The Jacksonville Jaguars have never reached a Super Bowl. Last season was as close as it has gotten for the Jags, coming just minutes short (Myles Jack still wasn’t down). About halfway through the 2018 season, it was pretty clear this year’s team wouldn’t be repeating that effort. So, the only real connection the Jaguars have to Super Bowl LIII are a few former players, coaches and executives who are now a part of either the Los Angeles Rams franchise or the new England Patriots franchise.
There isn’t a whole lot of overlap here, but there are certainly some names to mention. Let’s run through the list.
Los Angeles Rams
Players:
- Dante Fowler, Jr., DE: Fowler, the No. 3 overall pick in 2015, is the name that is top of mind for most Jags fans. Jacksonville traded him to the Rams at the end of October in exchange for a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick. Fowler recently spoke about his time in Duval, and he didn’t have many positive things to say. But I honestly wish him the best of luck on Sunday and moving forward.
- Brandon Allen, QB: OK, so Allen isn’t technically on the Rams’ active roster, but he will (probably) still get a ring if L.A. wins. Allen was selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round of 2016 Draft, and was the team’s third-string quarterback that season behind Blake Bortles and Chad Henne. When the Jags decided to only carry two quarterbacks in 2017, Allen was waived and claimed by the Rams. Los Angeles also only carries two active quarterbacks (Jared Goff and Sean Mannion), so Allen was relegated to the practice squad.
Coaches:
- Jedd Fisch, Senior Offensive Assistant: Fisch was Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014 during the Gus Bradley era. After going back to the college ranks for a few years, he took a position as senior offensive assistant on Sean McVay’s staff in L.A.
- Matt Daniels, Assistant Special Teams: Daniels never coached for the Jaguars (this is his first year as an NFL assistant), but he did play for the Jaguars in 2013-2014, bouncing around between the practice squad and active roster before being waived with an injury settlement.
Front Office Executives:
- Les Snead, General Manager: Snead has been the general manager for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams since 2012, but he actually got his NFL start with a brand new franchise in 1995 — the Jacksonville Jaguars. Snead worked as a pro scout until 1997 and helped put together the talent on the 1996 and 1997 Jacksonville teams that made the playoffs in the team’s first couple years of existence.
New England Patriots
Players:
- Tony Adams: OK, this is kind of a reach, as Adams was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jaguars and was cut on Sept. 1 before the season started. He’s a recently-signed practice squad player for the Pats. He won’t be playing, but again, he gets a ring if New England wins, so this counts in my book.
Coaches/Front Office:
I couldn’t find a single coach or executive in New England’s organization tied to the Jaguars. This makes sense, though, as the Patriots like to promote from within, and those who leave are generally taking head coaching or general manager gigs:
Additionally the Jaguars have one player who has previously played for the Rams in Cody Davis, one who has played for the Patriots in James O’Shaughnessy (practice squad), and two of the (newly-hired) coaches that have coached for the Rams in secondary/cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and offensive line coach George Warhop.
So again, there aren’t too many crossovers here, but a few of these connections are definitely interesting, especially the Les Snead one. Let me know in the comments section if I’ve missed anybody.
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