It is safe to say the LA Chargers hit a home run when hiring general manager Joe Hortiz last offseason. Hortiz made the most of his limited resources last offseason and built a roster that was good enough to improve by six wins and make the NFL Playoffs under Jim Harbaugh.
Hortiz, who comes from the vaunted Baltimore Ravens ecosystem, may have set himself up to lose key members of his front office by doing so well in year one. Many teams would love to replicate what the Chargers did in 2024 and may poach from the Bolts' front office to do so.
One of those teams is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who find themselves in a similar situation as last year's Chargers. Jacksonville has a new head coach, a franchise quarterback, and all the talent on the roster to be a playoff team. Now all the team needs is the right general manager to put the remaining pieces together to ensure it goes smoothly.
Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander could be the man for the job. Alexander, who has already been interviewed for other jobs this offseason, officially completed an interview with the Jaguars this week.
Chargers' Chad Alexander officially in the running for the polarizing Jaguars GM job
Alexander joins a slew of other notable names from marquee organizations (as well as candidates from less notable teams) to have interviewed with the Jaguars thus far.
Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray, Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown, 49ers director/scouting and football operations John Williams, Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown, Rams director of scouting strategy James Gladstone and former Titans general manager Jon Robinson have also interviewed for the job.
The Chargers coached Alexander from the New York Jets with a promotion last offseason. Alexander spent five seasons in the Jets front office, and before that, spent an extended amount of time with the Ravens alongside Hortiz.
Jacksonville's GM job is polarizing considering all of the fanfare around the hiring. Earlier this offseason, Jaguars owner Shahid Kahn committed to keeping GM Trent Baalke after another coaching change.
The Jaguars then missed out on several big-name coaching candidates, including now-former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Coen originally agreed to return to Tampa Bay on a historic offensive coordinator contract only to change his mind at the 11th hour to take the Jacksonville job.
With Coen's job acceptance came Baalke's demise. The Jaguars fired Baalke around the same time the team hired Coen. It is fair to assume the two moves were connected, which created this job opening.
No team in the NFL has flip-flopped more than the Jaguars this offseason and Coen is already one of the most polarizing coaches in the league because of how he left the Buccaneers high and dry.
Alexander would look to bring the same stability the Chargers had in 2024 to a potentially unstable situation in Jacksonville. If he does get the job, only time will tell if he is successful.