Keenan McCardell Named Jaguars WR Coach: Latest Contract Details, Reaction

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Friday they have hired Keenan McCardell as their wide receivers coach. 

McCardell is a former NFL wide receiver and 17-year veteran who spent six seasons with the Jaguars from 1996 to 2001.  

He's also one of the best receivers in Jaguars franchise history:

Stat	Amount	Franchise Rank
Receptions	499	2nd
Receptions/Game	5.3	1st
Yards	6,393	2nd
Touchdowns	30	2nd

McCardell had stints with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins during his career as well, compiling 11,373 total receiving yards and 63 touchdowns.

After playing, he was the wide receivers coach for the Redskins from 2010 to 2011 before joining the University of Maryland at the same position from 2014 to 2015.

While at Maryland, he coached Minnesota Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs, who is developing into a premier pass-catcher in the NFL after just two seasons.

He still has strong ties in Jacksonville, though, as the team's executive vice president of football operations, Tom Coughlin, was his head coach during his six-year tenure.

Coughlin spoke about his hiring on Friday:

"

We all understand what Keenan means to this organization and we are excited to welcome him home to Jacksonville, as he'll oversee the growth and consistent improvement of our receiving corps. I had the pleasure of coaching Keenan for six seasons and understand his passion for the game of football and his burning desire to win.

"

McCardell will be working with some young, talented receivers in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. However, they are both coming off down seasons in 2016. 

Robinson answered a 1,400-yard 2015 with just 883 yards in 2016, while Hurns was limited to just 11 games due to a hamstring injury. He was only able to post 447 yards in a disappointing return from a 1,031-yard 2015.

Marqise Lee did take advantage of his chance to get regular playing time, though, as he put up a career-high 851 yards and three touchdowns. 

If Hurns can stay healthy with Lee building off a successful 2016, McCardell could help form an impressive trio of receivers for quarterback Blake Bortles in 2017.