Report: Jags expected to land Darrell Bevell for offensive coordinator job

While it hasn’t been made official, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Urban Meyer found their defensive coordinator and it will be former Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen. Not too long afterward, it appears they found their offensive coordinator, too.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Jags are expected to hire former Detroit Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell as their offensive coordinator. While the signing isn’t official, it seems the Jags beat out several others for his services.

Bevell, 51, is a coordinator who will bring 21 years of NFL coaching experience to Meyer’s staff, which is a huge plus. He started his career with the Green Bay Packers in 2000 as an offensive assistant and quality control coach and spent six seasons there. He also became their quarterbacks coach in 2003-05. Afterward, he spent five seasons as an offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, then served as the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator from 2011-17.

After taking a few seasons off, Bevell found himself in Detroit as an offensive coordinator from 2019. He became the interim head coach when Matt Patricia was fired on Nov. 28. Many came away impressed with the job that he did when taking over for Patricia and thought he had a decent chance to remove the interim tag from his name.

The Lions finished 2020 with 30th in rushing with a 93.7-yard average, which may concern some fans. However, it’s worth noting he’s inheriting a talented running back (James Robinson) and a good interior offensive line that aided him to put up historic numbers as a rookie. It’s also worth noting that the Lions finished eighth in passing, averaging 274.8 yards.

Many fans will recognize Bevell for the infamous play-call in Super Bowl XLIX where he called a pass play on the 1-yard line during the Seahawks last offensive series. Instead of utilizing Marshawn Lynch to pound it in, he had Russell Wilson attempt to hit receiver Ricardo Lockett for a play where corners Malcolm Butler and Brandon Browner would interfere with each other. It backfired and ended up being a pick, however, that one play shouldn’t define Bevell’s career.

In addition to Stafford, Bevell coached Wilson from his rookie season to his sixth season and also coached Aaron Rodgers and Brett Farve when with the Packers. That should certainly help Jags fans feel good about him possibly inheriting Trevor Lawrence when the veteran coach makes his signing official.