Shad Khan is starting to put his stamp on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The new owner announced Friday, via John Oehser of Jaguars.com, that the team will be switching the color of their uniforms from teal to black for the 2013 season. The team previously used black as a third jersey, usually for prime time games, but former owner Wayne Weaver discontinued the practice in 2009 because he felt the team’s various uniform combinations got in the way of establishing a permanent identity.
That identity started changing with the departure of Jack Del Rio as head coach during the season, continued with Khan buying the team and will keep on progressing through the debut of new uniforms. If those changes don’t include some moves that lead to a consistent winner, none of them will do much to really impact the identity of the team outside the fashion pages.
Nike’s arrival as the league’s new uniform supplier is likely part of the decision to make a change. The Jaguars are one of the flagship teams for the apparel behemoth -- think Oregon in the college ranks -- and will be one of the first teams to get a whole new uniform as part of the change from Reebok.