Why Jaguars GM keeps clown figurine on desk for motivation

When the Jacksonville Jaguars were at the bottom of the NFL standings in 2021 there was no shortage of criticism for the organization, and general manager Trent Baalke was the focal point for much of it. Fans called for his firing by dressing as clowns for games, with one fan even going as far as to send him a clown figurine.

Now that the Jaguars have done a complete 180 and went from the basement to the top of the AFC South, Baalke is keeping that figure on his desk to serve as motivation. 

That was highlighted on the Jaguars' produced online show, "The Hunt," which focuses on the team's offseason.

"Some fan sent that to me," Baalke said, via NFL.com. "It was a little clown figurine, and I said, 'You know what? I'm going to put it there to remind myself every day why I come to work,' what my purpose is, I guess. It's to prove them wrong."

Baalke and the Jaguars are definitely not looking like clowns anymore, and after back-to-back top picks in the draft (quarterback Trevor Lawrence and defensive lineman Trayvon Walker) and some big veteran additions, the Jaguars are looking like the runaway favorites in the AFC South entering the 2023 season. They already won the division in 2022 and won a Wild Card playoff game before having their season end in the divisional round in Kansas City.

The Jaguars have a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Doug Pederson, a young franchise quarterback in Lawrence, and some highly skilled players around him. Travis Etienne was healthy in 2022 after having his rookie season wiped out to injury, while the Jaguars have surrounded Lawrence with skilled pass catchers in Christian Kirk and Calvin Ridley.

With the rest of the teams in the AFC South all going through some degree of rebuilding, the Jaguars seem to be in the driver's seat to win it again.