End of an Era - Current Jaguars Uniforms Set to be Retired

In what many can hope is the beginning of a successful streak following a decade of failure, Jaguars fans are looking to the future. Following this past weekend's loss in the AFC Championship Game, many are turning towards the Draft, free agency, and the rest of the offseason events. There's one aspect that some might not know about - the Jaguars are expected to get new uniforms. Let's take a look back at the infamous uniform design and what to possibly expect for the next set.

(image via Jaguars.com)

Nike took over the NFL uniform provider contract in 2012 and so many feared the worst for the league's uniforms. Six seasons later, the Oregon-based manufacturer has overhauled seven of the thirty-two teams. Some designs have been great, some have grown to be liked, and others bombed immediately. The Jaguars' uniforms don't really fit into just one of those categories very easily.

The Jacksonville Jaguars went 27-57 overall in their Nike designed uniforms

When Jacksonville revealed their then-new uniforms in 2013, the reaction was probably a little more negative than expected. A new sharp-edged custom font, stripes and designs added seemingly randomly, and of course, the league's first two-toned helmet was never going to be well received. The "Nike Speak" - the PR "stories" written about different aspects of the uniform - was also laughable. The uniforms were meant to "salute the military fan base," as Jacksonville is home to a large naval base. The stripes across the shoulders, collars, and pants were meant to represent Jaguar claw marks and were "placed in an aggressive forward-facing position." These press releases are full of similar phrases. The worst of these was in respect to the helmet, depicting a "jaguar on the hunt," leaping in to the light after hiding in the shade.

Initially, it felt like these uniforms would fall in the "bad design" category. Personally, the jerseys and pants have grown on me. I think they're a few tweaks away from being a nice design. The helmet can't stay two-toned. That is easily the worst aspect of this uniform. A solid-colored helmet will make the current design a lot better.

What to Expect

The message boards have been full of discussion regarding expectations and wish lists of the new uniforms. There is no concrete information on the new designs, which is a little odd at this point of the rumor mill.

Hopefully the new uniforms don't concentrate heavily on
gold like the Color Rush uniforms. (image via AP)

Even the rumor of new uniforms haven't been completely confirmed. Many well respected members of the media have spoken on the redesign. I personally spoke with someone at a prevalent Jaguars retail store who mentioned they were coming. They also discussed that Nike and the Jaguars have not released any information to even retailers, unlike in previous years. It sounds like everyone will be in for a surprise when they are released.

With basically no information to go off of, I think the best way to go about this is by each aspect of the uniform.

Logo: It was five years ago that everything changed. A new logo was introduced alongside the new uniforms. It wasn't entirely well received, but like much of the uniforms, it has grown on people. Many didn't think it was different enough. Some thought it didn't have the character of the original logo. Now, it looks massively better than the first design. The previous logo doesn't seem to hold up whatsoever when the two are placed side-by-side. The main Jaguar head is not going anywhere. That's a guarantee.

The JAGS badge was a massive surprise when released. Meant to represent the military base in the city, the logo was popular off the bat. Many shirts and hats were produced with just the badge logo. Looking around town and merchandise available, it's still popular with the fans. I don't see this logo being removed from the team's arsenal. I think there's a possibility it could be removed from the uniforms, though. As it is now, the JAGS badge on the front chest doesn't look bad. But add more patches - the captaincy patch, the 20th anniversary patch from 2015, a possible Super Bowl patch - it can get a little cramped. Many concepts floating around have moved the patch from the chest to the shoulder caps, which would help with the cramped issue. As the shoulder caps have been empty with this set, I think it would work. I do worry that the logo wouldn't look all that great on the sides. Plus, it was meant to mimic a military uniform and original plans were to include a nameplate above the badge, much like the military uses.

Helmet: There's no way a two-tone helmet can stay with the Jaguars. Of all the aspects of this uniform set, the helmet is easily and unanimously the weakest piece. I also think it's the biggest regret of the franchise and design team. The gradient look isn't awful in theory. San Diego State did it better years ago. A softer transition not placed directly in the middle of the helmet would have been a much better look.

However, I thoroughly expect a solid colored helmet to be re-introduced with the upcoming design. What that entails is up in the air. I would expect to go back to a black helmet. That could still be matte finished, or even the black-to-teal candy finish that was worn from 2009-2012 (which was my favorite). I think there's even a possibility of the team going with a gold helmet (I made a custom gold helmet over the summer, mainly because I couldn't get the gradient to look good). Some concept designs even include a teal helmet, or even a black-to-teal shift in some form or fashion. Used correctly (better than gold-to-black), I think teal could be used well on the helmets. It has to be subtle, though. Not as subtle as the candy finished shell, but it can't be overbearing.

Font: I don't expect the font to change. Jacksonville has now worn four different number fonts. The current one is pretty decent. I don't see the Jaguars wanting to introduce another set of wordmarks with a new font. It all seems like a lot more trouble than it's worth at this point.

Jersey: This one is tough. I personally think teal might be back as the primary jersey color, with black saved as the alternate. With Jacksonville pushing the #ForeverTeal campaign very hard this season and with the teal jerseys being worn for the first time since 2013, there are just a lot of signs pointing to teal returning in a heavy fashion.

Even if black is kept as the primary color, I expect to see teal used much more throughout the design. Teal was saved for just the shoulder caps on the black tops and the numbers on the white jerseys on the soon-to-be-replaced set. When a team has a unique color like Jacksonville, it should be used much more than that.

One of the bigger aspects of the jersey is the sublimated shoulder details. Nike claimed it was to represent a jaguar's claw marks, but I never saw it that way. I think they were a nice detail, but unnecessary. I can't imagine this detail will transition to the new look, but it's completely up in the air. I believe Jacksonville and Nike will want to do something new, something different, and that would mean removing this.

Overall, I think the jerseys will see an improvement and "clean-up process" more so than a completely revolutionary design. I could be completely wrong with that, but that's my gut feeling at the moment.

Pants: This is also a tough piece to predict. I think the "striping," if you can call it that, works rather well with this design. I think the pants will reflect the jerseys, ultimately. So, if the jerseys are completely overhauled, so will the pants.

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While there are many thinking the Jaguars will change just about everything, there's another portion that thinks Jacksonville should, and will, transition back to the original uniform design and even logo set. There's absolutely no way this happens. Owner Shad Khan has been vocal about pushing the franchise in to the future and not looking back. That was the premise for the design when he took over in 2012. Plus, changing logos would be a nightmare for fans and retailers. Placing the current logo on the old design would be nauseating at best.

Is it possible that Jacksonville uses the original uniform design for inspiration on the upcoming set? Sure. I think that would be smart to honor the past in some fashion. Will the Jaguars actually come out next year wearing something remotely close to that design? I highly doubt it. This franchise is all about trying to be cutting edge and futuristic, and that comes to fruition with the uniforms.

Expect an announcement of new uniforms around the NFL Draft, which is scheduled to start April 26th.


What do you think the new uniforms will look like? What did you think about the now-old design?


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