The Jaguars held an event focused on the franchise’s future in Jacksonville on Wednesday, but team owner Shad Khan couldn’t completely put the past out of his mind.
Khan appeared at a news conference with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan to discuss an agreement between the team and city to fund stadium renovations that is set to keep the team in place for years to come. The agreement comes months after the Jaguars went 1-5 down the stretch to fall out of first place in the AFC South and miss the playoffs entirely a year after advancing to the divisional round.
On Wednesday, Khan said he’s spoken to key players like Trevor Lawrence and Josh Allen to find out “how could this happen” and said he’s left feeling it was an “organizational failure” rather than something more specific.
“Not to be able to win two out of the last six games, it still stings,” Khan said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. “Even though the season’s over, it’s like I still can’t believe we couldn’t do it.”
The Jaguars resisted making major changes in the wake of their late season slump, but it’s hard to imagine the team making the same choice if they fall short of expectations again in 2024.