Doug Marrone smiled wide, holding up a folder that could hold the keys to winning the AFC Championship.
The folder came to Marrone from first-graders from the local Bolles School. The Jacksonville Jaguars coach brought it with him to his news conference on Thursday.
"This has the answers that maybe I'm looking for on how we can stop the Patriots," Marrone said, via the Florida Times-Union.
The folder contains notes and messages from the students with a cover featuring a drawing of Blake Bortles and Leonard Fournette that reads: "Dear Jags, Want to beat the Patriots? Here's how: Advice from your #1 Jags fans in Bolles First Grade!!"
Marrone will uncover every rock ahead of Sunday's tilt versus Tom Brady & Co. The Patriots' quarterback has owned the Jaguars, compiling a 7-0 career record versus Jacksonville (including playoffs). The Jags are 1-10 all-time versus New England -- the one win came in the 1998 Wild Card round (Scott Zolak was the Pats' starting QB).
"Hard to believe how so many people have an opinion on how to beat the New England Patriots and no one's really done that," Marrone quipped Thursday.
The Jags will try to do what few have accomplished when they head to Foxborough to try and take out Tom Brady. Given that so many have failed, maybe checking with first-graders on their ideas isn't such a terrible place to start to gain an edge.