After the Jaguars jumped the Jets in the race for the right to draft Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone was pressured about how he would approach the last two games of the season with the future of the franchise at stake.
“Well, I mean, nobody advised me to do anything but get out there and win,” Marro told reporters on Monday, the day after the Jaguars lost their 13th straight game.
“I understand I think I was young growing up and had a favorite team and I was excited to see where they would choose. So it’s not something I don’t look back on and I get it.
‘But Jesus, we’re trying to win. We are doing everything we can and that is my job at the moment and I owe it to the coaches and players. None of us will look to this and the future. Nobody knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone at the end of the year … I can understand [the question] but that’s not the way we think, myself, player. We are just too competitive. “
The Jaguars won their opener against the Colts, but have yet to take another win since then. They recently threatened to upset contenders and lose tight matches to the Packers, Browns and Vikings. But they’ve been surpassed 71-24 in their last two defeats against the Titans and Ravens.
They finish their season at home against the Bears and then in Indianapolis. The Jaguars fired GM Dave Caldwell last month and there is much speculation that Marrone will be let go after the season.
After upsetting the Rams, the Jets are on a par with the Jaguars for the worst record in the league. Jacksonville, however, possesses the power of the scheme’s tie-breaker.
Marrone was asked if he was ever asked to lose.
‘I would not do that. I could not do it. I just wouldn’t do it, ”said Marrone, who is in his sixth year with the Jaguars. “I’ve never done that with anything in my life. I struggled to let my kids win when they were little. “