‘I’ve had enough’: Die-hard Jags fan raises nearly $2,000 for billboard asking team to fire GM Trent Baalke

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ever since Travis Etienne’s costly third-quarter Week 1 fumble against the Miami Dolphins, it’s been a frustrating season for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The 2024 edition of the team, touted by owner Shad Khan before the season as “the best team ever assembled” in the organization’s history, was eliminated from playoff contention over a month before the season ended and has lost six of its last seven games.

RELATED: As Pederson’s seat gets hotter by the second, Jags fans also calling for GM Baalke’s exit

Add season-ending injuries to franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence and last year’s receptions leader Evan Engram to the list and you have arguably one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, and fans are starting to sound off from the mountain top with a megaphone.

The most glaring example of these voiced frustrations is a recently organized GoFundMe with clear intentions: Help put a “Fire Baalke” billboard in JAX.

Officially created on Dec. 2 to raise $1,600 for the billboard, the fundraiser surpassed its goal in less than three weeks and has raised nearly $2,000 ($1,825) as of Friday.

The campaign states that it was organized by “Wayne Weaver,” the name of the first owner in Jacksonville Jaguars history, but News4JAX spoke to the real organizer, who has been frustrated with the direction of his favorite team for quite some time.

His handle on X is Thug Heffernan (@thoug_heffernan), but his real name is Shane. And it’s safe to say that he’s not happy with the decisions made by the man the billboard targets.

“I’ve been a Jags fan for a long time, that’s why this year, I decided I’ve had enough,” he told News4JAX. “I want to do everything I can to bring attention to the need and desire for change.”

Shane, a 32-year-old Navy veteran who became a Jags fan while watching guys like Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith, also tells News4JAX that he’s the fan behind the rumors connecting former Jags player Tony Boselli to a possible role as executive vice president with the team and the fan who successfully got Urban Meyer to do a video on Cameo that sees the former Jags coach asking “Mr. Shod” of “Jack’s Pizza” to hire “Ben” not “Bill.”

“The original plan was for the GoFundMe to raise money to buy a house in Jacksonville for [Detroit Lions offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson,” Shane said. “But once the nightmarish reality of Baalke staying as GM set in, I pivoted to what we have now.”

He continued to relay why his frustrations with the Jaguars have reached this point, and Baalke is at the heart of many of them.

“If Baalke was the guy to get the job done, he would’ve done it by now,” Shane explains. “Being a general manager is more than drafting good players. [Baalke] gets credit for picking Brian Thomas Jr. and Travon Walker, but people forget about the Luke Fortner’s, taking [Brenton] Strange in the second round instead of investing in other key positions like the offensive line, even the overinvestment at middle linebacker.”

Shane acknowledges that despite the on-field results, the Jags roster has what it takes to become a good team, but that requires getting the right people in the building to make the necessary decisions.

He adds that if any fanbase deserves it, it’s the Jaguars fans.

“The fanbase is one of the most loyal, unique fanbases in a perfectly unique city that’s rich with culture and identity, yet the team has never had that,” he said. “The building blocks are there, but it just needs to be in better hands before something can be done.”

So, he’s taken it upon himself to galvanize the fanbase with a series of attention-grabbing stunts that may be talked about for a few hours, but Shane says it’s about more than that, noting that the overall goal of his campaigns is to plant ideas in the minds of fans and corral enough momentum to instigate change.

The next stunt will most likely be the billboard that his GoFundMe is dedicated toward, but Shane tells News4JAX that the idea of a flyover with a sign asking Shad Khan to fire Baalke has been floated. If he does go that route, he said he would ask fans what to do with the rest of the money leftover from the GoFundMe campaign.

“I’d put it to a vote,” he said. “Some options could be creating more Tony Boselli buttons, donating to the Boselli Foundation, or just keeping it in a fund for a future flyover welcoming the new GM...if the fans are happy with the decision.”