The Jacksonville Jaguars officially removed the interim tag from Trent Baalke’s job title on Thursday morning.
Baalke, 56, was named general manager after serving in that role in an interim capacity since late November following the firing of Dave Caldwell. Baalke joined the team as director of player personnel in February.
Baalke took over as GM of the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, and the team promptly went to three straight NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl, losing to the Baltimore Ravens following the 2012 season. He was fired by the 49ers following the 2016 season before spending two-plus years as a consultant in the league office.
“Trent Baalke has had success at virtually every level of football, notably so as a general manager who shrewdly and quickly built an NFL conference championship organization and team,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “That experience inspired us to recruit Trent to Jacksonville a year ago to serve as our director of player personnel and is one of the many reasons why we are naming Trent as the new general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Trent thoroughly knows the NFL and the dynamics of today’s game, has an exceptional eye for talent, and I know will have excellent chemistry with head coach Urban Meyer as they begin their mission to bring a consistent winner to our fans in Jacksonville.”
Baalke said he is anxious to get started working with Meyer.
“I would like to thank Shad Khan for the opportunity to continue with the Jacksonville Jaguars as the team’s general manager,” Baalke said in a statement. “I look forward to getting to work with coach Meyer and giving Jaguars fans everywhere the winner they deserve. I am confident that our shared vision will lead our team to success in 2021 and beyond.”
Meyer, 56, had a 187-32 record in 17 seasons as a college head coach, winning three national championships. Two of those titles came down the road from Jacksonville at the University of Florida. He grabbed a third title at Ohio State, where he was 83-9 in seven seasons.
He retired after the 2018 season and has been working as a college football analyst for FOX Sports.
The Jaguars fired Doug Marrone after four-plus seasons a day after the 2020 season ended. The Jaguars finished the season at 1-15.
–Field Level Media
