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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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