Jags to Riches

The ultimate fan book chronicling the Jacksonville Jaguars’ improbable run to the AFC Championship Game—within one game of going to the Super Bowl.

Jags to Riches is the first inside look at the Jaguars' spectacular 1996 season and their transformation from a team on the brink of disaster into a winner. Going into that season, few football fans knew anything about the Jaguars or the city of Jacksonville. After years of being used as a bargaining chip in the lottery for an NFL team, Jacksonville and its incredibly enthusiastic fans finally brought a team to town in 1995. But everyone thought that it would take years for the Jaguars to become a successful franchise. Instead, Jacksonville systematically built a team from the ground up, fought their way into the playoffs, and came within one game of going to the Super Bowl in only their second full season.

The Jaguars’ path to success was hardly smooth sailing. For much of the year, Jacksonville struggled to establish an identity and battled its dictatorial head coach, Tom Coughlin. Eleven games into the season the Jaguars had a wretched 4-and-7 record and were one game away from falling completely apart. Something had to change.

John Oehser and Pete Prisco go behind the scenes to offer readers a rare glimpse into the workings of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Game by game, they chronicle the team’s incredible turnaround and its spectacular playoff run. Along the way they recount crucial team meetings, provide vivid portraits of the Jaguars’ key players, and offer incisive analyses of the ways Jacksonville turned their season around and learned how to play like champions.