Mike Mularkey Hired: What It Means for Future of Jacksonville Jaguars' Franchise

Mike Mularkey was named the Jacksonville Jaguars fourth head coach in the team's history Tuesday night, according to a story on nfl.com.

Mularkey was interviewed on Tuesday and was the fourth candidate to receive an interview from the Jaguars in their search to replace fired head coach Jack Del Rio, who was ushered out during the regular season.

The Jaguars finished the year with a 5-11 record under interim coach Mel Tucker.

The team had already met with Tucker, New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.

A press conference is scheduled for Wednesday to make a formal announcement.

Mularkey was believed to be a favorite for the open position as he was interviewed for the open vacancy in 2002 when Tom Coughlin was fired by then owner Wayne Weaver. Weaver, who recently sold the team to Shahid Khan, chose Del Rio over Mularkey.

Mularkey was a former head coach in Buffalo, where he had a 14-18 record in two seasons. He also served as offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh prior to accepting the Bills job. He was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta before accepting the job here in Jacksonville.

The move comes on the heels of the Jaguars ending a regular season where their offense led by offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was last in the NFL in passing offense and yards per contest.

While Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing with 1,606 yards, rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert was amongst the worst in the NFL, and the receiving corps were pedestrian at best.

According to jacksonville.com and a story by Tania Ganguli, the development of Gabbert will be a prime task for Mularkey and his staff.

The move means that the Jaguars appear committed to making changes on the offensive side of the ball. While the defense finished sixth over all in the NFL, there was little changes made through free agency and the draft to help the running game. And with the seventh pick in April's NFL Draft, the Jaguars may be able to acquire a top-flight receiver before trying to sign a few in free agency.

Mularkey can now assemble a coaching staff of his own. Whether any of the current Jaguars coaches will be part of the staff is not known yet.

The Falcons' Harry Douglas, a receiver familiar with the Mularkey offense, may be a player the Jaguars target. Mularkey has been the Falcons' offensive coordinator since a two-year stint as an assistant coach under Nick Saban with the Miami Dolphins. He was scheduled to interview for their head coach opening this week. He was offensive coordinator under Saban in 2006.

Could this mean the Jaguars will implement a passing offense similar to that used in Atlanta? Matt Ryan, the Falcons' starting quarterback, was drafted in 2008 and threw for 3,440 yards in his rookie year and had an 87.7 rating. He threw 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions that season.

In the 2011 season, Ryan threw for 4,177 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He had a rating of 92.2.

Atlanta was eliminated by the New York Giants, 24-2 in last weekend's wild-card playoff game.

With the new ownership committed to winning, as Khan said he wanted an offensive-minded coach, the team will also have to focus on retaining Tucker, who was the defensive coordinator this season and helped the unit become one of the best in the league.

Earlier in the day, there was a report in the Florida Times-Union that the Minnesota Vikings had notified the Jaguars of their intent to interview Tucker, and he was in Minnesota on Tuesday night.

The Vikings do not currently have an opening at defensive coordinator.