Jacksonville Jaguars: Grading Jags' GM Gene Smith's Offseason

When Gene Smith took over as general manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars following the firing of James "Shack" Harris, many fans were elated to finally have a fresh start and a new strategy to building the team.

Three seasons later, many of the same fans are now calling for Smith's head.

Frustrated with lackluster free agents, loyalty to an average coach, and what seemed like many reaches throughout the draft, the fan base was quickly growing tired of Smith's plan.

With a new owner in place, Gene Smith was given another offseason to save his job and improve the team.

Hiring Coach

Following a 5-11 finish in 2011, the Jaguars finally let go of long-time head coach, Jack Del Rio. Del Rio posted a 69-73 record in his nine seasons as coach, but only two playoff appearances.

Gene Smith tabbed the "hot" offensive guy, Mike Mularkey, to be his first coaching hire.

Mularkey was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons from 2008-2011.

While with the Falcons, he groomed young quarterback Matt Ryan and rookie wide receiver Julio Jones. Both are positions that need major attention for the Jaguars.

Mularkey had the 10th ranked offense in the NFL last season and favors a balance of both the run and the pass. The Jags return the league's leading rusher in Maurice Jones-Drew, but the worst passing offense in the NFL in 2011.

Gene Smith was also able to keep defensive coordinator Mel Tucker on the staff.

The architect of the sixth-ranked defense last season, Tucker was a hot commodity on the coaching market, but elected to return to the defense that he helped build.

The feeling is that the coaching staff has been improved and the assistants brought in will help polish the young guys into solid NFL players.

Grade: B

Re-Signing Team's Free Agents

One of the keys to building a team for the future is identifying the players currently on the team that need to be retained and then locking them up long-term.

The Jags had three key defensive starters who were set to become free agents following the 2011 season.

Jeremy Mincey, the team-leader in sacks a year ago, tested the open market. After flirting with a couple teams, he wound up re-signing in Jacksonville.

Rashean Mathis, a long-time fixture as a starting cornerback, re-upped with the team following a torn ACL he suffered in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Jaguars traded a draft pick to the New York Jets prior to the season to acquire safety Dwight Lowery. He almost immediately took over at one of the starting safety positions and played well there throughout the season. He also chose to re-sign with the Jags during the offseason.

Being able to keep the sixth-ranked defense complete, despite vital players having expired contracts, was a vital coup for Gene Smith.

Grade: A

Free Agency

For years, free agency was a period where the Jaguars proceeded very cautiously.

Being burned by big-name players in the past, like Hugh Douglas and Bryce Paup, made the Jags fairly gun-shy about handing out big contracts for the big names.

After going heavy on defense in free agency last offseason, Gene Smith told reporters that the team would not be as active in free agency this year.

Smith still managed to sign three big name guys to contracts.

Laurent Robinson, former Dallas Cowboys receiver, filled an immediate need as a starting wide-out that the Jags were severely lacking. His 11 TDs in 2011 are far and away tops over anything that last season's receivers were able to muster.

The signing of former Dolphin's quarterback, Chad Henne, now gives the Jaguars a capable back-up, and someone that could even challenge incumbent starter Blaine Gabbert to be the team's signal-caller.

The Jags were decimated by injuries last season, with several in the secondary. The team turned to Giants starting cornerback Aaron Ross to add depth and possibly compete for one of the starting cornerback spots.

Even though the players signed were not the top guys available in free agency, Gene Smith still managed to address several areas of need with solid players with fairly team-friendly contracts.

Grade: B-

The Draft

The NFL Draft is where Gene Smith has taken most of his criticism after what many pundits, fans and analysts would consider reaching on players throughout the draft process.

Gene also showed a propensity to drafting lower division players leading to his nickname "Small-School Gene."

The 2012 Draft started with a bang for the Jaguars when they traded up to the fifth pick with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to select Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

The selection of Blackmon vastly improves one of the worst receiver groups in the NFL.

In the second round, Smith pulled the trigger on one of the best-remaining pass rushers available in Clemson defensive end Andre Branch.

The Jags defense was only able to muster 31 sacks last season. They hope that Branch will be able to help increase that number.

The third round, however, brought possibly the most questionable pick of the draft, California punter Bryan Anger.

Anger should be an immediate improvement from last season and be a real weapon in field-position.

With their remaining three picks, Smith added depth with Nevada linebacker Brandon Marshall, FSU cornerback Mike Harris and Ashland defensive tackle Jeris Pendleton.

Smith's first two picks were home-runs, pulling starters out of both rounds. With several starting-caliber players still available, the Jaguars drafted back-ups essentially, still leaving room to be desired from the 2012 Draft.

Grade: C

Contract Squabbles

Arguably the two most productive players for the Jaguars in 2011, Josh Scobee and Maurice Jones-Drew, are absent from the team's offseason programs and OTAs.

Josh Scobee is seeking a long-term contract after having the Franchise Tag placed on him.

He is not reporting in hopes of having a new deal worked out soon.

Jones-Drew is continuing his offseason training program near his home in California, but Mike Mularkey confirmed that he wants a new contract.

Not locking up Scobee with a contract is a questionable move by Gene Smith. He has one of the strongest legs and is one of the more reliable kickers in the league.

MJD, on the other hand, just signed a new contract in 2009 and has two years remaining. Plus, he has carried the load for Jags the past couple of years and has a lot of tread on the tires.

So, it is understandable why Smith would approach this situation slowly and with a great deal of caution.

Gene Smith's lack of communication with either player regarding each player's situation is troubling and is leaving many fans concerned over their absence.

Grade: F

Final Grade

The decisions that Gene Smith has made this offseason have been fairly solid and have gone a long way toward improving a 5-11 Jaguars team.

The hiring of Mike Mularkey and the retention of Mel Tucker will greatly help both sides of the ball.

How Smith handled the team's own free agents was great. He kept together one of the league's top defensive units.

The additions of Laurent Robinson, Chad Henne and Aaron Ross will be key players in the plans of the Jaguars for many seasons.

Justin Blackmon may be the go-to wide receiver the Jags have lacked since Jimmy Smith retired and they hope Branch can be the team's next Tony Brackens. Bryan Anger will only improve a dismal punting game.

All of these positives could quickly fall by the wayside if Gene is not able to reach some sort of agreement with both Josh Scobee and Maurice Jones-Drew.

While Gene Smith made some good decisions and brought in some solid players, he also has the Jaguars two best players sitting at home over contract disputes.

All in all, this may turn out to be Gene Smith's best offseason with Jacksonville since taking over for "Shack" Harris.

Final Grade: B-