The wheels are in motion in the Sunshine State.
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen has pulled out of the running for the Jaguars coaching job, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday, with former Jets coach Robert Saleh now one of two remaining candidates who has been scheduled for a second interview.
The decision by Coen, 39, comes two days after the Jaguars announced they scheduled in-person interviews with him, Saleh and Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Coen will be handsomely rewarded for his Jaguars reversal, with Schefter reporting his Buccaneers return is “on a new contract that now will place him amongst the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL.”
Coen and the Buccaneers reached the playoffs this season, falling short to the Commanders in the wild-card round on Jan. 12.
The Jaguars fired third-year coach Doug Pederson earlier this month following a disappointing 4-13 campaign.
The Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Eagles led the Jaguars to a playoff appearance during his first season at the helm in 2022-23.
The team was ousted in the Divisional Round by the Chiefs, who went on to win Super Bowl 2023.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan and general manager Trent Baalke were originally scheduled to meet with Coen on Wednesday, followed by Graham and Saleh, according to Fox Sports.
Some have questioned whether Khan’s loyalty to Baalke, who has been the GM since 2020, is hurting them with top tier head coaching candidates.
Saleh, 45, who has also spoken to the Cowboys and Raiders about their coaching vacancies, was fired by the Jets after a 2-3 start in October.
He was originally hired by the team in 2021 following a successful tenure as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
Saleh worked as a consultant for Green Bay, coached by close friend Matt LaFleur, for the remainder of the 2024 season.
The Jaguars are one of the remaining coaching vacancies after the Bears hired former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Monday.
The Raiders, Cowboys, Saints and Jets jobs are still open as of Wednesday morning.