by Fred Seely, Editor
Mike Mularkey says he has a lot in common with Jacksonville’s homebuilders.
“We’re rebuilding our business,” said the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new football coach. “We’ve had our ‘down’ time and now is the time to get going again.
“Let’s hope that both of us will be successful.”
Mularkey brought the Jags’ message to the Sales and Marketing Council’s meeting last month and the year’s largest turnout — estimated at 300 — was at UNF’s University Center.
Mularkey showed he was serious when he said that the construction and real estate community is important to the team: he brought along his wife and some top brass including the team’s sales director, Chad Johnson; the senior vice president for communications, Dan Edwards; and sales ace Teresa Smith.
In recent years, the Jaguars’ performance has almost mirrored the building slump. Starting in 2008, the team’s annual records were 5-11, 8-8, 7-9 an 5-11 with no playoff games. That brought on the end of the Jack Del Rio coaching era and brought in Mularkey. And, almost at the same time, a change in ownership from Wayne Weaver to Shahid Khan.
“A lot of good things are going in at EverBank Field,” said Mularkey. “The players are responding well. We have a new offensive scheme, we expect everyone to be very disciplined and we will be very physical.”
He expressed confidence in the team’s veteran and specifically addressed one who just became a “veteran” — second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
“A lot of things were going against him last year,” said Mularkey. “He really had no off-season (due to a threatened player strike,) and he was thrown into the starting lineup in the third game with little experience (the team cut starting quarterback David Garrard and backup Luke McCown played poorly.)
“Blaine is young. He was the youngest player in the league. In fact, if he had stayed in college, he would be a fifth-year senior now. I already see development in him. He’s responding to coaching.”
But, Mularkey said, Gabbert isn’t assured of anything. “We signed Chad Henne (ex-Miami Dolphin) as a backup and he’s competing for the job.”
The Jaguars start preseason practice on July 26 in the fields adjacent to EverBank Field and most are open to the public through August 5.
There are two home exhibition games: Aug. 10 against the New York Giants and Aug. 30 against Atlanta.
The first regular season home game is Sept. 16 against Houston. That’s a week after the Jags open at Minnesota.
The Sales and Marketing Council will be selling tickets for a November game with members getting a tailgate party and seating together. More information will be available soon.