Jaguars Trolled by NFL Fans for Baalke Firing amid Failure to Land Top HC Candidates

The Jacksonville Jaguars are still in the market for a new head coach after potential candidates Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears), Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots) and Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) all went elsewhere.

Now they are in the market for a new general manager as well.

Shortly after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Jets are hiring Glenn on Tuesday, he also reported the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to fire Trent Baalke.

The news led to plenty of reaction on social media:

Earlier this month, Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement saying the team fired head coach Doug Pederson but decided to keep Baalke to help lead the search for a new head coach.

Alas, the team still does not have a head coach after many of the prominent candidates went elsewhere. It is easy to speculate with Wednesday's move that Khan and the front office are not happy with the way the search is progressing and decided to move on from the general manager as well.

Khan released a statement expressing his appreciation for Baalke and explaining that interim G.M. Ethan Waugh will now help with the search for a new coach:

Jacksonville hired Baalke ahead of the 2020 season as its director of player personnel and then promoted him to interim general manager during that campaign following the firing of Dave Caldwell. Baalke remained as the full-time general manager moving forward starting with the 2021 season.

The Jaguars made the playoffs just once during the last five seasons with him on the staff and are coming off a 4-13 record in 2024.

Baalke's time as the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-16 was far more successful, as the NFC West team went to three straight NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl from the 2011 campaign through the 2013 one.

However, his relationship with former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was widely dissected and not believed to be a great one. San Francisco eventually fired the G.M. after the 2016 season.

Now Jacksonville has as well.