New England at Jacksonville


Pats, Jags place big load on rookie backs


Breaking down the Pats and Jags


Focal Point: Taylor vs. Edwards


Scouting report


Jags tired of getting Jurk-ed around


Inside the Patriots playbook


Time to play favorites

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Tom Coughlin never had a timetable. He did have a goal, however.

	Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin says winning the AFC Central was his No. 1 goal for 1998.

For the Jacksonville Jaguars to show they were contenders -- genuine, year-in, year-out contenders -- they first had to win the AFC Central.

That's why the Jaguars' fourth season is so satisfying to this coach, maybe even better than the surprise trip to the AFC Championship Game in 1996.

That was a magical run. This is for real.

"In my mind, division titles are how you get started," Coughlin said. "In my opinion, that's your first goal, and there are other goals after that."

This division title, won in a season marred by injuries, served as proof that the Jaguars' formula was not only the best way to build, but the best way to maintain once the foundation was established.

Unlike the other 1995 expansion team, the Carolina Panthers, Coughlin insisted on building his franchise through the draft: left tackle Tony Boselli, up-and-coming linebacker Kevin Hardy, running back Fred Taylor.

He relied on film study and a well-timed trade to land Mark Brunell, who was toiling as an understudy for Brett Favre at Green Bay.

Finally, he played a shrewd hand in the free-agent market. He plucked some players out of thin air, like receivers Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith. And he spent big only for those he knew would fit his mold -- guys like right tackle Leon Searcy and linebacker Bryce Paup.

Put them all together, then preach discipline, tough practices and no excuses, even when Brunell went down with an ankle injury and 13 other players landed on injured reserve this season.

"To me, there was never a lot of talk about how long the process was going to take," said tight end Pete Mitchell, who played for Coughlin at Boston College and came to the Jaguars on a trade the day before the inaugural season started.

"I know there were a lot of people saying hopefully in three years this team would contend and be in the playoffs. Obviously, we reached it faster than we thought. Three out of four years in the playoffs is pretty impressive."

Not as impressive as that first division title -- at least not in Coughlin's mind.

Any player who has been around this team knows the division has always been the foremost goal. It's something Coughlin has harped on all season, regardless of the situation.

From the 5-0 start, to a demoralizing 30-15 loss at Pittsburgh last month, all the way through the injury to Brunell that sent the Jaguars into a mild tailspin, nobody forgot about the goal.

The Jaguars won the division title on the same day they lost 50-10 to the Minnesota Vikings, but a day later there were handshakes in the hallways and a reminder from Coughlin of how important the championship is.

"It's a double-edged sword, kind of bittersweet," Hardy said. "But it definitely means something. Because ever since I've been here, that's been the primary goal of this organization."

The division championship has resulted in Jacksonville's first home playoff game, an AFC wild-card battle against New England on Sunday. It's taken four years to reach this point, a span that sometimes seemed to drag on forever for a coach with a vision.

"I've said many times, I wanted to be as good as we could possibly be as fast as we could possibly be," Coughlin said. "I really didn't put numbers and years on it. I would have liked to have been division champions in Year 1. I think that's what your goal always is."