As they find themselves in last place in the AFC South after losing by 13 points in Houston on Monday night, it’s clear that the Jacksonville Jaguars need some serious help.

Less than a year removed from coach Jack Del Rio’s all-in gamble on quarterback David Garrard, the Jags have fallen to 4-8, a full seven games behind the first-place Titans and four behind the second-place Colts.

The problem, as a league source explains it to us, is that the Jaguars lack the cash to effect meaningful change.  Del Rio parlayed last season’s wild-card playoff berth into a five-year contract, and owner Wayne Weaver likely won’t be inclined to pay him several million dollars per year not to work through 2012. 

Our own theory is that Weaver needs to bring in a G.M. with authority over the roster and the coaching staff, but for the same reasons that Weaver won’t want to buy out Del Rio, Weaver likely won’t be willing to fork over an even higher salary to someone who would have the primary responsibility of turning around a franchise that largely has underachieved. 

Especially since a G.M. undoubtedly would press Weaver to fire Del Rio, so that the G.M. could hire a coach of his own.

The source with whom we spoke believes that, due to cash issues in a down economy, the Jaguars very well could be sold in the not-too-distant future, and that they remain one of the most obvious candidates to relocate to Los Angeles.

Based on the team’s performance in 2008, the folks in Jacksonville might not be all that upset if/when it happens.