JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –- During their introductory news conference in January, Tom Coughlin and Doug Marrone talked about toughness and grit.

They talked about emphasizing winning -- the previous regime was all about the process -- and returning to the success the Jacksonville Jaguars had in the early years of the franchise’s existence.

Coughlin and Marrone wanted to change the culture at EverBank Field. That had to be done before any on-field success could happen. The fact the Jaguars are 10-4, have made the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and can clinch the AFC South on Sunday is proof that the executive VP of football ops and head coach, respectively, accomplished what they wanted.

Doug Marrone had the Jaguars going hard in July, and it has paid off down the stretch. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

“Everyone is trying to hold each other accountable and it works at different levels,” Marrone said. “I look for Coach Coughlin and [GM] Dave [Caldwell] and [owner] Shad [Khan] to make sure that I’m accountable. I make sure my assistant coaches make sure I’m accountable. I make sure the coaches are accountable. The players check me to make sure I’m accountable. We’re checking the players.

“I think that’s the type of culture, that’s the type of team that we want.”

The first thing Marrone did was remove the pingpong table that has been in the center of the locker room since Jack Del Rio’s tenure. Then he rearranged the lockers, spreading players throughout the locker room instead of by position group.

The biggest thing Marrone did, however, was put together a physically and mentally exhausting training camp. The days were long, beginning with early-morning meetings, and the practices were longer than they have been in previous seasons. They went five consecutive days in full pads and conducted joint practices with New England and Tampa Bay.

It was a grueling month and the players grumbled about it among themselves, but they agree now that it had the desired impact: They’re a tougher, more disciplined and more mentally sound team than they had been under Gus Bradley.

“You go through it [camp] all the years past and you said, ‘Yeah, man, that was difficult,’” linebacker Paul Posluszny said. “You feel like you’re competing just as hard or harder than other teams and then you go through that [Marrone’s camp] and you say, 'OK, well, there’s another level.’

“There’s another level and you don’t realize it until you’re in it.”

Even though the players were not exactly pleased with how rough the camp was, there was no pushback from anyone. A lot of the players had been on the roster over the past several seasons and experienced 4-12, 5-11 and 3-13 so they were willing to try something new, especially with Coughlin being a part of the program.

His resume -- taking the Jaguars to a pair of AFC title games in the franchise’s first five seasons and winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants -- gave them confidence that things were going to change. He helped instill a new level of discipline, as well, beginning with setting the clocks in facility six minutes ahead and instilling Coughlin time: If you’re on time, you’re late.

“It was difficult, just because of so many changes from what we were used to, but I think the most important thing was we always said, ‘Well, if it helps us win, then it’s all good,’” Poslusnzy said.

It did, but so did adding key free agents Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye and Barry Church and drafting Leonard Fournette and Cam Robinson. Campbell’s locker room leadership -- which players and coaches have raved about all season -- is a significant factor as well.

Playoff Experience Only six Jaguars have appeared in more than two postseason games: Name Playoff games Calais Campbell 9 Malik Jackson 8 Brad Nortman 6 Lerentee McCray 4 A.J. Bouye 3 Barry Church 3

So is the fact that those players came from franchises that won a lot of games. Campbell played in a Super Bowl. Malik Jackson, who joined the team in 2016, won a Super Bowl. Bouye and Church played on playoff teams. Robinson won a national title in 2015 and played in the title game in 2016 with Alabama.

That mindset can’t be overlooked in the culture change, Jalen Ramsey said.

“I don’t really like talking about the past but this organization wasn’t big on winning, so we were having a lot of early draft picks and some free-agent money out there,” said Ramsey, who along with linebacker Telvin Smith won a national title at Florida State in 2013. “And once you bring a lot of winners together you’re naturally going to start winning. That’s what the organization has done, brought a lot of winners together, that winning mentality, that winning culture around here.

“... We just kept adding the winners and kept adding the winners. That’s maybe all we needed. We needed those few extra pieces to put the whole puzzle together, along with Coach Doug, Coach Coughlin.”

The fact that the Jaguars lead the NFL in rushing and can become the first defense since the 1970 merger to lead the league in scoring, takeaways and sacks is more a reflection on the talent level on the roster than the culture change, but quarterback Blake Bortles said the new atmosphere around the facility is definitely a factor.

“You don’t have the mindset of, ‘Here we go again,’” Bortles said. “It’s kind of, ‘That wasn’t who we are. That’s not how we play football. Let’s forget about it, make the corrections, move on and get back to doing what we do best.’

“I think a lot of it speaks to the evolution of this organization and what Doug has done, coming in here and changing the culture. What the guys in the locker room have done to change the culture. ... Obviously, I think everybody knows the history of the organization to be able to say that we were a part of the group that kind of changed the culture and changed the narrative about the Jaguars is special.”