Big Cat Country
With the NFL Combine just on the horizon, the Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly found their general manager of the future.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly reached an agreement with Los Angeles Rams Director of Scouting James Gladstone to become the sixth, full-time general manager in franchise history.
With Liam Coen’s inaugural staff already finalized, the top levels of the front office now seem to be set, right at buzzer. As the NFL-mandated February 28th deadline to hire a general manager approached, the team kicked off its general manager search on February 10th, after a delayed divorce from former general manager Trent Baalke. Despite the late start, Jacksonville wrapped up initial and final round interviews with the ten total candidates in just under two weeks, landing on Gladstone as their choice.
Of related importance, the hiring comes just days before the start of the 2025 NFL Combine, which kicks off on Thursday, February 27th, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Prior to that, however, per the NFL’s Combine schedule, the Jaguars new general manager will be slotted to speak from the Combine on Tuesday, 2/25 at 11:30 A.M. after Liam Coen first speaks at 11:00 A.M.
Gladstone will presumably have much to do in little time, in preparation with the current in-house scouting team. We will now await word on what, if any, corresponding front office structure, scouting, or personnel adjustments will be made in the coming days and months. However, what we do currently know, per Shad Khan’s statement after hiring Tony Boselli as Executive Vice President, is that Head Coach Liam Coen, Boselli, and Gladstone will all form a leadership committee to “collaborate and align on all major football decisions, develop a long-term strategy for sustainable on-field success, and provide counsel to the team owner.”
The 35-year-old, former high school offensive coordinator, has rocketed to the top of the general manager list around the league in his years as an NFL executive. Gladstone spent his entire NFL career in Los Angeles under Head Coach Sean McVay and General Manager Les Snead beginning his executive career as Senior Assistant to the General Manager in 2016. He would add the additional title of Player Personnel Coordinator in 2018 and Director of Scouting and Strategy in the 2020 season, as a successor to current Detroit Lions EVP and GM Brad Holmes.
Gladstone reportedly led the Rams 2023 and 2024 NFL Draft processes, resulting in picks such as G Steve Avila (2nd rd), DT Kobie Turner (2nd), LB Byron Young (2nd), and 5th round WR Puka Nucua in 2023. They then drafted DE Jared Verse and DT Braden Fiske in 2024. In 2023, the team’s successful draft class allowed the Rams to flip the roster without a first round pick.
As an executive, Gladstone has one Super Bowl championship from the 2021 season and will now look to bring a championship to Duval County. We previously profiled Gladstone here within our General Manager candidate series.
Owner Shad Khan released the following statement via...
