Marc Trestman Would Be Best Choice for Jaguars OC, Blake Bortles' Development

When the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Blake Bortles with the third overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, they, as any team, did more than draft him in the present. They also drafted his ability to develop into what they believed—as explicitly noted by the pick—would be a franchise-caliber NFL quarterback. 

One year in, that hasn't happened. While he demonstrated his upside as an athlete, Bortles regressed down the stretch. It was so ugly that his play routinely pulled down the best efforts of exciting young Jaguars receivers like Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. 

The good news is that Bortles' rookie year was not a complete wash: The Jaguars learned that he clearly has the arm to make plays downfield, and he's a good enough athlete to compensate for some of his problems in the pocket. The bad news? Well, quarterbacks that play as early, often and bad as Bortles don't exactly have sterling long-term track records.

Player	Team	Year	DYAR	DVOA
David Carr	HOU	2002	-1,129	-47.4%
Blaine Gabbert	JAC	2011	-1,009	-46.5%
Bobby Hoying	PHI	1998	-964	-68.3%
Blake Bortles	JAC	2014	-955	-40.6%

(DVOA-DYAR for single-season, young awful quarterbacks.)

Yes, Jaguars fans, that is Blaine Gabbert territory. If it makes you feel any better, I do think Bortles is clearly superior to Gabbert on the field. But, as you know, Gabbert territory is a scary place to be. 

Jacksonville's push to re-establish itself on the NFL map will be delayed if its top picks keep failing, and Bortles needs to be treated as the team's most important asset until he proves otherwise. That means, whichever offensive coordinator takes over for the deposed Jedd Fisch, he needs to be someone with a track record of quarterback development and an ability to get the most out of quarterbacks.

Enter fallen star, noted "quarterback whisperer" and former Bears head coach Marc Trestman. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Trestman is set to interview with the Jaguars in the near future:

Trestman was ousted in Chicago for a good reason—he lost control of the locker room. But looking at his track record of developing quarterbacks has to be an enticing pull for a team that desperately needs Bortles to work out. Trestman worked with Steve Young, created a second act for Rich Gannon's career and most recently somehow turned Josh McCown into a passable NFL quarterback.  

Trestman is also seen as an adaptable mind, which is important for getting the best out of a player like Bortles. The "moldable clay" adjective is one often brought up with Bortles, and though I see his major strength as his ability outside of the pocket, I don't think anyone can pretend they know where Bortles will be at this time next year. Based on his past experiences, I'd expect Trestman to get the most out of Bortles.

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He's flexible and creative, there's no question about that. I would compare what we've done in Montreal the majority of the time with what you see in New Orleans with Drew Brees. Marc's very adaptable. This past season, we had a lot of injuries on offense and were still one of the highest scoring teams. We went from more of a spread offense to a two or three tight end package with a third-string running back. We never had our starting receiving corps together from game No. 3 on, and he adapted and adjusted. We still averaged over 30 points a game. He is creative and finds ways to get it done with what he has to work with. 

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And that's a major differentiation between Trestman and the other candidates ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco is reporting are contenders for the job: 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson. Roman watched quarterback Colin Kaepernick stagnate this year and could do nothing to pull him out of the funk. Wilson doesn't have any offensive coordinator experience. 

I do think Roman is probably a better coordinator from a pure X's and O's standpoint than Trestman. But that's not the most important thing for this team at this time. The most important thing the Jaguars can do is maximize their chances that Bortles pans out. 

Trestman isn't necessarily the only quarterback guru in the park, but it's hard to argue against his track record. Sometimes, a team and a coach just seem to be such a perfect fit that it's hard to see why they wouldn't choose each other. 

In this case, I think Trestman is the logical choice for the Jaguars. They couldn't bet on a finer horse to try to salvage Bortles' upside. 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.