Post April Fools Hangover

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

April Fools Day was on Friday, April 1, 2022.

But you could have fooled me as I thought it was on Saturday, April 2.

The day began with the South Florida Tribune Podcast that was being streamed live on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, via Stream Yard. I was doing a show with co-host Gary Kornbluh and the show was progressing quite nicely.

But all of a sudden, I went off the air because apparently a motor vehicle in my area hit a pole and Internet and Cable Service was disconnected. The problem would last until 10 PM.

Of all days for this to happen, it made it difficult for us to watch the NCAA Final Four from New Orleans. We did manage to see the final 10 minutes of the Duke vs North Carolina contest. North Carolina defeated Duke 81-77 ending the storied career of Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

We did reschedule the South Florida Tribune Podcast for Thursday, April 7 at 7 PM.

The only thing that went as planned was My Radio Appearance with Bruce Kessenger and Mark Mancini on Saturday Sports Talk out of Oakland, CA. I phoned in and appeared on the show from 11:45-12:30 PM.

The final obligation of the day was the Miami Marlins hosting the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium at 6:40 PM.

My photographer and I arrived at the stadium at 3:15 pm and took care of all the pre-game work.

But Mother Nature was in a bad mood and the scheduled game was rained out. 

The bright side was we wouldn’t have to worry about driving home late at night especially in bad weather. 

On the other hand, there was the Final Four Dilemma with the desire to go to a Sports Bar and watch the conclusion of one game (Villanova vs Kansas) and the Duke vs North Carolina contest.

Once we got into the Sports Bar, I started having headaches due to my concussion issues. We left and went back home. Because of my concussions, I still have a huge problem when it comes to excessive noise. The decision was made for us. 

We could only hope there would be a chance to see part of the game. That proved to be the case otherwise, I was so tired, it didn’t matter. Getting some sleep isn’t the worst option.

But I have to admit that I was glad the Post April Fools Day was over and I’m glad this day ended. 

I realize some days are better than others, but on a day like this, it couldn’t end soon enough!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by Subscribing for free on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Spring Training Focus, Sandy Alcantara

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Miami Marlins announced prior to their Spring Training game vs the Washington Nationals that Sandy Alcantara will be the Opening Day Starter for the third consecutive season.

In 2021, Alcantara posted a 9-15 record with a 3.19 ERA in 33 games, 33 games started with a 205.2 innings pitched, 201 strikeouts, 50 walks and one complete game.

When you talk about velocity, the 2019 All-Star throws 93-98 MPH and maxes out around 100 MPH. He uses both a four-seam fastball and a sinker. His secondary pitches are a change-up (89 MPH) slider (86 MPH) and curveball (82 MPH).

The 6-5, 200 pound right-handed hurler got some job security during the off-season as the Marlins signed Alcantara to a contract extension worth $56 Million. His contract broke the record for a pitcher under team control with less than four years service time set by Carlos Martinez.

The 2022 season will experience a lot of changes. 

But two changes that effect pitchers the most include Spring Training which was shortened to three weeks and the implementation of the Universal Designated Hitter. 

During the Marlins pregame availability, I had the opportunity to ask Alcantara about both of these developments.

The Marlins Game vs the Nationals was rained out.

The Marlins final Spring Training Game is against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, April 5 at 11:05 AM.

They’ll head out West for Opening Day as they face the San Francisco Giants on Friday, April 8 at 4:35 PM.

They’ll face the Giants for three games then travel to Anaheim and face the LA Angels for a pair of inter league games on Monday April 11 and Tuesday April 12.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Bryce Harper visit Loan Depot Park for Opening Day on Thursday, April 14 and conclude the four-game series on Sunday, April 17.

Former Marlin Lewis Brinson was designated for assignment by the Houston Astros Saturday. In parts of five seasons in the majors, Brinson has a .199 average.

Scott Morganroth can be at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can watch his broadcasts by Subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no charge.

Back In The Spring Training Saddle

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

When I woke up Sunday Morning, I truly felt that Baseball Was Back!

It didn’t matter that the most recent lockout amounted to nothing despite the bickering back and forth that led to great content for 99 days. 

In the end, there would be a shorter Spring Training and a 162 Game Schedule was going to take place.

Despite doing podcasts and writing stories, today was a different feeling because now I was attending my first Spring Training game since 2020, pre-pandemic. 

That game was a Cactus League Contest between the Milwaukee Brewers facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Glendale, AZ at Camelback Ranch.

Back then, I didn’t know how to record a video and the South Florida Tribune was in its infancy stages. We didn’t have an account with the MLB Credentialing System.

I started covering the Marlins during the Summer of 2020 and Zoom Calls were the only access we had with the team. 

It was a fun experience learning new technology, but there were other things I had to get used to as there were no exclusive interviews. 

Everyone had to use the raise your hand function to ask a question. 

It was harder to get feature stories and everyone shared the same quotes to compile their own stories.

That year, was my first covering the Miami Marlins and I was learning a new team on the fly. 

I did speak with two Marlins Communication members and no final decision has been made whether there will be Zoom Calls this year for the media since there will be more traveling with the team. (Copy and Paste this at the end of the Story)

This was my first interaction with Marlins Manager Don Mattingly, who guided the team to the MLB Playoffs with a 31-29 record.

Now in my third season, I’m much more familiar with the club and some of the media members.

One thing hasn’t changed! I still believe that Mattingly belongs in the Hall of Fame! 

Perhaps, I’ll be alive to see this!

Before the game, I had a chance to address the manager about the Universal DH, Shortened Spring Training getting used to some of his new players, the rosters being expanded until May 1 and his team’s progress so far before the Marlins Game vs the Houston Astros.

During the off-season, the Marlins were wheeling and dealing.

Miami made three trades before December 1, acquiring Gold Glove Catcher Jacob Stallings from Pittsburgh, 2022 All-Star Joey Wendle, and reliever Louis Head in separate deals with Tampa Bay. Miami also signed OF Avisail Garcia to a four-year contract and agreed to extensions with RHP Sandy Alcantara and INF Miguel Rojas.

I’m sure that you’re going to enjoy what the manager said about these subjects.

(Insert the Video)

The Houston Astros defeated the Miami Marlins 4-3 in front of 3,942 fans at Roger Dean Stadium.

Miami left-handed starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo, formerly of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, had a solid performance by pitching four innings, giving up five hits, one run, but it wasn’t earned, with five strikeouts and one walk. He left the game leading 3-1.

The Astros won the game in the top of the sixth as Yuli Gurriel hit a three-run homer off of Richard Bleier.

Former Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson, who was non-tendered by the club on November 30, 2021, signed a Minor League Deal with the Astros on March 12, 2022. He had two plate appearances and did get a hit.

Copy and Paste Marlins Communications ———————————-

It was great being Back In The Spring Training Saddle.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and his broadcasts can be seen on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. There is no cost to subscribe and also follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth.

Information From Unexpected Sources

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Nowadays, everyone uses Social Media for specific purposes.

There are certain ones that I get more out of than others.

I’ve had an extraordinary amount of success using Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

When I started working with Peter Wein at the Wei Network, I leaned heavily on LinkedIn to get guests for the Sports Exchange. The professional contacts that I’ve made on LinkedIn have been amazing and I just found out about it about 12 years ago. LinkedIn has been helpful meeting other Media Relations Directors and I’ve covered Sporting Events around the country.

Twitter has been an asset enabling me to post stories and share broadcasts from the South Florida Tribune. I’ve also landed some great guests for my shows. To date, I’ve had 18,000 tweets.

Finally, there is Facebook. I initially went in there to keep in touch with family, friends from my childhood and longtime colleagues around the country. I’ve actually visited some longtime friends and colleagues when I have been in there areas.

As time progressed, I’ve been able to land guests for my broadcasts by using Messenger. This is something that I never visualized but it’s been an unexpected asset. Now I’m using Facebook to stream my shows.

Now that I’ve discovered how valuable this is, I’ve tried to keep my friends total above 4,990. 

You never know who you’re going to meet and what you can learn when it comes to dealing with other people’s hardships.

I have one friend that is dealing with extensive head trauma named Kelly Gautreaux Lindberg. I wished her prayers and told her that I sympathize what she’s going through.

A few months ago, I suffered my first major concussion when an old water bottle leaked and I took a nasty fall in my house. I was out for a couple seconds but felt wobbly. Thankfully, my wife Candy, who was stunned at the nature of the fall was home, but she wasn’t sure how to help me. I got up and she helped me get into bed.

The nature of that fall resulted in increased headaches, sensitivity to too much sound as well as occasional dizzy spells. 

Being a person that likes to drive, this doesn’t happen as much because I experience headaches more often and struggle after 15-30 minutes. Things are so bad with the sound that I turn off the commercials when I’m watching my television shows.

A few days after my fall, the problems continued to persist and as a result, My wife and in-laws finally convinced me to go to the hospital to get checked out. The doctors officially diagnosed what we already knew and that I did have a bad concussion.

Being in Sports Media, I enjoy covering Sporting Events and now that’s been compromised because of my condition as most of the venues are more than 30 minutes away. Unless I take my wife to an event to take photos, then I don’t go.

I did go to my family doctor and told him about my concussion diagnosis 30 days after the injury. The doctors at the hospital told me the only way to get through this was to stay off the road and rest. I did just that.

After I saw my family doctor, I decided to go to a networking event at the West Palm Beach Airport Hilton. It took 30 minutes from that appointment to experience my second concussion as after I parked my vehicle, I didn’t see a curb and took a nasty fall and hit my head badly into the concrete. 

Another guy who was attending the event was with me and helped me get back on my feet. This guy stayed with me until I got my bearings straight.

I did manage to get through this event and got some things accomplished. 

I called my wife and explained to her what had happened. 

In her cool demeanor, we talked and I told her how frustrated I was by what happened. She told me to contact her when I got home and has done the majority of the major driving.

I wasn’t going back to the hospital. This time, I knew what was wrong. 

Seeing Kelly’s challenges made me understand what she was going through.

As I was communicating with her, former football player QB Coach Bill Howe saw my response to Kelly and offered his support. He’s had numerous concussion issues so he knew what I was going through.

Bill told me that I never healed from the first one and have what’s called “Second Impact Syndrome or SIS.” My brain never had time to heal before taking another concussion. Bill was definitely right.

Having covered sports for 42 years, I’ve seen athletes that have had concussions. But until you experience these injuries, these are nothing to take lightly. I’m finding that out the hard way. I’m extremely tentative when I walk and a bit more nervous when I drive. 

Driving has always been my source of meditation and that’s been compromised. 

To date, there is some dizziness and I’m sensitive towards darkness and light. Headaches are the norm and I’m frustrated I have to deal with them. But I’m learning how to be more patient.

I’ve been doing more broadcasts but do miss going to Sporting Events. 

I’ll be going back in time but I have to pick my spots and cut back. 

Despite gas prices going up, I do miss driving. If I go on a long trip, then My wife goes with me if I have to relinquish the wheel. By no means, do I want to get hurt or injure anyone else. My drives are limited to 30-45 minute increments when going to local restaurants.

We all know that Social Media is here to stay. You get out of it what you can.

But if there is one thing that I’ve learned when I think of Kelly and Coach Bill Howe, with Social Media, at least you can sympathize and learn from an unexpected source that wasn’t as predominant 20 years ago. 

I’m very thankful to coming in contact with Kelly and Coach Bill. They have helped me gain a better understanding of the seriousness of head injuries by their experiences to go along with what I’ve seen in Sports Media with the athletes that I cover.

I’ll definitely remember the words, “Second Impact Syndrome” because I didn’t hear these words from a doctor and they have much more meaning coming rom Coach Bill Howe.

The Information came from an Unexpected Source.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

To see his broadcasts, Subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no charge.

Defacto General Managers

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

For many years, I used to watch a lot of game shows.

I always enjoyed watching; Let’s Make a Deal, The Price is Right, Jokers Wild, Family Feud and many others.

But one that stands out is when Regis Philbin hosted his classic “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?”

This got me thinking as I was preparing for a Sports Exchange when describing today’s modern day athlete, “Who Wants To Be A General Manager” so I decided to title the show, “Defacto General Managers.”

This wasn’t a show that I wanted to bombard our listeners with a lot of facts. Just opinions.

We did have some interesting facts in the show and I assembled a great crew to address the subject.

We had former NFL Player Mel Farr Jr., Steve Balestrieri, who covers the New England Patriots and Rick Curti aka Mr. Opinion and I had a blast talking about this! In fact, I felt bad for Balestrieri that he had to talk about the NBA because he was out of his comfort zone but I made it easy for him and generalized the subject matter.

During the show, we all raised our hands that we enjoyed the outspoken nature of NBA Legend, now turned TNT Commentator Charles Barkley with his harsh criticism of today’s NBA Players. I often refer to the NBA as the National Drama League because that’s what it has become where these players are the most outspoken athletes of the four major sports. 

I certainly respect them utilizing their platform to talk about social issues. During the millennium, I never heard about the term “Load Management” until players started taking games off at key points during the regular season and at times during Nationally Televised Games. 

Late Commissioner David Stern cringed at this and had to work to rectify this problem. Stern inherited a league that was close to bankruptcy back in the late 1970’s and was on tape delay. When Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the league, followed by Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas and Barkley, the interest began to increase drastically. 

During the Sports Exchange, my crew talked about the college transfer portal, Magic Johnson, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, LeBron James, the creation of super teams that I actually feel began when NBA Players participated in the Olympics.

There has been the drama of Ben Simmons, James Hardin, Kyrie Irving, plus we talked about Isiah Thomas and former Jack Eichel formerly of the Buffalo Sabres.

If you’re looking for a great debate with your friends, family, etc… then I encourage you to watch this show. Our opinions varied and it was great having a guy like Farr Jr to get a players perspective when dealing with athletes.

The names that we mentioned covered the past and the present therefore, that’s what made this a fun topic to talk about. There are shows that I like to create that are extremely informative and my goal is to make sure that everyone can learn something! There are other shows where my goal is to keep the fan’s wheels turning! Then there are shows that accomplish both objectives.

So check out this show and we encourage your feedback. 

For those individuals that respond, I would definitely consider inviting you to be a guest on a future show.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

You can find this broadcast as well as others on our website and we ask if you would please Subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel to view them or you can listen to them where ever you get your podcasts.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The Damage Is Done!

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

Did MLB and the MLBPA really need this lockout?

What individuals will sympathize with both sides.

Regardless of whether you’re a casual fan or a member of the media, we’d do anything to earn what the players and owners are making?

What did we learn from the 1994 Strike?

First, the World Series was cancelled and it left a bad taste in the mouths of the fans.

Second, this turned out to be the beginning of the end for the Montreal Expos who eventually moved to Washington DC and became the Nationals.

Third, former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was determined to break the union and there hasn’t been a meaningful work stoppage since, until now.

What saved Baseball? 

Say what you want about Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire taking PED’s but their 1998 Home Run Chase was one for the ages. McGwire and Sosa broke Roger Maris (61) by slugging 70 and 66 respectively. 

The owners profited dearly as fans would come to the games early and watch these guys in batting practice. As a result, the concession and souvenir stands made out well financially.

While McGwire and Sosa never sniffed Cooperstown and became Hall of Famers, there accomplishments are still revered.

On September 6, 1995, a record that appeared to become unbreakable was broken. 

Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Car Ripken Jr passed Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak by appearing in his 2131 game. The game between the Orioles and California Angels on ESPN still ranks as one of the network’s most-watched games. 

Cal’s children, Rachel and Ryan, threw out the ceremonial first balls. Both President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were at the game.

The celebration at Camden Yards was memorable. Had MLB decided to use replacement players during 1994, this record would have never been broken.

As I mentioned, there will be no sympathy from the fans.

Since 1994, people have more things to do as far as entertainment. 

Social Media is making both MLB and the MLBPA look bad. There are millions of podcasts to compliment old school media. There are no shortage of opinions!

Fans will not pay outrageous costs to go to games figuring the game ticket, parking, concessions and souvenir stands. They would prefer to watch the games at home with the MLB Ticket on TV.

Will the owners care that much that they won’t get local TV revenue at the end of April?

Perhaps, but then again, they won’t be paying the players so this could be a wash.

What players better realize is that when Covid-19 slammed the sports world with no fans allowed to attend games, the owners bit the bullet with revenue. Do you think these billionaires are worried about cancelling games since only 60 were played in 2020?

I would say no! The owners could decide to break the union again and this time they know the fans will eventually return. They always do after things settle down. 

The owners will try to get a handle on salaries continuing to get out of control. After all, once the players continue to lose paychecks and the bills don’t get paid, we’ll see who cracks.

In the meantime, The Damage Is Done!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can view his broadcasts on www.southfloridatribune.com. There is no charge to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Playing For Something

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When I went to the Jacksonville Jaguars finale vs the Indianapolis Colts finale on Sunday, January 9, 2022, what I thought I was going to see compared to what I saw were totally different things.

During the Sports Exchange on Thursday, January 6, I told my co-hosts, Rick Curti, Greg Fuchs, Steve Balestrieri and Mel Farr Jr. that I was looking forward to seeing Colts stand out running back Jonathan Taylor in action. 

The Colts entered this game at 9-7 and had a chance to cement a playoff berth with a win. All they had to do was win in Jacksonville in a game they were favored by two touchdowns.

Many of us knew that Indianapolis walked into Jacksonville having lost six straight games in Northern Florida. Would this be the time the streak would be snapped?

The answer was a costly no as Jacksonville defeated Indianapolis 26-11 and the Colts road losing skid hit seven games to the Jags. The Colts finished the season 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The Jaguars snapped an eight-game losing streak and improved to 3-14. Even in the winning effort, because the Detroit Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-30 at Ford Field, the Jaguars still secured the top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

You talk about a win-win-situation. This was it.

What were the Jaguars playing for on this 80 degree sunny afternoon?

1. Interim Coach Darrell Bevell was looking to earn his first win as a head coach and get serious consideration for the full-time job or at least an opportunity to stay with the organization.

2. The players were looking to put enough good film on tape and have jobs next season. One guy that stood out was running back Ryquell Armstead. 

He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 Draft, 140th overall and the 5-11, 220 pounder out of Temple had nine carries for 52 yards The 25-year old exploded for 26 yards on one play and provided some spark. He also caught two passes for 10 yards.

3. QB Trevor Lawrence wanted to end the season on a high note and go into the off-season thinking of a fresh start in 2022. Lawrence completed 23 of 32 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns, his first game with multiple TD passes since the season opener.

Once again, the Colts were looking for a playoff spot and the loss eliminated them from competing in the tournament.

What went wrong for Indianapolis?

1. NFL rushing champion Taylor was held to 77 yards and QB Carson Wentz was sacked six times and turned the ball over twice leading to 10 points.

The 15 point Jacksonville win should have been much higher had the Jaguars scored touchdowns instead of settling for two chip-shot field goals from inside the 5-yard line.

As for Wentz, he did little to help his cause for being the starting quarterback next season as the Colts were limited to 233 yards in total offense. 

Wentz completed 17 of 29 passes for 185 yards with a garbage time touchdown and an interception. He also fumbled. He had another throw nearly picked off by safety Daniel Thomas, but the officials huddled and ruled the ball touched the ground.

When the game was over word relief was an understatement for what the Jaguars went through in 2021 with the tumultuous year by former Coach Urban Meyer.

I asked Bevell to comment about players having a chance to put film on tape and mentioned that Armstead stood out to me.

Bevell said that he was impressed with Armstead in the short time he’s known him.

“It’s amazing sometimes the stories that these guys go through. The story for him with the COVID and all the stuff like that, how bad it was for him and hit him, obviously he got cut right when we got here, and be able to come back and play like that, it’s exciting. 

“It shows the fortitude that these guys have and how much they love this game, how committed they are to it, to fight back from what he did, and then be able to make those plays out there. I just think it’s really cool.”

As for what Bevell told his players going into the contest, he told them to push hard for 60 minutes and good things will happen.

“I talked all week just about all the many reasons why we should play this game and we should go out and play this game with heart,” he said. “One is that we all love this game, and you think back to all the training you go through in the off-season to be able to get to this point and you get 17 opportunities to play a game.

“That’s one good reason to go out. Everybody, as I have told you many times in here, we’re all being evaluated by what you’re putting on tape. You want to go put your best opportunity and best self on tape. We’re playing a divisional opponent that had a chance to get in the playoffs. We want to be able to knock them out and have a sweet taste for us and a rough taste for them. I thought the guys responded. I told them today just a few minutes ago that I was inspired. It’s an inspiring game to see guys go out and play as hard as they did with so much heart, with as much spirit, with as much passion, and it really showed, and I couldn’t be much happier for all those guys.”

Lawrence was glad this season was behind him but was proud of his teammates for what appeared to be a playoff bound squad.

“The confidence that this builds going forward, that’s a good football team that we just beat and really dominated the game and (I’m) just really proud of our guys,” he said. “Everybody was locked in. This could have gone two different directions, could have gone like today or could have gone really bad, know that tomorrow starts the off-season. We’re not playing in the playoffs. This is our last game. Going to see a lot of different faces. 

“Just knowing all those things and to have a group that comes out ready to go, locked in and dominates the game, especially when you’re playing against a team that is playing for everything. They win this game, they’re in, the stakes don’t get any higher, and just to come out and dominate, it really feels good to finish the season that way.”

After the game, Lawrence talked about momentum and the fact there is a lot to build on during the off-season.

“There is 100% momentum. I think this was a game where, one, you’re playing for pride, to get another win on the season,” he said. (We) only had two wins. Obviously, that wasn’t the plan. To play for that pride to get another one for this group, and just to feel good. Then you look at it from an individual perspective, everybody want to show what they can do.

“You want to show your value and what you can add to an organization, whether that’s here, whether that’s somewhere else, and for everyone to just do that, to play for the team, to play for themselves, you’re playing for everything, and that’s how it should be every week. And just to do that and execute and have success, it feels good. But yeah, that’s definitely some momentum and we want to build on this off-season.”

Unfortunately, after the finale, the Colts had to deal with their critics when they left Jacksonville. They were ridiculed all over the Pro Football World. 

Owner Jim Irsay, GM Chris Ballard and Head Coach Frank Reich felt the sting of this loss. While Ballard and Reich weren’t in danger of losing their jobs, Wentz didn’t get a glowing endorsement of returning as the starter in 2022. 

The Colts traded for Wentz on March 17, 2021 in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional second round pick which later became a 2022 first round pick to be reunited with his former Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator, Reich.

Unfortunately for Wentz, his former team the Eagles made the playoffs under his his replacement Jalen Hurts.

As things stand with Wentz, the Colts are planning to release or trade him by March 19 as he’s owed $15 Million and could get another $7 Million when the league year starts. 

Things don’t look good for the QB that once played for newly hired Jags Doug Pederson during the team’s Super Bowl Winning Season. 

Due to an injury, Nick Foles guided the Eagles to a 41-33 win in Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots on February 4, 2018 in Minnesota. 

If a potential departure from Indianapolis does occur, I would highly doubt it that Wentz and Pederson would reunite in Jacksonville since it appears that Carson burned his bridges.

The Jaguars, the hiring of former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl winning Coach Doug Pederson is essential to Lawrence’s development! 

First of all, Lawrence won’t have to worry about the drama that Meyer created. 

Secondly, playing for a coach that won a Super Bowl adds instant credibility and excitement.

Pederson is walking into a situation where the Jaguars own the No.1 pick in April’s NFL Draft.

On the surface, this looks like a good hire because Pederson was the first coach interviewed in a search that lasted over a month then was subsequently hired. 

Time will tell but this situation isn’t a quick fix. 

But you can rest assure, things will be calmer in the building.

Check out our Inside The Pigskin Podcast “Did Jacksonville Get It Right with the Hiring of Doug Pederson” included in this story.

It’s worth noting that Tom Coughlin is the only coach in Team History that has a winning record with a 68-60 mark with a .531 winning percentage from 1995-2002. The second coach in franchise history, Jack Del Rio amassed a 68-71 mark from 2003-2011 and a .489 winning percentage.

On a Final Note, former Jaguars Executive Dan Edwards was honored with a plaque in the Press Box as he was one of the team’s original employees staying with the club 28 years. 

He oversaw the Media Relations Department and was an unbelievable person to work with but an even better friend of mine! I hope he enjoys his much deserved retirement and I’ll miss him when I go to Jacksonville!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth. Also, Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel to see his broadcasts.