James Gladstone, Director of Scouting at the Los Angeles Rams, is the new sixth full-time General Manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the coaching staff of Liam Coen’s first year already in place, the top management of the front office now seems to be finalized in the nick of time.
The search for a replacement was initiated on February 10-way after the end of a long separation with the former GM Trent Baalke-and this set the time frame for meeting the NFL’s February 28 deadline for the appointment of a GM.
Within the brief time allocated, Jacksonville managed to conduct both first and final interviews with ten candidates in a conveyor-belt-like manner in less than two weeks to arrive at the conclusion to hire Gladstone.
Acquiring this hiring just days before the commencement of the NFL Combine 2025 on February 27 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, is a timely event. The new general manager is set to speak to the media from the Combine on February 25 at 11:30 a.m., which will follow Coach Liam Coen’s address at 11 a.m.
As he enters this new chapter as the eighth GM for the Jaguars, Gladstone has a lot on his hands with the group that is currently scouting. It will be seen whether there will be any transitions in the upcoming days and months in terms of the front office structure, scouting, or personnel.
At just 34 years of age, Gladstone has rapidly broken into the NFL hierarchy, positioning himself as a rising star in the general manager arena. He has been put as the guy responsible for overseeing scouting for the Rams in the 2023 and 2024 draft classes that produced considerable prospect selections. It includes G Steve Avila (2nd round), DT Kobie Turner (2nd), LB Byron Young (2nd), and 5th round WR Puka Nacua in 2023.
