On Thursday, the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Doug Pederson to be their next head coach — a solid hire for the perennially struggling organization in the wake of the Urban Meyer disaster.

Even so, the move is seen as yet another misstep by owner Shad Khan, after Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich — the slam-dunk pick for the position — reportedly withdrew from consideration, refusing to work with GM Trent Baalke.

Leftwich’s numbers in Tampa suggest Khan should’ve acquiesced to the Super Bowl-winning OC and ousted Baalke.

• In the three seasons under Leftwich, Tampa Bay’s offense ranked first in the NFL with 29.8 points per game.
• In 2019, the Bucs were first in yards (302.8) and fourth in points per game (28.6) — in a pre-Tom Brady offense run by Jameis Winston.
• Brady and Bruce Arians have repeatedly endorsed Leftwich for head coaching jobs.

The former Jags QB is still a beloved figure in Duval County: Amid rumors of his hiring, Leftwich’s jersey became the team’s No. 2 bestseller behind current QB Trevor Lawrence.

Baalke, on the other hand, has a checkered history as an executive.

After initial success with Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco — whom he didn’t actually hire — Baalke’s three HC choices (Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly, and Meyer) were all fired during or after their first seasons.

Khan’s $8 billion net worth makes him the NFL’s fourth-richest owner — but Jacksonville has made only one playoff appearance in the last 14 years.

Still, Pederson did win a Super Bowl…

Julius Randle’s unexpected climb to stardom was one of the feel-good stories in the NBA last season, and a sign of hope for a Knicks team that snapped an eight-year playoff drought.

Now, hope is dwindling as Randle has suddenly turned into an overpaid role player who no longer fills the stat sheet and antagonizes the fanbase and media.

This season’s Knicks could’ve built on the momentum from last year’s 4-seed squad but instead misspent their money — starting with Randle, who has fallen in nearly every statistic.

• Last offseason, Randle signed a four-year, $117 million extension through 2024-25, plus a player option for 2025-26.
• In 2020-21, Randle (24.1 PPG, 45.6% FG, 41.1% 3PT) earned his first All-Star appearance and was the Most Improved Player award; those numbers have dipped to 18.5/41.4/30.3.
• They signed Kemba Walker for two years, $17.8 million — but he’s averaging the fewest PPG (12.0) of his career.
• They inked Evan Fournier to a four-year, $78 million deal — but he’s in the midst of the second-worst shooting season of his career (43% FG).

The trio — which can hardly be called a Big Three — makes up 39% of a $122 million payroll.

To add further intrigue, Randle unfollowed the Knicks on Instagram as soon as he became eligible to be traded on Thursday. Don’t be surprised if the Knicks move the face of the franchise before the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

Talks to end the MLB lockout have stalled, possibly delaying the start of the season — and the two sides can’t even agree on bringing in a third party.

On Thursday, MLB asked for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to jumpstart negotiations to end the lockout, now in its 65th day. On Friday, the MLB Players Association, which had to agree, formally rejected the request.

Federal mediators have been used in sports labor disputes in the past — with a mixed bag of results.

• Mediation wasn’t effective during the 1994 MLB strike, which forced the cancellation of the World Series and eventually lasted 232 days.
• But mediators have been credited with helping end the 1981 MLB strike (which lasted 50 days), the 2011 NFL lockout (132), the 2011 NBA lockout (161), and the 2012-13 NHL lockout (113).

Several core economic issues — mainly minimum salaries for first-year players (currently $570,000) and service-time manipulation — are at the forefront of the dispute, and there’s been little progress over four negotiating sessions.

Spring training is all but certain to start after its original Feb. 16 date, which puts the March 31 Opening Day in even more jeopardy. 

The possibility of a truncated — or lost — season is becoming increasingly real.