There haven’t been many positive predictions about the outlook for the Jaguars in the near future, but head coach Doug Marrone said he’s not concerned about that having a negative impact on his team.
Marrone told Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio that his experience as a player and coach hasn’t featured locker rooms being negatively impacted by outside predictions about the season to come. He does think that there can be a positive if players work to prove their detractors wrong.
“You have to use it to your benefit,” Marrone said. “Hey, we keep track. We’re not favored in any games, we’re picked to be 4-12, we’re picked to be last. All of that stuff, you can say ‘woe is me.’ We take that stuff, turn it right around and use it as motivation.”
Marrone said problems can come when players “don’t understand the moves that you’re making” and the Jaguars have traded away several players in the last couple of years as they’ve slid down the standings after a successful 2017 season. The coach said he doesn’t believe those moves have caused the Jaguars have that problem, but someone else may be trying to get the Jags on track if they live down to the predictions this year.