Some Jacksonville Jaguars fans are fit to be tied about former East Carolina quarterback David Garrard being cut. It seems most were upset because they like him as a person and thought the timing was bad. It was just a week before the season began<\/p>\n
Jaguars General Manager Gene Smith has heard an earful and he’s saying that the buck stops with him.<\/p>\n
And he likes Garrard. Smith, who lived in Southern Pines during his scouting days, is friends with my in-laws. Smith and my in-laws lived in Ohio prior to being neighbors in Southern Pines. I had dinner with Smith and his wonderful family about a year ago in Southern Pines and Smith brought Garrard up in the conversation – making the North Carolina connection and saying how much he thought of Garrard. <\/p>\n
But Smith made the difficult and controversial decision to cut Garrard last Tuesday when Garrard was taking part in various team-related community events.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, it was my decision,” Smith wrote in an email to the media.<\/p>\n
“Clearly, I am not proud of how things played out on Tuesday and our players deserve better, but I think to understand the situation, you need to know the facts,” he added.<\/p>\n
“Wayne (Weaver), Jack (Del Rio) and I did sit down Tuesday morning and the decision was finalized at approximately 10:40 a.m. Wayne and I had an 11 a.m. speaking engagement prior to the 12 noon kickoff event. I endorsed having David participate in the event due to the time constraints and circumstance. It was not my intent to be insensitive to a man and a family I have great admiration for. Immediately after the event, Jack and I (and then Wayne) sat down with David to discuss the decision that was made in the best interests of the team.”<\/p>\n
He wrote, ‘”As it relates to the kickoff event or really any of the events that took place Tuesday, I take full responsibility. Obviously, it would have been easier and would have made the release seamless had we done it over the weekend. I kept an open mind to making the final decision on the QB decision until Tuesday, so if keeping an open mind and being dilatory in the process is a mistake, then I made a mistake.”<\/p>\n
Some media outlets are reporting that Coach Del Rio’s and Smith’s futures are tied to the success of the Jaguars this season, now led by QB Luke McCown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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