Insiders discuss if Jaguars could fire HC Doug Pederson

Whispers about Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson possibly being on the hot seat emerged before the club fell to 0-4 on the season via Sunday's disheartening 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans.

Following the latest loss, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio touched upon whether Jaguars owner Shad Khan could fire Pederson as soon as Monday.

"One source with knowledge of the dynamics in Jacksonville told PFT that it would be a surprise for Khan to fire Pederson after only four games," Florio said.

As Florio and ESPN's Michael DiRocco pointed out, Pederson dismissed any concerns about his job status while speaking with reporters after Sunday's defeat. With that said, the Jaguars have now lost nine of their past 10 games going back to last season, and quarterback Trevor Lawrence has left much to be desired with his play after he signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $275M with $142M fully guaranteed this offseason.

According to Pro Football Reference, Lawrence began Monday ranked 23rd in the league with a 43.7 adjusted QBR, 28th with a 38.1% passing success rate and 32nd with a 53.3% completion percentage on the season. He tossed four touchdown passes with one interception over Jacksonville's first four contests.

"Lawrence isn't developing," Dan Graziano of ESPN wrote for a piece published Sunday night, "and this offense is not very good. The Jaguars are 26th in offensive expected points added this season. So, fair or not, the blame falls on the head coach in this league before it falls on the quarterback who just got extended at $55M per year. Pederson has moved to the front of the hot seat line. And while we don't have any information to indicate that he's in any imminent trouble, if the Jaguars keep losing, this is the kind of situation where ownership decides it has to make some sort of change at some point."

Last week, NFL insider Albert Breer linked the Jaguars with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Belichick reportedly plans to return to coaching next year , and Florio mentioned that Jacksonville quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy has head-coaching experience and could serve as an interim coach if Khan decides that Pederson needs to go before Week 18.

The Jaguars host the 2-2 Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Jacksonville as a 2.5-point favorite for that matchup.