JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson knows his job is in jeopardy amid arguably the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, but there's one thing that he's hoping will work in his favor when owner Shad Khan makes that decision.
The Jaguars have kept fighting.
While talking about the importance of continuity in terms of getting the Jaguars back to being a contender in the AFC South, Pederson pointed out Monday that he hasn't lost the locker room and the players haven't quit.
"I think the consistency, the continuity, you're in it together, you know exactly how people think, how people operate, the communication level, all of that, is positive in a direction that you're trying to go," Pederson said. "I think it'd be different, too, if you saw people throw in the towel a month ago, right? Or say, you always hear coaches losing a locker room, right then, I think that's a different situation. I think that's a different story. I think that's a different set of circumstances.
"I just don't feel that here. I don't. I don't think that's the case here. It was evident yesterday by the way the guys fought and battled right to the end, the joy in the locker room at the end, the camaraderie, the high fives, the hugs. I mean, that's not a team that's quitting, right? That's not a team that's just throwing in a white towel or waving a white flag. It's a team that's trying to work its way out of a hole that they've dug."
Multiple players echoed those sentiments after Sunday's 20-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans, saying they are staying committed despite the poor record.
"We're not going to quit and we're grinders, honestly," safety Andrew Wingard said. "That's never been an issue here. I'm telling you.... The culture is we've got dogs. We've got guys that work hard, and we've got guys that want to go out and be great. So that is not an issue in my opinion."
Defensive tackle Travon Walker added that the Jaguars "don't go to work every day just to come out on Sundays and half-way do things."
"We come to win, and that's what we're doing," Walker said. "We're just staying together as a collective unit, and continuously going, no matter the circumstances."
Both Wingard and Walker pointed to Sunday's victory as proof. The game wasn't won until safety Antonio Johnson knocked away Mason Rudolph's fourth-down pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone with nine seconds to play.
That was just the Jaguars' fourth victory of the season and only their fifth in the last 22 games. Khan had much higher expectations for 2024, telling the team in a pre-training camp meeting that "this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ever."
The Jaguars are 3-9 in one-score games this season. Per ESPN Research the nine losses are tied for the most in a single season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). Multiple teams have lost nine one-score games in a season, most recently in 2022 when Denver and Las Vegas both went 4-9.
"We need to find the reasons why [they've struggled in one-score games]," Pederson said. "If it comes down to decision I make, I've got to be better for that decision to help our team win. If it comes down to a player making a play, he's got to make that play to help our team win. So it goes hand in hand. So we've got to look at all of that, and yes, I do believe that those things will flip.
"Once our guys understand the importance of what it takes, what it looks like to win, then there becomes consistency in that. And then there becomes the fact that you're winning year in and year out and that. And again, that starts with me right as the leader. It starts with me, and then that's my message to the team."
Khan will likely let him know if he's going to get that chance next week.