Owner Shad Khan is hearing frustration from fans with the possibility of a second straight missed postseasonGETTY IMAGES
The Jaguars are 4-8 this season after dropping yesterday's contest to the Buccaneers, and the team needs a "thorough scrubbing and hitting of the refresh button," according to Gene Frenette of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. There was "loud booing" yesterday from the crowd of 62,633 at TIAA Bank Field as the team dropped its fourth straight. Frenette: "Only four words for Owner Shad Khan -- BLOW THIS THING UP!" No matter "what happens the next four weeks, Khan has to know standing pat is no longer the answer." The "power triumvirate" of Exec VP/Football Operations Tom Coughlin, GM Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone "hit upon the right formula in 2017 when the Jaguars went to the AFC Championship game, but it turned out to be an unsustainable model" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 12/2).
UPHILL BATTLE: In Jacksonville, John Reid wrote the Jaguars' fan base has "turned restless" with the "possibility of a second straight season of not making the playoffs all but assured." The franchise is "still struggling to draw fans" to TIAA Bank Field. They rank 27th in average attendance, averaging 60,715 fans through six home games. In '17, when the team finished the regular season at 10-6 and won the AFC South, the Jags "ranked 21st in the league in attendance, averaging 64,303 per game." In '18, despite its 5-11 regular season, the team "still soared to 17th in attendance with a 66,674 per game average because of the significant spike they had in season-ticket sales resulting from their success" in '17 (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 12/1). The TIMES-UNION's Frenette wrote there could not be "worse timing" for the team's four-game losing streak, as the 4-8 Jaguars have three home December games to "try and fill a 67,562-seat stadium during the holiday season." Next week's game against the Chargers will be "challenging," and the Dec. 29 season finale against the Colts could "feature the first sub-50,000 crowd" at TIAA Bank Field since '09. But when a franchise has only one playoff appearance since '08, it is "understandable for some apathy to set in as another season begins trending in the wrong direction" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 11/30).
