The Jacksonville Jaguars announced that they’ve hired Los Angeles Rams director of scouting strategy James Gladstone to be their general manager.
“It’s my honor to introduce James Gladstone as the new general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Jaguars Owner Shad Khan said in a statement.
“James emerged as my choice, and our choice, following a painstaking but energizing interview process that left nothing to doubt. Every candidate delivered, and I am grateful to them all for their preparation and time spent with us this week in Jacksonville. In the end, we found James to be a class ahead and exceptional in every regard – vision, new ideas, communication, chemistry and a keen understanding of the league and our team, to name a few of many virtues he will bring immediately to the Jaguars. It’s going to be fun watching James work with our football leadership team of Liam Coen, Tony Boselli and Tony Khan, but most of all it will be rewarding. I am confident of that. This is also an occasion to thank Jaguars fans everywhere for their support and faith over the years. I know we can count on them to warmly welcome James to Duval while rallying behind our organization and team as we chart a new and promising path forward.”
It’s a big move for Gladstone, who will get to be an NFL general manager at age 34. He has spent the last eight years with the Rams, including being their director of scouting strategy in the last four. He worked in tandem with general manager Les Snead to identify prospects and undrafted free agents throughout the draft process.
The Rams have drafted extremely well in recent years and Gladstone played a big part in it, which is why he was obviously appealing to a Jaguars franchise working to get back in contention after two straight disappointing seasons.
The Jaguars hired former Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen to be their head coach, so there presumably is already a relationship in place with Gladstone as they embark on this new journey together in Florida.
Sean McVay adamant about Rams keeping Matthew Stafford
The Rams will not only have a front office member to replace, but potentially a quarterback as well. Matthew Stafford future with the organization is currently in doubt as he tries to work out a new contract, although Sean McVay is reportedly adamant about the Rams keeping the veteran signal-caller.
