Busy preparing to call plays in an NFL game for the first time Sunday against Indianapolis, Jaguars quarterbacks coach Scott Milanovich proved Thursday his humor is already seasoned.

Asked to describe his offensive philosophy, a suddenly tight-lipped Milanovich responded: "We can talk about that a little more as the season goes along. Hopefully the Colts don't know that, either."

Touche.

Milanovich, 45, is replacing offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired by coach Doug Marrone on Monday amid the team's seven-game losing streak. That was part of sweeping changes for the Jaguars (3-8), who will start Cody Kessler at quarterback in place of Blake Bortles against the Colts (6-5), hoping to salvage what's left of a dismal season.

It's a huge opportunity for Milanovich, a former NFL quarterback who was head coach of the Toronto Argonauts for five seasons (2012-16) and has previous coordinating experience in the Canadian Football League. Milanovich joined the Jaguars as quarterbacks coach prior to last season but has never called plays at this level.

Milanovich said the key this week will be to stick to his style — whatever that proves to be — and lean on the team's position coaches, who have a better feel for what their individual players can do.

"I've got to call the game my way," Milanovich said. "I can't worry about calling it like anybody else wants it called. I think that's where you get into issues. We'll get a feel for the game. We'll get a feel for what they're doing, what our guys, we think we can execute and I'll call the game accordingly."

Execution will be key. It's not realistic to think Milanovich can overhaul the team's offense in just a few practices, so many of the plays will probably look the same. But getting Kessler into an early rhythm will be important, particularly with running back Leonard Fournette suspended for the game.

In his only game action this season, Kessler completed 21 of 30 passes for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception during a 20-7 loss to Houston on Oct. 21. Kessler was sacked four times and fumbled once in five series, and the Jaguars' offensive line is now a makeshift unit considering left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Andrew Norwell and center Brandon Linder are all on injured reserve.

Milanovich will likely need to scheme the Jaguars out of some trouble.

"We have already met a lot this week and have been talking a lot about different game-plan stuff," Kessler said Wednesday. "It will be exciting. We have a couple practices this week and then we get to the game. We will be on the same page with where we want to go with things."

All of it presents a unique challenge, but Milanovich believes his background will help him succeed.

Milanovich played quarterback at Maryland for four seasons (1992-95), completing 650 of 982 passes for 7,301 yards with 49 touchdowns and 35 interceptions. After going undrafted in 1996, he spent four seasons (1996-99) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before finishing his career with stints in other leagues.

Milanovich began his coaching career in 2003 as quarterbacks coach for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe and had several stops there and in the CFL before he joined Marrone's staff. He dismissed the idea that the next five games could be something of a tryout for him, instead focusing solely on doing a good job Sunday.

"The fortunate thing for me is I've been a coordinator before, I've been a head coach," Milanovich said. "I've been through quarterback changes — more often than not based on injury, so it's not my first time through this scenario. It is in the NFL, obviously. But it's not my first time.

"It's always hard. Every week's hard getting prepared for a good opponent, especially one in the division. We're just locking in, trying to gets guys in the best position to make plays."

Phillip Heilman: (904) 359-4063