Jaguars officially introduce Trent Baalke as general manager

The Jaguars officially announced the hiring of Trent Baalke to become their next general manager on Thursday morning. 

Baalke, 56, was initially hired by the Jaguars last February to serve as director of player personnel to replace Chris Polian, who was fired after seven seasons with the Jaguars.

Baalke spent 12 seasons with the 49ers (2005-16), including six as general manager, from 2011-16. 

''Trent has had success at virtually every level of football, notably so as a general manager who shrewdly and quickly built an NFL conference championship organization and team,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. Trent thoroughly knows the NFL and the dynamics of today’s game has an exceptional eye for talent and I know will have excellent chemistry with Head Coach Urban Meyer as they begin their mission to bring a consistent winner to our fans in Jacksonville.”

Khan declined to disclose the contract lengths for both Baalke and Meyer, but said they are aligned contractually and “it’s a long time, OK” 

Baalke replaces Dave Caldwell, who was fired on Nov. 29 after eight seasons.

Khan interviewed six candidates for the general manager job, which included five minority candidates -- former Cleveland general manager and current Rams consultant Ray Farmer, Saints assistant GM Terry Fontenot, former Giants GM Jerry Reese, former Houston GM Rick Smith and current ESPN analysis/ former Eagles director of pro personnel Louis Riddick.

Fontenot was hired last week by the Atlanta Falcons for their vacant GM job. 

''It's an opportunity that I never knew would come again,'' Baalke said during his introductory news conference Thursday. ''Not many people get a second chance. But more importantly the opportunity to work with someone I have really grown to respect and trust over the past couple of weeks and we'll build on from there in Coach Meyer. it's a blessing to be here.''

The Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick in the April 29 draft and have 11 total draft picks, including two in both the first and second rounds. Going forward, both Meyer and Baalke expressed the importance of collaboration and alignment on all football-related decisions. 

''I've been very fortunate during my entire head coaching career, I've always looked at everything I've done as a partnership whether it's with athletic directors or just people we work with,'' Meyer said. ''Alignment is really going to be a big word. that I know our owner is going to use and Trent and myself. It's going to be a partnership. I am a fairly good judge of. ... I like blue-collared people.We are right to work. We have a job to do for a great owner, and it is a big job.''      

Baalke has already hired veteran NFL front office executive Tom Gamble, who worked with him with the 49ers as assistant general manager. Before joining the Jaguars, Gamble served as the assistant general manager with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. 

Baalke said they are in the process of building his front office staff but once that's completed then they will begin evaluating the roster. But Meyer said he's had conversations with Baalke already about the No. 1 pick, saying that's going to be a  deep dive ahead. 

''We get everybody in place we’ll start to go to work on the roster, and start looking forward to free agency, the draft, and all the other ways you can acquire talent,'' Baalke said. ''Let’s face it, this is a talent-acquisition business. Regardless of whether it’s players or coaches or anybody else in the building, your goal is to acquire the best talent and that’s where we’re at right now and we’ll take it from there.”

Meanwhile, Meyer declined to discuss the potential hires on his coaching staff or if any of former head coach Doug Marrone's assistants are going to be retained. Former Jaguars Joe DeCamillis didn't wait for a decision, deciding instead to accept an offer from the Los Angeles Rams to become their special teams coach,

''There’s been no finality to where we are as a coaching staff,'' Meyer said. ''So I’d like to hold on that ‘till next week because there’s been nothing set in stone yet.”

However, Meyer has reportedly hired Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen to become his defensive coordinator and former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator/interim head coach Darrell Bevell as his offensive coordinator. Cullen is a former Jaguars defensive line coach (2010-12). Before Detroit, Bevell was the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator from 2011-17. 

Here is more to know about Baalke:

Postseason appearances with 49ers

The 49ers went 51-44 when Baalke was their general manager. including reaching the Super Bowl during the 2012 season but losing to the Baltimore Ravens. During his first three seasons as the 49ers GM, the 49ers made three consecutive postseason appearances that included two berths in the NFC Championship game. 

Notable draft picks

Baalke had his share of successful draft picks and busts during his reign in San Francisco. Baalke's first pick as the 49ers general manager was defensive end Aldon Smith, who was selected seventh overall in the 2011 draft. Smith emerged as an All-Pro but had various off-the-field issues that included a nine-game suspension in 2012 for violating the league's policy on personal conduct and substances of abuse. The 49ers released Smith in 2015 following an arrest for his third DUI. 

Other notable picks by Baalke include quarterback Colin Kaepernick (36th overall pick in the second round in 2011), Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid (18th, first-round, 2013), Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (seventh, first-round, 2016) and 2015 seventh-round pick offensive tackle Trent Brown, who started 28 of 31 games during his three seasons in San Francisco before he was traded to New England.

However, one of Baalke's most notable busts was former Terry Parker High School wide receiver A.J. Jenkins (30th, first-round, 2012), who played three games and recorded no catches for the 49ers in 2012 before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Internal strife 

Baalke was promoted to the general manager's job just before the franchise hired Jim Harbaugh as their head coach in January 2011. But it was widely reported in the Bay area that there were rumblings of internal strife between Baalke and Harbaugh that escalated before Harbaugh's final season in 2014 after an 8-8 record. 

Honors

Baalke was named the executive of the year by both Pro Football Writers of America and Pro Football Weekly after the San Francisco 49ers went from 6-10 to 13-3 in his first season as general manager in 2011. Baalke began overseeing all player acquisitions for the 49ers in 2010. During his tenure, six of the players Baalke acquired accounted for nine All-Pro selections with eight earning Pro Bowl honors. In all, the 49ers produced 24 All-Pro selections and 35 earned Pro Bowl selections from 2010 to 2016.