Jaguars hire Rams’ James Gladstone as GM, reuniting him with coach Liam Coen

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Los Angeles Rams executive James Gladstone as their general manager Friday, reuniting him with new coach Liam Coen.

Gladstone, 34, held the position of director of scouting strategy in LA since 2019, working alongside Rams general manager Les Snead during the draft process. He’s been with the Rams since 2016 and was viewed as a key member of the scouting department.

Cleveland’s Andrew Berry is the youngest GM in NFL history, with the Browns hiring him at age 32 in 2020.

Coen and Gladstone spent four years together with the Rams (2018-20, 2022), watching and learning from Snead and coach Sean McVay.

In Jacksonville, Gladstone will join a group of first-timers trying to revive a franchise that has lost 18 of its last 23 games.

The Jaguars already hired a first-time head coach (Coen), a first-time offensive coordinator (Grant Udinski), a first-time defensive coordinator (Anthony Campanile) and a first-time executive vice president (Tony Boselli).

“James emerged as my choice, and our choice, following a painstaking but energizing interview process that left nothing to doubt,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “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.”

Gladstone beat out four other finalists for the job: Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, San Francisco 49ers director of scouting Josh Williams and Jaguars assistant GM Ethan Waugh.

Waugh became Jacksonville’s interim GM after Trent Baalke agreed to step down on Jan. 22.

Gladstone steps into a coach-centric leadership model and inherits a roster with enough talent to compete in the AFC South immediately and enough holes to create plenty of work in the next few months.

Gladstone will get introduced at the team facility Monday and then travel to the NFL combine in Indianapolis to begin work on Jacksonville’s draft; the Jaguars have the fifth overall pick in April and nine more over three days.

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