New Jaguars GM James Gladstone Addresses How Being a 34 Y/O Is More Of a Strength Than a Weakness

The Jacksonville Jaguars made headlines this offseason by hiring a 34-year-old GM, James Gladstone. While the team is excited to have a young, cutting-edge mind to help navigate them out of despair, youth brings inexperience. But Gladstone is confident in his abilities for his age and assures everyone that the number of years he’s lived on earth won’t hinder the decisions he makes for the team.

At 34, Gladstone is the second youngest GM in NFL history. He follows Andrew Berry, whom the Cleveland Browns hired when he was just 32, and he still has the title today. But it’s not the youngest we’ve ever seen a GM of a team in sports. Theo Epstein captured that title in 2002 when the Boston Red Sox hired him at just 28. And then the Arizona Coyotes broke that record by hiring a 26-year-old, Jon Chayka, in 2016.

All of these youthful GMs had different outcomes. Chayka and the Coyotes have only reached the playoffs once in 2020 and ducked out in the first round. Yet, Epstein led the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years, breaking the Curse of the Bambino. Meanwhile, Berry led the Browns to their first playoff win since 1994 in 2020. But ever since they’ve been stuck in mediocrity, capped by a bad contract given to Deshaun Watson.

With the wide range of outcomes on the table, Gladstone wanted to reassure Jags fans that he was the right man for the job. After all, he’s been learning under the tutelage of Les Snead, GM of the LA Rams, for the past nine years. And he thinks that his youth will play to his advantage. “I view it as a key strength,” Gladstone said when asked if his age was a strength.

“Because, you know, really I have a fresh perspective. And I think that’s also the case for both Liam [Coen] and Tony [Boselli]. Through my own experiences, I think I have a deep understanding of really the tools and mechanisms that are revolutionizing the sport. And so, I don’t ever view the number of years that I’ve had on planet Earth as a limitation. But my preferred way of moving is one that I think can bring a dynamic asset for the competition.”

It’s a confident response from Gladstone, and one Jags fans appreciated. For the past four years, the team was run by GM Trent Baalke, who was not particularly popular among the fanbase. Baalke made decisions for the team that were confounding, like hiring Urban Meyer. He was also the GM of the 49ers when they chased away Jim Harbaugh to college.

Jags fans took to the comments to show their support for their new GM.

It seems as though excitement is riding high for the new hire. That being said, Gladstone has a lot on his plate in his first year. The Jags need a new and improved defense, as well as a leader who sets themselves apart from the rest of the locker room. Getting an offensive line that could protect Trevor Lawrence would be nice too. There are exciting pieces to this team, and Gladstone just needs to put them all together. We’ll see if he’s the man with a plan.