AP source: Jaguars interview Bisaccia, line up Pederson next

Updated Jan. 31, 2022 8:58 p.m. ET

Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars are rebooting their coaching search. And they're broadening its scope.

The Jaguars interviewed former Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia on Monday and lined up a second interview Tuesday with former Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson, according to a person familiar with the process. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has kept details of its search private.

The 61-year-old Bisaccia, a longtime NFL special teams coordinator who also spent more than a decade in the college ranks, took over in Vegas after Jon Gruden resigned amid an email scandal in mid-October. The Raiders went 7-6 under Bisaccia, including a wild-card loss to Super Bowl-bound Cincinnati two weeks ago.

The 54-year-old Pederson first met with Jaguars owner Shad Khan and general manager Trent Baalke on Dec. 30.

The Jaguars also want to interview Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell but will have to wait until after the Super Bowl to do it, according to another person with knowledge of the search. Under NFL rules, O’Connell can’t meet with Jacksonville until after the Super Bowl because the Jaguars didn’t have an initial interview with him during the final two weeks of the regular season or the first week of the postseason.

The 36-year-old O’Connell interviewed with Houston on Monday and has a second one scheduled with Minnesota later this week.

Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich remains a possibility in Jacksonville, although he's starting to seem like a long shot. He had a second interview with Khan, son Tony Khan and Baalke in person last Tuesday in Tampa, but discussions cooled the following day, presumably over Baalke’s status with the team.

Leftwich would prefer not to work with Baalke, according to another person with knowledge of the situation. Baalke has a less-than-stellar reputation around the league, evidenced by his last five seasons ending with a coaching change.

Baalke’s resume includes failed tenures with Urban Meyer (2021), Doug Marrone (2020), Chip Kelly (2016), Jim Tomsula (2015) and Jim Harbaugh (2014).

The 57-year-old Baalke remained in place after Khan fired Urban Meyer in mid-December, a move that irked fans enough for them to organize a “clown out” protest for the season finale against Indianapolis. A few hundred fans showed up dressed in colorful wigs, oversized bowties and red noses.

But Khan appears committed to keeping Baalke even though the GM’s presence proved to be a stumbling block in a coaching search that has stretched nearly 50 days.

Jacksonville’s initial list of candidates included Pederson and fellow former NFL coaches Jim Caldwell and Bill O’Brien as well as NFL coordinators Leftwich, Nathaniel Hackett, Matt Eberflus, Todd Bowles, Kellen Moore and Jaguars offensive coordinator/interim head coach Darrell Bevell. Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn declined an interview request.

It’s unclear how many of those candidates would work with Baalke. Leftwich and Eberflus were the only ones who got second interviews. Eberflus ended up taking the Chicago job, and Hackett landed in Denver before Jacksonville could get a second interview.

An O’Connell-Baalke pairing could work. They worked together in San Francisco in 2016.

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL