1996 before the team moved into its new stadium in Nashville and was renamed the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
).
After the Gator Bowl game on December 31, 1993 the old stadium was essentially demolished and replaced with a reinforced concrete superstructure. All that remained of the old stadium was the west upper concourse and a portion of the ramping system. To accommodate construction, the 1994 and 1995 games of "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" were split between the home fields of Florida and Georgia, and the 1994 Gator Bowl
1994 Gator Bowl
The 1994 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the and the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida on December 30, 1994...
was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field is the football stadium for the University of Florida and the home field of the university's Florida Gators football team. It is located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The stadium was originally built in 1930, and has been regularly...
in Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. The new stadium (now called EverBank Field) opened on August 18, 1995 with a preseason game against the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
.
1995: Inaugural season
Tom Coughlin
Thomas Richard Coughlin is an American football coach who is currently head coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League . Coughlin has led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII. Coughlin was also the inaugural head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, serving from 1995–2002 and...
was hired as the first ever head coach of the Jaguars. He previously had great success with Boston College but many believed it was a risky move because of Coughlin's lack of coaching experince in the NFL.
Along with the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, the Jacksonville Jaguars entered the NFL as the first expansion teams in almost 20 years. Both teams participated in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft
1995 NFL Expansion Draft
The 1995 National Football League Expansion Draft was held on February 15, 1995. The two new expansion teams, the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars alternated picks from lists of unprotected players from existing franchises. Existing NFL teams made six players available, and the new...
, with the Jaguars taking Steve Beuerlein
Steve Beuerlein
Stephen Taylor "Steve" Beuerlein is a former football quarterback, and currently is an NFL and college football analyst for CBS.-Education:...
with the first pick. Beuerlein quickly lost his starting job to former Green Bay Packer backup Mark Brunell
Mark Brunell
Mark Allen Brunell is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington....
. The Jaguars finished their inaugural season with a record of 4–12. Both the Jaguars and the Panthers (7–9) broke the previous record for most wins by an expansion team (3) set by the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
in 1968. The inaugural season featured many of the players who would lead Jacksonville into the playoffs in the team's next four seasons, including quarterback Mark Brunell
Mark Brunell
Mark Allen Brunell is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington....
(acquired in a draft day trade from Green Bay), offensive lineman Tony Boselli
Tony Boselli
Don Anthony "Tony" Boselli, Jr. is a former American football offensive tackle. He spent nearly all of his professional career playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ....
(drafted with the 2nd pick overall in the 1995 NFL Draft
1995 NFL Draft
The 1995 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City...
) running back James Stewart
James Stewart (football player)
James Ottis Stewart known as "Little Man," was a running back at his high school of Morristown West High School. Then went to college and, is a former professional American football running back who was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1st round of the 1995 NFL Draft. A 6'1",...
(also drafted in 1995), and wide receiver Jimmy Smith (signed as a free agent).
The team played its first regular season game at home before a crowd of 72,363 on September 3, 1995, a 10–3 loss against the Houston Oilers. The team picked up its first win in Week 4 as the Jaguars defeated the Oilers 17–16 on October 1 in Houston. The next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jaguars earned their first home win by defeating the eventual AFC Champions 20–16. The team's other two wins came in a season sweep of the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
including a Week 17 24–21 victory sealed by a Mike Hollis 34-yard field goal in the Browns' final game before the team relocated to Baltimore and was renamed the Ravens.
1996: "Jacksonville, do you believe in miracles?"
Jacksonville's 1996 season was a marked success as they won six of their last seven games of the season and finished with a record of 9–7. The credit for this midseason turnaround probably lies in the demotion of wide receiver Andre RisonAndre Rison
Andre Previn Rison is a retired American football wide receiver who played professionally for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and the Canadian Football League's...
in favor of Jimmy Smith after a game against the St. Louis Rams in which Brunell threw 5 interceptions. The interceptions were blamed on Rison and he was benched. In the team's final game of the regular season against the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, needing a win to earn a playoff berth, the Jaguars caught a bit of luck when Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen , nicknamed "The Great Dane", is a former National Football League kicker. He holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer in NFL history, as well as being the all-time leading scorer for two different teams; the New Orleans Saints, with whom he spent 13 seasons, and...
missed a 30 yard field goal with less than a minute remaining that would have given the Falcons the lead. The Jaguars clinched the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.
Their first playoff game was against the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
at Buffalo, a game the Jaguars won 30–27. Their next game was on the road against the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who had dominated the AFC with a 13–3 record (and earned the top AFC seed). The upstart Jaguars were not intimidated by the Broncos or their fans, and they largely dominated from the second quarter on. A late touchdown pass from Mark Brunell to Jimmy Smith gave the Jags a 30–20 lead. They held on to win in a huge upset, 30–27, in a game that many people still consider the franchise's finest hour. Upon their return home, the Jags were greeted by an estimated 40,000 fans at the stadium. Many of these fans had watched the game on the stadium JumboTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
displays and had stayed into the early hours of the morning when the team arrived. In the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars acquitted themselves very well, playing a tight and close defensive game in a hostile environment for over three quarters before finally losing 20–6 to the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
on the road. Their fellow second-year NFC expansion team, the Carolina Panthers, also got to the conference championship (in the NFC), where they lost 30–13 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.
1997–1999: Playoff runs and division championships
In 1997, the franchise's third season, the Jaguars and the Steelers both finished the season with an 11–5 record, tops in the AFC Central Division. Pittsburgh won the division in a tiebreaker as a result of having higher net in division games than Jacksonville. As a result, the Jaguars settled for 2nd place in the division, a Wild Card berth and the 5th seed in the AFC playoffs. The Jags postseason would end quickly as they fell in their first game, a 42–17 defeat against the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos1997 Denver Broncos season
The Denver Broncos finished the 1997 NFL season by winning Super Bowl XXXII. They went 12–4 during the regular season. The Broncos were the third team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl but not win the Division Title.- Season summary :...
at Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the...
. The Broncos, led by Terrell Davis
Terrell Davis
Terrell Lamar Davis is a former American football running back who played for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League from 1995 to 2001. Davis was drafted by the Broncos in the sixth round of the 1995 NFL Draft. Davis is the Denver Broncos all-time leading rusher, with 7,607 rushing...
, ran at will against the Jaguars, rushing for 5 touchdowns and over 300 yards.
In 1998, the Jaguars again finished 11–5 and won their first AFC Central Division title. The team became the first NFL expansion team to make the playoffs three times in its first four seasons of play. In the wild card round, the Jaguars hosted their first home playoff game, a 25–10 win over the New England Patriots. The team's season ended the next week in the Divisional Round as the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Jaguars 34–24.
In 1999, the Jaguars compiled a league best 14–2 regular season record, the best record in franchise history. The team's two losses were to the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
. The Jaguars won the AFC Central Division for the second straight year and clinched the #1 seed in the AFC. The Jaguars hosted the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Divisional playoffs, a 62–7 victory in what would be Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
and Jimmy Johnson's last NFL game. Jacksonville's 62 points and 55-point margin are the second most ever in NFL playoff history, and Fred Taylor's 90-yard run in the first quarter is the longest ever in an NFL playoff game.
The Jaguars' bid for a Super Bowl title came to an end the next week in the AFC championship game. The Jags fell at home to the Titans 33–14 in a game that the Jaguars led 14–10 at halftime, before allowing 23 unanswered points in the 2nd half. The Jaguars finished the 1999 season 15–3, with all three of their losses coming against the Titans (the only time in NFL history that a 3-loss team had all of its losses to one team). The loss marked the end of an era that saw the Jaguars make the playoffs in four of the team's first five years and would be the team's last playoff appearance until the 2005 season.
2000–2002: End of an era for coach and quarterback
These were the most disappointing years for the new franchise, due primarily to salary cap problems. In the 2000 season, veteran quarterback Mark Brunell and young running back Fred Taylor led the squad through a painful 7–9 season. The only highlights of the 2000 season were two wins over their division rival, the Cleveland Browns. The next two seasons in Jacksonville had worse records of 6–10 through the 2001 and 2002 seasons. This was mainly due to salary cap problems, meaning the team could not afford to keep a lot of talent. Coach Coughlin admitted that the team actually had more talent in its first year (1995) when it only won 4 games. This would be the last season he would coach the team. At the end of his tenure, he took out a full page ad in the Florida Times Union thanking the city of Jacksonville for "eight great seasons". Though despised by some of the fans, he drafted great talent such as Tony BoselliTony Boselli
Don Anthony "Tony" Boselli, Jr. is a former American football offensive tackle. He spent nearly all of his professional career playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ....
, Tony Brackens
Tony Brackens
Tony Lynn Brackens Jr. is a former defensive end in the NFL a born and raised in Fairfield, Texas.-College years:He played his college football at the University of Texas where he earned a reputation as a fierocus hitter. In 1995, Brackens was on the All-American team and was also on the...
, Fred Taylor, Donovin Darius
Donovin Darius
Donovin Lee Darius is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 25th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, and played for nine seasons with the team. He played for the Miami Dolphins in 2007...
, John Henderson, Marcus Stroud
Marcus Stroud
Marcus LaVar Stroud is an American Football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 13th overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia...
, and David Garrard
David Garrard
David Douglas Garrard is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.Garrard played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and served as the team's starting quarterback from 2007 to 2010...
. 2002 marked the last full season for Jaguars legend Mark Brunell
Mark Brunell
Mark Allen Brunell is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington....
, who was benched in the third game of 2003 in favor of Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich
Byron Antron Leftwich is an American football quarterback in the National Football League who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall University.Leftwich has also played...
. Brunell piled up over 25,000 yards as a Jaguar and earned three trips to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
.
In 2002 the NFL split up the two conferences into four divisions, sending the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC South. This put them in the same division as Indianapolis, Tennessee and Houston.
2003–2005: Building a playoff contender
In 2003, the Jaguars hired Jack Del RioJack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio is an American football coach and former player. Del Rio played both football and baseball for the University of Southern California Trojans, and then spent eleven years playing linebacker in the National Football League . He retired from playing in 1996 and went into coaching,...
as head coach. Del Rio was a linebacker during the late 80s and early 90s before retiring. He was formerly the Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator, bringing the team's defensive ranking from 30th to second. Prior to that, Del Rio was the Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach, participating in that capacity on the Ravens' record setting championship 2000 defense. The Jaguars selected quarterback Byron Leftwich with the seventh pick of the NFL draft. The Jaguars had high hopes for their new quarterback. The team had many failures and heatbreaking moments, ending the 2003 season at 5–11 and missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Despite resolving their salary cap problems, the team's rebuilding was clearly taking longer than expected.
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
and the Indianapolis Colts at the RCA Dome
RCA Dome
RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....
. The Jaguars' defense was a strong suit, as it included two Pro Bowl players, defensive tackles Marcus Stroud
Marcus Stroud
Marcus LaVar Stroud is an American Football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 13th overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia...
and John Henderson
John Henderson (NFL football)
John Nathan Henderson , nicknamed Big John or Big Hen, is an American football defensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
. Byron Leftwich enjoyed a solid year in 2004, helped by strong performances from holdovers Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith. Unfortunately, Taylor sustained a season-ending injury at Green Bay. The very next week the Jaguars fell to the Houston Texans, which would ultimately eliminate them from playoff contention. This denied them an opportunity to play the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
at their home stadium. In 2004, the Jaguars became the first NFL team to have three African-American quarterbacks on their roster. The quarterbacks were Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich
Byron Antron Leftwich is an American football quarterback in the National Football League who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall University.Leftwich has also played...
, David Garrard
David Garrard
David Douglas Garrard is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.Garrard played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and served as the team's starting quarterback from 2007 to 2010...
, and Quinn Gray
Quinn Gray
Quinn F. Gray, Sr. is a former American football quarterback who played for four seasons in the National Football League and one season each in the United Football League and NFL Europe. He played for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 2003, the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2005–2007, the Kansas City...
.
The 2005 Jaguars hoped to challenge the Colts for the division title. However, due to their scintillating 13–0 start, including two victories against the Jaguars, the Colts easily clinched the AFC South title. With a 12–4 record, the Jaguars earned a wild card and their first playoff appearance since 1999. Among these 12 wins were a 23–20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
on October 9, 2005 and a 23–17 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
on October 16. While the Jaguars managed to win key games in 2005, nine of their final ten games were against opponents with losing records. Though these games were wins, key players Byron Leftwich, Mike Peterson
Mike Peterson
Porter Michael "Mike" Peterson is an American professional football player who has been a linebacker in the National Football League for thirteen seasons...
, Akin Ayodele
Akin Ayodele
Akinola James "Akin" Ayodele is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
, Paul Spicer
Paul Spicer
Paul Spicer is a former defensive end who spent the majority of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1998...
, and Rashean Mathis
Rashean Mathis
Rashean Jamil Mathis is an American football cornerback currently playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.-High school:Mathis attended Englewood High School in Jacksonville at the same time as Brett Myers of the Houston Astros, and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he...
were hurt during this stretch. The Jaguars ended the season losing 28–3 to the two-time defending champion New England Patriots on January 7, 2006 in the AFC wild card playoff round.
2006: Rookie sensation becomes star of team
Jacksonville looked like a team on the rise coming off of their 12–4 season, and was considered a playoff contender entering the season. But injuries plagued the team. Reggie HaywardReggie Hayward
Reginald Joseph Hayward Jr. is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
, Greg Jones, Donovin Darius
Donovin Darius
Donovin Lee Darius is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 25th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, and played for nine seasons with the team. He played for the Miami Dolphins in 2007...
, Byron Leftwich, and Mike Peterson all suffered season-ending injuries. Marcus Stroud, Matt Jones
Matt Jones (American football)
Matthew Jones is a former American football wide receiver . He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, and retired officially in November 2010. He played college football at Arkansas....
, Paul Spicer, and Fred Taylor also faced injuries during the season. The team started off 2–0, defeating the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
earning the NFL's highest winning percentage on opening days at .750 with a record of 9–3), and shutting out the defending champs Pittsburgh Steelers. But the team lost its next two games, and suffered embarrassing losses to the Houston Texans over the course of the season (Surprisingly, Jacksonville has struggled against the Texans since Houston entered the league in 2002). They missed the playoffs with an 8–8 record, but there were some positives.
Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew is a professional American football player who currently plays running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, the Jaguars' second round draft pick, was one of the most surprising rookie sensations. He averaged 5.7 yards a carry, the highest in the league, and tied for 3rd in the NFL with 16 touchdowns. This season was also the first year the team played without their standout wide receiver Jimmy Smith as he decided to retire. His production is still missed as the Jaguars struggle to find an adequate replacement.
2007: Change at quarterback leads to a playoff run
On April 28, 2007, the Jaguars used their first-round pick (21st overall) to select Florida safety Reggie NelsonReggie Nelson
Reggie Nelson is an American professional football player who is a safety for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League...
, who in 2010 was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
. On June 15, 2007, the Jaguars released longtime strong safety Donovin Darius, who had seen diminished playing time in recent years due to mounting injuries. On August 31, 2007, the Jaguars announced that long time back-up quarterback David Garrard
David Garrard
David Douglas Garrard is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.Garrard played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and served as the team's starting quarterback from 2007 to 2010...
would start for the team, ahead of former 1st round draft pick, Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich
Byron Antron Leftwich is an American football quarterback in the National Football League who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall University.Leftwich has also played...
who was released in the team's final roster cuts. Garrard led the Jaguars to an 11–5 record and the playoffs. On January 5, 2008, the Jaguars defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–29 to win their first playoff game in almost 8 years and their first road playoff win since 1997. It was also the first time in the 50+ year history of the Steelers that they had been beaten twice at home by the same team in the same season. However, in the divisional round, the Jaguars fell to the as of then undefeated New England Patriots
2007 New England Patriots season
The 2007 New England Patriots season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and 48th season overall. They finished with a perfect 16–0 regular season record but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII....
; the teams were tied at halftime, but the Patriots pulled ahead and won 31–20. Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
completed 22 of 24 passes in this game, being pressured by the Jaguars' defense only once, on the first play. This game, more than any other, gave the Jaguars' front office a strong desire to upgrade the pass rush during the offseason.
The team's offense in 2007 was largely a run-first offense, with Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew is a professional American football player who currently plays running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
and Fred Taylor putting up a lot of yards. David Garrard, however showed to be an accurate passer in 2007, throwing only 3 interceptions.
2008: Decline and departure of a legend
The 2008 season began with high expectations for the Jaguars. The team acquired free agent wide receiver Jerry Porter and rookie defensive ends Quentin GrovesQuentin Groves
-Heart surgery:While undergoing medical tests at the NFL Combine, Groves was discovered to have Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which results in him having a rapid heartbeat because of electrical impulses in the heart taking extra pathways...
of Auburn and Derrick Harvey
Derrick Harvey
- Jacksonville Jaguars :Harvey was drafted 8th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was the first defensive end chosen by the Jaguars in the first round in franchise history. Was one of four defensive ends chosen in the first round of 2008 draft and third overall...
of Florida to address the team's most glaring needs. (Porter was released the following year and Groves was traded to Oakland in 2010.) Journalists including ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert predicted the Jaguars were poised to make a Super Bowl run.
However, the Jaguars failed to live up to those expectations, struggling to a 5–11 finish, the franchise's worst record since 2003. The team's struggles were in part, the result of a rash of injuries to the team's offensive line. The Jaguars lost starting guards Vince Manuwai
Vince Manuwai
Vincent Keoni Manuwai is an American football guard who is currently a free agent. Originally, he was selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football for the University of Hawaii Warriors.-Early years:Manuwai was born in Honolulu, Hawaii...
and Maurice Williams
Maurice Williams (American football)
Maurice Carlos Williams is an American football guard and offensive tackle who is currently a free agent of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
for the season within the first quarter of the opening game. Tackle Richard Collier
Richard Collier
Richard Bernard Collier is a former professional American football player. He played offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League from 2006–2008, until a shooting incident left him paralyzed from the waist down, ending his football career.Collier played college...
's career ended in early September when he was brutally attacked and shot 14 times. Center Brad Meester missed the first two months of the season and guard Chris Naeole, signed to the roster mid-season in response to these injuries, was injured in pregame warmups before playing a single snap. Against teams with smaller defensive linemen, the 2008 Jaguars offense resembled the 2007 offense, because the line was able to dominate. An example is the 23–21 victory in Indianapolis against the Colts that saw David Garrard drive the Jaguars into field goal range in the final minute and Josh Scobee boot the game winning 51-yard field goal. However, the Jaguars struggled mostly, especially in the second half of the season as evidenced by a 19–21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
who entered the game with an 0–8 record.
2008 marked the end of running back Fred Taylor's 11 year career as a Jaguar. Taylor, who is considered to be one of the greatest Jaguars in the history of the franchise, rushed for over 10,000 yards in his time with Jacksonville and earned one trip to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
. In 2009, he signed with the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
. Taylor's departure opened up the door for Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew is a professional American football player who currently plays running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
to become the team's feature running back.
2009–present: New GM begins rebuilding era
2009 marked the beginning of a new era for the Jaguars under new GM Gene SmithGene Smith (American football)
Gene Smith is the General Manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League .-College career:...
. Smith made his mark early on in the 2009 NFL Draft
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
by acquiring talent such as Eugene Monroe
Eugene Monroe
-Jacksonville Jaguars:In an effort to rebuild their offensive line, the Jaguars selected Monroe and Eben Britton with their first two picks. Monroe was expected to compete with veteran free-agent acquisition Tra Thomas for the start at left tackle...
, Terrence Knighton, Derek Cox
Derek Cox
Derek Sinclair Cox is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jaguars in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at William & Mary.-High school career:Cox attended Junius H. Rose High School in...
, Eben Britton
Eben Britton
-Jacksonville Jaguars:In an effort to rebuild their offensive line, the Jaguars selected Eugene Monroe and Britton with their first two picks. While Monroe is ought to occupy the left tackle spot, Britton was expected to compete with Tony Pashos for the starting nod at right tackle...
and Mike Thomas
Mike Thomas (wide receiver)
-Jacksonville Jaguars:Thomas was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. As a rookie he started four of the 14 games in which he played, and had 48 receptions for 453 yards and a touchdown. His 48 receptions were tied with Michael Crabtree for fourth among all...
, who all made significant contributions in their rookie years. The Jaguars finished off this season 7–9 and did not manage to make the playoffs. In the offseason, the Jaguars parted ways with veteran players John Henderson and Reggie Hayward
Reggie Hayward
Reginald Joseph Hayward Jr. is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
as part of the team's "youth movement".
However, 2009 also saw the team's attendance numbers plummet, leading to television blackouts
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
and speculation that the team could eventually be moved or sold. 2009 marked a low point, with the team's attendance averaging around 40,000, causing seven of the eight home games to be blacked out, and leading NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
Roger Goodell
Roger S. Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League , having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the...
to address the issue with owner Wayne Weaver. Contributing to this decline in ticket sales is the fact that Jacksonville is one of the league's smallest markets, though its stadium is relatively large; since 2005 the teams owners have covered nearly 10,000 of the stadium's 73,000 total seats with tarp in order to lower the stadium's official capacity to a more typical size and reduce blackouts. 73,000 total seats still ranks as one of the largest in the NFL. From 2008 the team further suffered from the late-2000s recession, which hit Florida particularly hard, and structural changes within the NFL that disadvantage teams in smaller markets. As such, various commentators speculated that the team may relocate in the future, perhaps to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, or even London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
EverBank
EverBank is an American diversified financial services company providing banking, mortgages, and investing services. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It operates through standard banking offices, and through its Direct Banking division. EverBank Direct operates by telephone, mail, and...
to rename the stadium EverBank Field. As a result the Jaguars' attendance increased dramatically in 2010. While attendance figures were stagnant for most of the NFL, Jacksonville saw an increase of 36.5%, by far the highest in the league, and had none of their home games blacked out.
The 2010 season proved a big year for the Jaguars on the field as well. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Jones-Drew
Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew is a professional American football player who currently plays running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
emerged as second in the league in rushing yards and David Garrard
David Garrard
David Douglas Garrard is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.Garrard played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and served as the team's starting quarterback from 2007 to 2010...
threw for 23 touchdowns, a franchise record. Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Alexis Lewis is an American football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted from UCLA as the 28th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft...
went to his first pro bowl and the Jags had one of the best young defensive tackle duo with Terrance Knighton
Terrance Knighton
-Jacksonville Jaguars:Knighton was signed by the Jaguars to a four-year contract on July 31, 2009. His contract, which includes veteran minimum salaries, plus a fourth-year escalator to $1.3 million, could reach nearly $3.32 million. He also received a signing bonus of $843,500. Knighton was...
and rookie Tyson Alualu
Tyson Alualu
-Jacksonville Jaguars:On August 2, 2010, Alualu signed a five-year deal with the Jaguars. The contract includes $17.5 million guaranteed and a total value of roughly $28 million.-2010 season:...
. Heading into December, Jacksonville was at the top of the AFC South and in playoff contention. In Week 15, they lost to Indianapolis, 34–24, which placed the Colts back atop the AFC South. The Jaguars lost their last two games, placing themselves out of playoff contention. They finished the season with disappointing record of 8–8.
In the 2011 NFL draft
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
, the Jaguars traded a first and a second round pick in order to move up to the 10th pick and select Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert
Blaine Gabbert
Blaine Gabbert is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He played college football for the University of Missouri Tigers before leaving early for the 2011 NFL draft after his junior year...
. They also selected offensive lineman Will Rackley
Will Rackley
-Jacksonville Jaguars:Rackley was drafted with the 76th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.-External links:**...
and wide receiver Cecil Shorts III
Cecil Shorts III
-Jacksonville Jaguars:Shorts was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 114th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.-External links:**...
in the 3rd and 4th round.
On September 6, 2011, David Garrard was cut from the team and Luke McCown
Luke McCown
Lucas Patrick McCown is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League...
was named starter. He started two games but Blaine Gabbert took over the starting gig after McCown threw 4 interceptions in a 32 to 3 loss to the Jets. The Jaguars offense would continue to struggle under the rookie quarterback, losing the next 4 games in a row, until a miraculous upset against the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
at home on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
.
On November 29, 2011, the Jaguars (3-8 through twelve weeks) fired Del Rio. He will be succeeded by defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
Mel Tucker
Mel Tucker
Mel Tucker is an American football coach who is currently the interim head coach and defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League .-Early life:...
on an interim basis. On the same day, Wayne Weaver announced that the team would be sold to Shahid Khan
Shahid Khan
Shahid Khan is a Pakistani-born American businessman. He is the owner of automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate Corp. in Urbana, Illinois...
.
Logos
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, then-parent of the automaker Jaguar
Jaguar (car)
Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
, believed that the Jaguars' logo bore too much resemblance to the automaker's logo. Though no lawsuit was brought to trial, an amicable agreement was ultimately reached where Jaguar would be named the official car of the Jaguars, and the Jaguars would redesign their uniforms.
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.
1995–2003
A prowling jaguar on each sleeve replaced the leaping jaguar going across both shoulders in the original design. The Jaguars in 1995 were the first NFL team to have 2-tone borders on their numbers and lettering, and the first NFL team to show a complex logo (the crawling Jaguar) on the sleeve. Teams such as the Ravens, Bucs, and Eagles copied these innovations in the late 90s, driving up the cost of their jerseys. An authentic Jaguars jersey had been among the most expensive in the league for fans to buy.
Minor modifications were introduced to the Jaguars uniform during this time, most notably the font of the jersey numbers, replacing the original block numbers with a unique font. Two stripes were also added to the end of the sleeves below the prowling jaguar.
Until 2004, the Jaguars would always wear their white jerseys for afternoon games at home during the first half of the season.
2003–2008
During this period, the Jaguars made minor changes to their uniform, each time adding more black to the look.The team introduced an alternate black jersey in 2002. During that same year, the team also started to wear black pants, with either the white or the teal jersey. After the black pants were introduced, the white pants would only be seen for the first few games of the year, presumably due to the heat. The black pants originally included two teal stripes down each side. The fan reaction to the extra black in the alternate jersey and alternate pants was positive, so in 2004 the Jaguars went through a formal uniform change, which teams are only allowed to do once every 5 years.
These changes were mostly to the away look. Before 2004, the white away jerseys had teal numbers with black and gold trim, but after, the white jerseys had black numbers with teal and gold trim. The black pants were also changed, the teal stripes replaced with the Jaguar logo on each hip. Teal almost disappeared from the road look.
The stripes on the white pants were altered in 2008 so that the center, thickest stripe was black, and its accents were teal. The black jersey was not used in 2008. In the 2008 year, the gold in the uniforms noticeably shifted from a bright yellow metallic appearance to more beige.
For most of their short history, the Jaguars did what many other NFL teams located in subtropical climates traditionally practice: wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season — forcing opponents to wear their dark ones under the sweltering autumns in Jacksonville. But in 2004 the Jaguars wore their colored uniforms for all home games. The Jaguars again wore their colored jerseys (all in teal) for all home games in 2008. Until 2004 (in 2005–2007 the Jaguars went back to wearing white at home for early season games) and then 2008, the Jaguars would always wear their white jerseys for afternoon games at home during the first half of the season. In the preseason, the Jaguars wear teal at home since these games are played at night when there is very little advantage with the heat. However, there have been games through the years where the Jaguars wore white at home in the preseason. Jacksonville last wore white at home for early season games in 2007. From 2008 until 2010 the Jaguars wore teal for all home games. The Jaguars wore white at home again in 2011. Jacksonville most recently wore white in their 2011 preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and for the 2011 regular season home opener wore all white against the Tennessee Titans.
2009–present
The Jaguars uniform underwent many changes for the 2009 season2009 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 15th season for the team in the National Football League. This was the first season for new general manager Gene Smith, who hoped to usher in a "rebuilding" era for the Jaguars franchise. The Jaguars improved upon their 5–11 record in 2008, however did...
. Team owner Wayne Weaver reportedly wanted to "clean up" the look, feeling that the team had too many uniform styles. The new uniforms were introduced in a press conference on April 22. At this press conference, Weaver elaborated that different people had taken different liberties with the Jaguars' image over the years, singling out the 'All Black' look which the team wore for every prime-time home game from 2003 to 2007 as a point of regret. He also said that the team will continue to wear teal
Teal (color)
Teal is a medium blue-green color. It is named after the Common Teal, a member of the duck family, whose eyes are surrounded by the color.Teal is one of the initial group of 16 HTML/CSS web colors formulated in 1987, shown below....
jerseys at home even on hot days, saying that the practice of choosing to wear white on hot days which ended in 2008 had also diluted the team's image.
Overall, the new jerseys have fewer features than the old ones. The collar and sleeve ends are now the same color as the rest of the jersey. The crawling jaguar is gone. The only feature on the sleeves that will remain is two standard Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
logos. The numbers on the jerseys are now a simpler, block font with a thicker, single color border. After all of these subtractions, two features were added. The first is a "JAGUARS" wordmark underneath the NFL insignia on the chest; this mimics the Titans' and Eagles' uniforms, for instance. The second is two thin 'stripes' of off-color fabric which were added to each midseam of the jersey, curling up to the neckline on the front and below the number on the back. The stripe on the home jersey is a white line next to a black line, matching the color of the numbers, and the stripe on the away jersey is a black line next to a teal line, again matching the numbers. The pants have similar stripes, both for the home and away uniform. The away uniforms are still basically black pants and numbers on a white jersey, but they now have a little more teal overall; it is the only accent color. Before, gold was more prominent than teal on the away uniform.
The Jaguars' identity, in terms of colors, as of 2009 is exclusively teal and black, with gold only being used in the logo; just as the Steelers identity is gold and black, with red and blue only being used in the logo.
The final change made to the Jaguars' uniforms in 2009 was to the helmet. The new helmet and facemask are black just like the old ones, but when light hits the new ones a certain way, both the helmet and face mask will sparkle with a shiny teal appearance. These are the first helmets in professional football which change color with different angles of light. The logo and number decals also incorporate this effect.
Mascot
Jaxson's antics got him into trouble in 1998 and stemmed the changing of the NFL's mascot rules, and also caused him to calm down. However, Jaxson was still seen, by some, as a mascot that gets in the way during the game. After the October 22, 2007 game against Indianapolis, Colts President Bill Polian complained to the NFL, and Jaxson was reprimanded again.
Jaxson's first appearance was on August 18, 1996 and has been played by Curtis Dvorak since his inception.
Stadium
EverBank Field (formerly known as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and Alltel Stadium) is located on the north bank of the St. Johns RiverSt. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
, and has been the home of the Jaguars since the team's first season in 1995. The stadium has a capacity of 67,246, with additional seating added during Florida-Georgia Game and the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
.
The stadium served as the site of Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
in addition to three Jaguar playoff games including the 1999 AFC Championship Game. It also hosted the ACC Championship Game
ACC Championship Game
The Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game is an American college football game held on the first Saturday in December by the Atlantic Coast Conference each year to determine its football champion. The game pits the champion of the Coastal Division against the champion of the Atlantic Division in a game...
from 2005–2007 and the River City Showdown from 2007–2008.
From 1995–1997 and again from 2006–2009, the stadium was named Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. From 1997–2006, the stadium was referred to as Alltel Stadium. The naming rights were purchased by EverBank
EverBank
EverBank is an American diversified financial services company providing banking, mortgages, and investing services. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It operates through standard banking offices, and through its Direct Banking division. EverBank Direct operates by telephone, mail, and...
prior to the 2010 season.
Rivals
The Jacksonville Jaguars have three primary rivals: their divisional rivals (Tennessee TitansTennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, and Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
). They have geographic rivalries with the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Tampa Bay Buccanneers. The Jaguars also have a rivalry with their 1995 expansion brethren, the Carolina Panthers. The Jaguars also have rivalries with other teams that arose from the AFC Central days, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
Season-by-season results
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.| Super Bowl Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!rowspan="2" | Season
!rowspan="2" |Team
!rowspan="2" | League
!rowspan="2" | Conference
!rowspan="2" | Division
!colspan="4" | Regular season
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
!rowspan="2" | Postseason
NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...
Results
|-
!Finish
!Wins
!Losses
!Ties
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1995
1995 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 1995 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's first year in the National Football League.-Expansion Draft: -Staff:-Roster:-Schedule:-Schedule:-References:* *...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center;"|5th
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|12
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1996
1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's second year in the National Football League, and saw the Jaguars trying to improve on their 4-12 record from their inaugural season. The Jaguars marked success as they won six of their last seven games of the season and finished with a record of 9–7...
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"| 2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|9
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) 30–27
Won Divisional Playoffs (Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) 30–27
Lost Conference Championship (Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
) 20–6
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
1997 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's third year in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Awards and records:...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Broncos) 42–17
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1998
1998 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 1998 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's fourth year in the National Football League. The Jaguars appeared twice on Monday Night Football.-Staff:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Awards and records:...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|1st
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 25–10
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) 34–24
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1999
1999 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's fifth year in the National Football League. Wide receiver Jimmy Smith set a franchise record for most receptions and receiving yards in one season. Smith would finish second in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,636 yards. The Jaguars' regular...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|Central
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|1st
| style="text-align:center; background:#c8a2c8;"|14
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) 62–7
Lost Conference Championship (Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
) 33–14
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
2000 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2000 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's sixth year in the National Football League. They finished with a record of 7–9.-Staff:-Schedule: -Schedule:-Standings:-Awards and records:...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center;"|4th
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|9
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2001
2001 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2001 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's seventh year in the National Football League.-2001 NFL Draft:-Staff:-Schedule:-Standings:-References:* *...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|Central
| style="text-align:center;"|5th
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2002
2002 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2002 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the team's 8th year in the National Football League. The team finished with a record of 6–10 and finished 3rd place in the AFC South...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2003
2003 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2003 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the ninth season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars failed to improve upon their 6–10 regular season record in 2002 and did not make the playoffs....
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2004
2004 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2004 season brought about Jack Del Rio's second year as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Byron Leftwich's first full year as a starter...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|9
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
2005 Jacksonville Jaguars season
After a 9–7 season in 2004 the Jaguars came out of the gates prepared to become a dominant force in the AFC. They achieved that task, going 12–4 in the regular season, but did not manage to win their own division, getting swept by the Indianapolis Colts as they went 14–2...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|12
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 28–3
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|2006
2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 11th season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars failed to improve on their 12–4 record from 2005, and missed the playoffs.-2006 NFL Draft:-Staff:-Preseason:Source:...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
| style="text-align:center;"|2007
2007 Jacksonville Jaguars season
-Final roster:-Schedule:The Jacksonville Jaguars pre-season schedule was announced on April 11, 2007.-Schedule:-Week 1: vs. Tennessee Titans:-Week 2: vs. Atlanta Falcons:-Week 3: at Denver Broncos:-Week 5: at Kansas City Chiefs:...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|AFC
| style="text-align:center;"|South
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"| Won Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
) 31–29
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 31–20
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2008
2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 14th season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars failed to improve upon their 11–5 record from 2007 and did not make the playoffs, contrary to many preseason predictions.-2008 NFL Draft picks:...
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 4th
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 11
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009
2009 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 15th season for the team in the National Football League. This was the first season for new general manager Gene Smith, who hoped to usher in a "rebuilding" era for the Jaguars franchise. The Jaguars improved upon their 5–11 record in 2008, however did...
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 4th
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2010
2010 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2010 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 16th season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars, who are in their second year of "rebuilding" under general manager Gene Smith, improved upon their 7–9 record from 2009, but narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8–8 record...
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 2nd
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
2011 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2011 Jacksonville Jaguars season is the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League and the 9th under head coach Jack Del Rio, who was fired on November 29 and replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. The team had hoped to improve on their 8–8 record from...
| style="text-align:center;"| NFL
| style="text-align:center;"| AFC
| style="text-align:center;"| South
| style="text-align:center;"| 3rd*
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;" rowspan="5" colspan="6"|Totals
! style="text-align:center;"|136
! style="text-align:center;"|130
! style="text-align:center;"|0
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|All-time regular season record (1995–2011)
|- style="text-align:center;"
||5
||6
||-
| colspan="3"|All-time postseason record (1995–2011)
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|141
! style="text-align:center;"|136
! style="text-align:center;"|0
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|All-time regular season and postseason record (1995–2011)
|-
Retired numbers
Although not officially retired, the number 71, as worn by Tony BoselliTony Boselli
Don Anthony "Tony" Boselli, Jr. is a former American football offensive tackle. He spent nearly all of his professional career playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ....
has not been worn since 2002. According to team officials the number has been "taken out of service."
Pride of the Jaguars
The Jaguars unveiled their own "Ring of Honor" during the 2006 season at the New York Jets game on October 8, 2006. A contest was held in July 2006 to name their club's hall of fame and "Pride of the Jaguars" was chosen with 36% of the vote. Former left tackle Tony Boselli was inducted. Team owner Wayne Weaver said that Boselli would be the only one enshrined in 2006 but "others will follow later." Weaver also said that retired wide receiver Jimmy Smith would probably be the second player to be inducted.Head coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through Week 8 of the 2011 NFL season2011 NFL season
The 2011 NFL season, the 92nd regular season of the National Football League, began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and will end with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on...
.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:140px;"|Name
! rowspan="2" | Term
! colspan="4" | Regular Season
! colspan="2" | Playoffs
! rowspan="2" | Awards
! rowspan="2" | Reference
|-
! W
! L
! T
! Win%
! W
! L
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|Tom Coughlin
Tom Coughlin
Thomas Richard Coughlin is an American football coach who is currently head coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League . Coughlin has led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII. Coughlin was also the inaugural head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, serving from 1995–2002 and...
| style="text-align:center;"|–
| style="text-align:center;"|68
| style="text-align:center;"|60
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|.531
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|Jack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio is an American football coach and former player. Del Rio played both football and baseball for the University of Southern California Trojans, and then spent eleven years playing linebacker in the National Football League . He retired from playing in 1996 and went into coaching,...
| style="text-align:center;"|–
| style="text-align:center;"|68
| style="text-align:center;"|71
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|Mel Tucker
Mel Tucker
Mel Tucker is an American football coach who is currently the interim head coach and defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League .-Early life:...
(Interim)
| style="text-align:center;"|–present
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|0
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|
|}
Offensive coordinators
- Kevin GilbrideKevin GilbrideKevin Gilbride is an American football coach. Gilbride served as the San Diego Chargers head coach from 1997-1998. He went to Southern Connecticut State University, where he played both quarterback and tight end. He would later coach at his alma mater for five seasons starting in 1980 and compiled...
(1995–1996) - Chris PalmerChris Palmer (football coach)Chris Palmer is the offensive coordinator of the American football NFL's Tennessee Titans. He is the former head coach of the Hartford Colonials in the United Football League, and also a former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and former assistant coach of the Houston Texans, Jacksonville...
(1997–1998) - Bobby PetrinoBobby PetrinoBobby Petrino is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Arkansas, a position he has held since the 2008 season...
(2000–2001) - (none) (2002)
- Bill MusgraveBill MusgraveWilliam Scott Musgrave is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.-Playing career:...
(2003–2004) - Carl SmithCarl Smith (football coach)Carl Smith is an American football coach and most recently hired to be the Quarterbacks Coach of the Seattle Seahawks football team...
(2005–2006) - Dirk KoetterDirk Koetter-NFL drafted players under Koetter:-External links:* *...
(2007–present)
Defensive coordinators
- Dick JauronDick JauronRichard Manuel Jauron is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was the head coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2006 until November 2009. Jauron has previously held head coaching positions with the Chicago Bears and, on an interim basis, with the...
(1995–1998) - Dom CapersDom CapersErnest Dominic "Dom" Capers is an American football coach, the current defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, and the only man to serve two different National Football League expansion teams as their inaugural head coach....
(1999–2000) - Gary MoellerGary MoellerGary O. Moeller is an American football coach best known for being head coach at the University of Michigan from 1990 to 1994. During his five seasons at Michigan, he won 44 games, lost 13 and tied 3 for a winning percentage of .758...
(2001) - John PeaseJohn PeaseJohn Alan Pease, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an advocate for strengthening academic standards, mentoring students, and making higher education affordable to students who come from less privileged backgrounds.To University of...
(2002) - Mike SmithMike Smith (football coach)Mike Smith, known colloquially as Smitty, is the current head coach for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars since the 2003 season...
(2003–2007) - Gregg WilliamsGregg WilliamsGregg Williams is the defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints and the former head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Considered one of the most respected defensive minds in the game, Williams is known for running aggressive, attacking 4-3 schemes that put heavy pressure on opposing...
(2008) - Mel TuckerMel TuckerMel Tucker is an American football coach who is currently the interim head coach and defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League .-Early life:...
(2009–present)
Work in the community
The Jaguar's first head coach, Tom Coughlin, established the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation
Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation
The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, also known simply as the Jay Fund, is a 501 non-profit organization established in 1996 and devoted to assisting "children with leukemia and other cancers and their families by providing emotional and financial support to help reduce the stress associated with...
in 1996 to help young cancer victims and their families with emotional and financial assistance. The charity remained in Jacksonville after Coughlin left to coach the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Radio and television
Since their inaugural 1995 season, the Jaguars' flagship radio station has been WOKVWOKV
WOKV and WOKV-FM are a pair of American radio stations in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. WOKV-AM/FM is owned by Cox Radio of Atlanta, Georgia, and simulcasts a conservative talk radio format....
.
Since 2007, WOKV simulcasts on both AM 690 and on 106.5 FM. Brian Sexton, Sports Director for WAWS
WAWS
WAWS is the Fox-affiliated television station for Florida's First Coast licensed to Jacksonville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter on Hogan Road in the city's Southside section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 10 and in high...
& WTEV-TV, and a past contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
, is the play-by-play announcer, Jeff Lageman
Jeff Lageman
Jeffrey David Lageman , is a former American football player and current sports commentator. He played college football for the University of Virginia Cavaliers and was signed as a defensive end by the New York Jets of the National Football League in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft...
is the color analyst, and Cole Pepper serves as the pre-game and post-game show host with former NFL star and Georgia Tech stand out Marco Coleman serving as post-game analyst. During preseason games, telecasts not seen nationwide are on WTEV
WTEV-TV
WTEV-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Florida's First Coast licensed to Jacksonville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Hogan Road in the city's Southside section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high...
channel 47, the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate. Since 2007, the announcers were Paul Burmeister
Paul Burmeister
Paul Burmeister is an analyst for the NFL Network, hosting such shows as College Scoreboard, Path to the Draft and Playbook....
and former Jaguars Left Tackle Tony Boselli
Tony Boselli
Don Anthony "Tony" Boselli, Jr. is a former American football offensive tackle. He spent nearly all of his professional career playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League ....
.
Florida
{| class="wikitable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"|-
!City !! Call Sign !! Frenquency
|-
| Cocoa
Cocoa, Florida
Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,412 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, the estimated population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 16,478. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Cocoa was...
|| WMMV-AM || 1350 AM
|-
| Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
|| WELE
WELE
WELE is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format.Licensed to Ormond Beach, Florida, USA, the station serves the Daytona Beach area. The station is currently owned by Wings Communications, Incorporated and features programing from Westwood One, ESPN Radio and CNN Radio....
-AM || 1380 AM
|-
| Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
|| WRUF-AM || 850 AM
|-
| Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
|| WOKV
WOKV
WOKV and WOKV-FM are a pair of American radio stations in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. WOKV-AM/FM is owned by Cox Radio of Atlanta, Georgia, and simulcasts a conservative talk radio format....
-AM || 690 AM
|-
| Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
|| WOKV
WOKV
WOKV and WOKV-FM are a pair of American radio stations in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. WOKV-AM/FM is owned by Cox Radio of Atlanta, Georgia, and simulcasts a conservative talk radio format....
-FM || 106.5 FM
|-
| Lake City
Lake City, Florida
Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 12,614. In addition, it is the Principal City of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is composed of Columbia County, and had an...
|| WNFB
WNFB
WNFB is a Hot Adult Contemporary music formatted radio station primarily serving the Lake City, Florida, area, owned by the Newman Media, Inc....
-FM || 94.3 FM
|-
| Melbourne
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
|| WMMB
WMMB
WMMB and WMMV are radio stations simulcasting a News Talk Information format. WMMB is licensed to serve the Melbourne, Florida, USA area and WMMV is licensed to serve the Cocoa, Florida area. The stations are owned by Clear Channel Communications and licensed to Capstar TX Limited Partnership...
-AM || 1240 AM
|-
| Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
|| WYGM-AM || 740 AM
|-
| Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
|| WPSL
WPSL (AM)
WPSL is a radio station broadcasting on 1590kHz from Port St. Lucie, Florida. It has a power of 5 kilowatts daytime & 63 watts nighttime....
-AM || 1590 AM
|-
| St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
|| WAOC
WAOC
WAOC is a radio station broadcasting a Sports radio format. Licensed to St. Augustine, Florida, USA, the station serves the Jacksonville area. The station is currently owned by Phillips Broadcasting, LLC and features programing from ESPN Radio, The Sport Buffet and Motor Racing...
-AM || 1420 AM
|}
Georgia
{| class="wikitable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"|-
!City !! Call Sign !! Frenquency
|-
| Brunswick
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
|| WHFX
WHFX
WHFX is a radio station broadcasting an album oriented rock format. Licensed to Darien, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick area. The station is currently owned by Qantum of Brunswick License Company, LLC.-History:...
-FM || 107.7 FM
|-
| Jesup
Jesup, Georgia
Jesup is a city in Wayne County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,279 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wayne County.-Geography:Jesup is located at ....
|| WIFO-FM
WIFO-FM
WIFO-FM is Jesup's FM heritage station, broadcasting a wide variety of programming, including mornings with Butch Hubbard, Local News with Bob Morgan, Local Sports; The only FM Atlanta Braves affiliate for Baxley, Hinesville, Jesup, Waycross, Brunswick, and Camden County; Since 1971 the oldest...
|| 105.5 FM
|}