JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars capped one of the wildest two days in franchise history, agreeing to make Liam Coen their next head coach, hopeful that the 39-year-old can bring the franchise out of its perpetual swoon and maximize the potential of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
The hiring of Coen was the exclamation point of an unbelievable two-day span that saw the team initially lose out on Coen, pivot and fire their beleaguered general manager, and restart conversations with the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. It ended with Jacksonville, desperate for any bit of good news after a miserable 4-13 season, winding up with a young head coach it aggressively pursued. Coen left Tampa Bay at the altar, something that’s certain to be brought up in the coming days.
Unlike previous head coaching hires made under owner Shad Khan, Coen doesn’t come with baggage (Urban Meyer) or with a Super Bowl ring (Doug Pederson). He also comes with questions about his staying power in jobs (nowhere more than three years). The upside is that Coen has an offensive background that should appeal to Lawrence, who said he preferred a young, offensive-minded head coach.
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They get that in Coen, whose candidacy appeared over early Wednesday by the Jaguars’ decision to retain general manager Trent Baalke. Instead of firing Baalke along with Pederson on Jan. 6, Khan held on to the embattled GM. Jacksonville went through 10 interviews and then scheduled three in-person interviews this week with Coen, Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham. Wednesday morning, Coen abruptly pulled out of the Jaguars head coaching pool, reportedly due to the presence of Baalke.
That led Khan to abruptly part ways with Baalke on Wednesday afternoon, opening the door for a new line of communication with Coen and his representatives. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and other media outlets said Coen had no contact with the Buccaneers after reportedly agreeing to a contract extension with Tampa Bay, instead coming to Jacksonville.
According to NFL on CBS reporter Jonathan Jones, Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Boselli is assisting in Jacksonville’s head coaching search. Boselli has had an interest in a front office role with the team that drafted him in 1995 for some time, but this is believed to be the first time he’s had a hand in any type of operations decision.
In Jacksonville, Coen will be tasked with trying to help elevate a perpetually struggling franchise into one of respectability. The team reached two AFC championship games under original owner Wayne Weaver and went to the 2017 AFC title game under Khan. But his tenure as owner includes the league’s worst record (64-148 in the regular season) since 2012.
Khan’s first hires were Dave Caldwell as general manager and Gus Bradley as head coach. Brady went 14-48 and Caldwell was the architect of some of the worst rosters in franchise history. He promoted Doug Marrone to head coach full-time in 2017, and Marrone went 10-6 and won the division in his first year. That was the high-water mark. Marrone never won more than six games in any of his three seasons after that, including a franchise-worst 1-15 mark in 2020.
The Meyer debacle lasted 13 games before his midnight firing. Pederson was a stabilizer who managed a pair of 9-8 seasons before this year’s 4-13 implosion. His insistence to stick with offensive coordinator Press Taylor and the hire of defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen sealed Pederson’s fate.
Coen checks the boxes of having helped rehab a quarterback like Baker Mayfield, who, like Lawrence, was the No. 1 overall pick. Mayfield had success in Cleveland before he was jettisoned by the franchise after it traded for Deshaun Watson. Mayfield bounced around the league before settling in with Tampa Bay. He had a record year in 2024, including a career-best 41 touchdown passes. It’s a crucial hire for Lawrence. He’ll be working in his third offensive system in five NFL seasons and now has a $275 million contract hanging over his head. That deal looked premature, especially with how Lawrence has played from Week 13 of the 2023 season. Lawrence missed eight games last year with shoulder and concussion issues before going on injured reserve.
Coen was a four-year starter at quarterback for Massachusetts and remains the best signal-caller in program history. He played one year in the Arena Football League with the Alabama Vipers before embarking on his coaching career.
Most of Coen’s coaching experience has come at the college level. He had two stints at the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky (2021, 2023). He was the OC at the University of Maine in 2016-17. Coen also had stops at Brown, UMass and Rhode Island. In the NFL, he was the OC for the Rams under Sean McVay in 2022. He was the assistant receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach from 2018-2020 with the Rams.
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