The Jacksonville Jaguars elevated themselves to serious AFC contenders with a hard-fought 27-20 loss at Kansas City in the divisional round of the 2022 playoffs.
Twenty games and 11 losses later, Doug Pederson has jumped to the front of the line as the favorite to be the first NFL head coach fired this season. Pederson was +400 at SportsBetting.ag before Monday night’s abysmal 47-10 loss at Buffalo.
With the Jaguars now 0-3 and having dropped eight of their past nine overall, Pederson is now the overwhelming “favorite” at +150. Jacksonville has now been outscored 85-40 this season as it prepares to open its AFC South slate at Houston this week followed by a home game against Indianapolis in Week 5.
A source told the Florida Times-Union that Jaguars owner Shad Khan was “angrier than I have ever seen” following the Bills game. “He is usually a reserved, kind gentleman. Not tonight.”
Pederson vaulted ahead of Dallas’ Mike McCarthy, who was the +300 favorite earlier Monday but shifted to +450 after the Jaguars’ blowout loss.
FIRST NFL COACH FIRED ODDS* Doug Pederson, Jaguars (+150) Mike McCarthy, Cowboys (+450) Brian Daboll, Giants (+800) Zac Taylor, Bengals (+900) Matt Eberflus, Bears (+1000) Kevin Stefanski, Browns (+1000) Antonio Pierce, Raiders (+1200) Nick Sirianni, Eagles (+1400) Dennis Allen, Saints (+1400) Robert Saleh, Jets (+2500) Todd Bowles, Buccaneers (+2500) Dan Quinn, Commanders (+2800) Dave Canales, Panthers (+3300) Kevin O’Connell, Vikings (+4000) Jonathan Gannon, Cardinals (+5000) Sean Payton, Broncos (+5000) Sean McVay, Rams (+6600) Brian Callahan, Titans (+6600) Jerod Mayo, Patriots (+7500) Raheem Morris, Falcons (+8000) Shane Steichen, Colts (+8000) Matt LaFleur, Packers (+10000) Demeco Ryans, Texans (+10000) Mike McDaniel, Seahawks (+10000) Sean McDermott, Bills (+10000) *SportsBetting.ag odds provided for entertaining purposes only.
The Cowboys fell to 1-2 with Sunday’s loss to Baltimore, marking Dallas’ second consecutive loss at home. However, owner Jerry Jones has proven stubbornly patient in the past. The Cowboys travel to face NFC East rivals the New York Giants for “Thursday Night Football” before getting an extended break ahead of a Week 5 tilt at Pittsburgh.
Even more disappointing has been the 0-3 start by Cincinnati, which fell 38-33 at home to Washington in Monday night’s second game. That moved Taylor to the fourth-shortest odds, with the Bengals facing a must-win game at Carolina on Sunday.
Earning at least a temporary reprieve was Daboll, who has held the mantle as most likely to be the first coach fired since the offseason. The Giants upset the Browns in Cleveland in Week 3, moving Daboll to the third-shortest odds while increasing the heat on Stefanski, with the Browns a disappointing 1-2 after entering the season as a dark-horse AFC contender in the eyes of many.
So, too, were the Jaguars. And nowhere is the proverbial seat hotter than the one under Pederson.
“You hate to say it, but this is the reality of it. This is who we are right now, and we’re not a very good football team,” Pederson said after Monday night’s debacle. “We got to get it fixed. Got to come up with some answers and got to do it in a hurry.”