Asked in his Thursday mailbag if Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke would return to Jacksonville for the 2025 season, Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer laid out seemingly all possibilities: Baalke’s retainment, his dismissal, or even his retirement, Zach Goodall of Jaguars Wire reports.
In his fourth season as Jacksonville’s general manager and fifth with the franchise — one in which team owner Shad Khan sternly raised winning expectations during training camp — Baalke’s Jaguars are 3-11, eliminated from playoff contention and in the mix for their third No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft since 2021.
Breer expressed his belief that Khan should fire Baalke and pursue a new general manager this offseason, but pointed toward Baalke’s history of surviving organizational changes as a reason why he could be back with the Jaguars next season.
Or, he could go out on his own terms.
I don’t think he should. Whether he will is another question.
In San Francisco, Trent Baalke survived the firing of a GM and coach, Scot McCloughan and Mike Singletary, to become GM in the first place, then made it through Jim Harbaugh and Jim Tomsula being let go before being dumped with Chip Kelly in 2017. In Jacksonville, he survived the firings of GM David Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone to become GM in 2021 and has since made it through the Urban Meyer firing to be paired with Doug Pederson.
With the San Francisco 49ers, it was slightly more understandable why he kept making it through. The Niners roster he built, first under McCloughan (who was a scouting savant), then as GM, made it to three consecutive NFC title games, and a Super Bowl. Conversely, he arrived in Jacksonville in 2020 and has made the playoffs once in five seasons—and that’s with a top-shelf quarterback for the past four years, in the NFL’s worst division.
I have heard Baalke could retire after the season. If he doesn’t, and makes it to 2025 as the Jaguars’ GM, with all the above history plus some scouting/coaching infighting having happened in the organization … well, then I think I’d have to tip my cap to him.
If Baalke indeed plans to retire in the coming weeks or months, he is certainly not operating like it.
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