JACKSONVILLE, Fla. >> Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke never developed enough synergy, if any at all.

Pederson thought talent was Jacksonville’s bigger issue as losses mounted; Baalke believed coaching was the problem. Regardless, the pairing wasn’t working in Year 3 — and everyone inside the building knew it.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan could have justified a complete overhaul. Instead, the billionaire businessman settled for choosing between the duo. He opted for Baalke, a questionable decision that could affect who becomes Jacksonville’s next head coach.

Khan fired Pederson on Monday, a day after a 26-23 overtime loss at Indianapolis. It was the team’s 18th loss in its last 23 games. The 56-year-old went 23-30 with Jacksonville

More surprising, Khan kept Baalke.

“I didn’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” Khan said during a Zoom.

Khan added that rebooting the coaching staff, the scouting department and the rest of the football operations staff would amount to firing roughly 85 people.

“To change all of that is almost like suicidal,” he said.

Khan made the move with one year remaining on Pederson’s contract and more than five months after the owner stood in front of coaches and players and declared this the “best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever.”

“Winning now” was Khan’s edict as training camp opened and after he committed nearly half a billion dollars to signing quarterback Trevor Lawrence, pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen and cornerback Tyson Campbell to long-term deals in the offseason. It was the most expensive stretch of roster building in franchise history.

And Khan got little return on his investment.

He blamed predictability on both sides of the ball as the main culprit in the team’s downfall.

Pederson, who led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title in 2018, finished 9-8 in his first two campaigns in Jacksonville and made the playoffs in his first year. He became the first coach in franchise history to start with back-to-back winning seasons.

But Pederson’s injury-riddled team went 1-5 down the stretch in 2023 and missed the postseason after spending nearly two months atop the AFC South. He thought getting Lawrence healthy and revamping his defensive staff would change the team’s fortunes. Neither made a difference.

The Jaguars (4-13) have notched double-digit losses in 10 of Khan’s 13 years as owner. Now, Khan will hire his sixth head coach.

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Mara said he and Tisch remain confident in the process Schoen and Daboll have implemented. Both Schoen and Daboll were hired by the Giants in 2022 and New York made the playoffs in their first season together.

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Jones says he hasn’t yet decided on whether he will extend the coach’s contract.

McCarthy was on an expiring contract after five seasons, including going 12-5 and to the playoffs in each of the previous three years.