The Jacksonville hiring of offensive coordinator John DeFilippo will lead to a lot of dot-connecting between quarterback Nick Foles and the Jaguars.
The Jags desperately need an upgrade at the QB position. Foles appears set to be the top signal-caller option to hit the open market. DeFilippo is widely credited with helping Foles during his run as Philadelphia's QBs coach. These dots are easily connected.
Despite the obvious links, Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said DeFilippo's relationship with Foles had "zero" to do with hiring the offensive coordinator.
"Zero. Zero at all. I mean zero," Marrone insisted Wednesday. "Don't get me wrong, everyone we brought in we tried to get information from...but (the hire) didn't have anything to do with (a relationship with Foles)."
Perhaps the Jags didn't hire DeFilippo directly because of his relationship with Foles, but it certainly shouldn't hurt, epically if they end up chasing the veteran quarterback. Marrone noted DeFilippo's vast array of QB projects had more to do with the hire than any one player.
"What did come into play is someone that has ability, has been around veteran quarterbacks, has been around rookie quarterbacks, has been around a quarterback that came up and went on to do things well," Marrone said. "So when you look at John, he had (Carson) Wentz, Foles as the quarterback's coach, then you have someone (Kirk) Cousins that comes along, Derek Carr. So there was a lot of good variety in the types of players that he's had and the types of players that he looked at. So for him, along with (QB coach) Scott Milanovich, obviously you feel good about the evaluation coming from the coaching side on the quarterbacks."
With QB looming as the most vital change the Jags will make this offseason, Marrone appears set to give DeFilippo big say in the next signal-caller, whether that's Foles or another option.