The Jaguars believed they had finally found their ideal candidate when they brought Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson to Duval County. Everything was going smoothly. Trevor Lawrence was slowly finding his feet in the NFL. Hell, he even landed a whopping $275M contract extension this past offseason. Like the Jaguars were all in on the pair of Pederson and Lawrence. But then the 2024 season came along, and everything the Jaguars were trying to build crumbled like a house of cards.

See, Pederson came in on a rescue mission, which obviously the Jaguars have again found themselves in. He took upon a team that finished 3-14 under Urban Meyer in 2021. Then, the Jaguars finished next season with a 9-8 record, earning a spot in the postseason. Lawrence even earned his first Pro Bowl in 2022 as the Jaguars looked like a team on the up. However, this team soon started to collapse the following season. They lost five of their six remaining games to miss the playoffs. And this season, the holes were already there from the beginning.

The Jaguars opened the season with a 0-4 record and eventually finished 4-13 with Lawrence playing just 10 games. Trevor was constantly underperforming in his last stretch of games with Pederson at the helm. Last season, he threw 14 interceptions, and this season, he had already thrown 7 in 10 games. So, with the arrival of Liam Coen as head coach. Lawrence had one thing to say, which probably will make a huge difference. “Obviously, the play-calling is super important.” Yes, it’s evident that Lawrence needs some urgent help to improve his status as a former No. 1 overall pick. Like you wouldn’t expect a $275M QB to throw 46 interceptions compared to just 69 TDs in the first 4 seasons in the NFL.

There is a clear gap in the guidance Lawrence didn’t get under Pederson. He also pointed out the new energy this team could get with Coen’s arrival, “And I think this team just needs some juice. And I know he’s going to bring that as players. I’m ready to lead and bring that as well.” Of course, they need the juice that Coen will surely treat Jacksonville with. After what they had just gone through, Coen brings fresh air and new ideas to Duval. And maybe that’s why Lawrence has squashed any ideas of moving anywhere else. 

Jacksonville—Trevor Lawrence ain’t going anywhere 

Shad Khan had made it pretty clear when he hired Liam Coen that, “Our commitment to Trevor. I think it’s well-known, and we believe in him. So, it started with that. That was the fundamental question, really, to all the candidates.” Even Coen came in and said the same things about supporting Lawrence no matter what the cost, “We’ve got to build it around him as well. We’ve got to make every part of this about improvement, and he will be a part of that process. This will all be about Trevor right now.” Still, in some amazing circumstances, reports came out from Big Ten Network’s Ryan Burr that the Steelers were supposedly looking to take Lawrence away from the Jaguars.

While at that time those rumors looked fishy, Trevor Lawrence has squashed any idea of it happening. “That’s funny. You know, I didn’t really see anything. My agent texted me and was hey, this is then, of course, I saw it after he texted me.” He also separately pointed out how he doesn’t even have a trade clause in his contract for it to happen, “I gave a no-trade clause in my contract.” This means there was no chance the Jaguars would have entertained the idea of trading away their franchise signal-caller.

And last but not least, Lawrence also made one thing clear: “I’m happy here in Jacksonville. I plan on you, we want to win a Super Bowl here, and I think we can do that. And I don’t want to leave Jacksonville. So I’m happy here, obviously, I’m not going to Pittsburgh.” Judging by Lawrence’s comments, you could easily get that he is completely committed to the Jaguars project. And there’s no way he would like to jump from a ship that he is supposed to steer next season. Like a true captain, Lawrence ain’t going anywhere. He’s here to stay as long as it takes.