Jacksonville Jaguars
Franchise History
A Rocky Beginning (1989- 1994)
Although Jacksonville was one of the five potential candidates to be added when the NFL announced it was going to add two new teams in 1992, it did not seem likely that they would be chosen. For one thing Florida already had two NFL teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins. The first team they added would be the 29th NFL franchise and went to Charlotte. After a revised aid package to make improvements to the stadium approved by the city put Jacksonville was back in the race and on Nov 30, 1993, Jacksonville was announced as the winning franchise. After the Gator Bowl on December 31, 1993, the old stadium was taken down and reinforced with concrete super structure. The new Jacksonville Stadium opened on August 18,1995 for a pre-season game against the St. Lois Rams.
Kickoff (1995)
The Jacksonville Jaguarss entered the NFL in 1995 and participated in the 1995 Expansion Draft where they picked up Steve Beurlein but lost his starting position to Mark Brunell. On September 3, 1995, they played their opening game of the season before a crowd of 72,363 at home, but suffered a devastating 10-3 loss to the Houston Oilers. The Jaguarss would end their first NFL season 4-12.
Where Amazing Happens (1996)
The next year showed drastic improvement and signs of success. They ended the season 9-7, the result from winning 6 out of their last 7 games. The Jaguarss went on to advance to the playoffs after defeating the Atlanta Falcons by 3 points in their final game of the season. Their first playoff game was against the Buffalo Bills where the Jaguarss went on to defeat them 30-27. Their next play off game was away against the Denver Broncos. Towards the end so the game Mark Brunell threw Jimmy Smith a touchdown passing giving Jaguarss the lead 30-20. They would end winning the game 30-27. Jaguarss went back home to play their third playoff game against the New England Patriots and were greeted with 40,000 fans at the stadium. Unfortunately, the Jaguarss would finish losing to the Patriots 20-6.
It’s Raining Playoffs (1997-1999)
In 1997, the Jaguarss finished the season 11-5 which would eventually put them in 2nd place for the division, and the 5th seed in the playoffs. Their playoff run was short and ended in the first game 42-17 against the Denver Broncos. In 1998, the Jaguarss won their first AFC Central Division title and finished the season 11-5. They defeated the New England Patriots in the first playoff game, but lost in the second game against the New York Jets 34-24. In 1999, the Jaguarss finished with a spectacular season of 14-2, which was a new record for franchise history, and allow them to win the AFC Central Division title for a second time in a row. The Jaguarss played well during the playoffs and went all the way to the AFC Championship game against the Titans, but lost 33-14. The Jacksonville Jaguarss would end the season 15-3, with all three losses by the Titans. Their loss against Titans would be the last playoff game they see until 2005.
The Fall Off (2000-2002)
The result of some salary cap problems put the Jaguarss in a downfall over the next three years. In 2000, the Jaguarss finished with a disappointing 7-9 season which followed by 2 years of even more disappointing records of 6-10. In 2002, the NFL would decide to split the two leagues into 4 divisions. Indianapolis, Tennessee , Houston, and Jacksonville Jaguarss made up the AFC South.
Jack Del Rio (2003 – Present)
In 2003, Jack Del Rio was hired as head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguarss. That year they drafted quarterback Byron Leftwich and hoping Bryon would be able to turn it around for the Jaguarss, but after many failures they ended the season 5-11. In 2004, quarterback Byron Leftwich had a strong performance and help lead the Jaguarss 10th franchise season to a 9-7 record. In 2005, the Jaguarss had another good year with a regulars season record of 12-4 but will lose the AFC South Title to the Colts. They would end the season losing the to Patriots 28-3 in the AFC wild card playoff round. The next year, the Jaguarss expected a good season coming off last year with a 12-4 record, only to be disappointed missing the playoff position by finishing the season with a 8-8 record. In the 2007, Jaguarss announced backup quarterback David Garrard would start for the team this season. Garrard lead the team to an 11-5 record, however, the Jaguarss lost to the Patriots in the Divisional round 31-20. The Jaguarss continued to struggle in 2008, finishing the season 5-11, the worst record since 2003.
Aaron Kampman #74 and Spencer Havner #53 of the Green Bay Packers tackle David Garrard #9 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the game at Jacksonville Municipal stadium on December 14, 2008 in Jacksonville, Florida
Logos
When NFL awarded the expansion team to Jacksonville, Wayne Weaver proposed the new Jaguars team colors: teal, gold and silver with black accents. There came some controversy during the logo design when Ford, parent of the automaker, Jaguars, believed that the logo looked a lot like theirs, however, no lawsuits were brought, and the Jaguarss agreed to design the logo. The new logo came with a teal tongue coming out of the mouth of a snarling Jaguars. The teal tongue to symbolize “feeding Panthers to our Jaguarss” referring to their expansion companion the Carolina Panthers.
Mascots
Jaxson de Ville is the mascot of the Jaguarss. Like the team name Jaxson is a Jaguars, yellow with teal spots, wears sunglasses, a Jaguarss jersey, long shorts, and black and teal sneakers. He’s known to be quite the troublemaker making fun of opposing team players as well as their mascots. He’s been reprimanded by the NFL a couple times for going too far. Jaxson made his first appearance on August 18, 1996 and has been played by Curtis Dvorak.
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
The stadium has been the home of the Jaguarss since 1995 and is located near the St. Johns River. The stadium seats over 76,000 people but in 2005 approximately 10,000 seats were covered to account for the declining ticket sales. Super Bowl XXXIX was played in Jacksonville. The stadium was previously named Alltel Stadium from 1997 to 2006.
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