The Stache

Peter King had new Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan on his podcast this week. It was a very interesting chat. Khan sounds like an excellent addition to the NFL. He's probably one of the few owners to have at one time earned $1.20/hour washing dishes.

Khan was raised in Pakistan until he was 16 when he left to attend the University of Illinois. Hitting a new country alone at 16 is remarkable. I guess if you had to do such a thing college would be the best place to do it. A bunch of young people in a new place and environment. Still, doing so at 16 must be intimidating. Next on his list was to join a fraternity and discover football. Well, I doubt that was his plan but that's what he did. Like George Halas a half century before him, Khan was an engineering major at Illinois. With a math professor as a mother, academics, math in particular, came naturally to him. After college, Khan did extremely well for himself in auto parts. So well in fact that he was eventually able to purchase an NFL team. As Khan's interest in football grew so to did his interest in owning a team. When the Chicago Bears played their home games at the University of Illinois, while Soldier Field was being renovated, Khan met Bears owner Mike McCaskey. He wanted to understand the process of purchasing and owning a team. Who best to talk to. What best to do. In 2006, he introduced himself to the NFL. He got to know and work with NFL Executive Vice President Eric Grubman. Soon after, Kahn attempted to buy the St. Louis Rams. Stan Kroenke beat him to it when he exercised his option as minority owner to buy the team. Still, Shahid Khan was becoming well known to the NFL folks. Whether any of this helped him in the purchase of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who knows? It certainly didn't hurt. Ultimately it comes down to money and Khan apparently has that. He has a significant amount less now but he's the proud owner of an NFL team.

The Jaguars are often mentioned in any possible move to Los Angeles. Khan, to the relief of Jaguars fans, has said that he has no intention of moving. Simply saying that rarely stops the media and the rumors. However, Khan sounds sincere. He's familiar with Jacksonville through his business interests and sees the potential there. He said that "you go to where opportunity is." In his case that opportunity was in Jacksonville. I think that he's all in.

When you see Shahid Khan his moustache stands out. Its very impressive and it has taken Jacksonville by storm. Its hoped that the "stache" has super powers. He's had it for forty years so he doesn't really think about it much. As a result, he's somewhat surprised by all the attention it draws. Everyone in Jacksonville is sporting a "stache" now. He's created a buzz in a city that's desperate for some. Khan sounds like a tremendous addition to the NFL and that moustache is incredible.