Coen's Development with NFL's Best Coaches Proving Valuable

The Jacksonville Jaguars just hired one of the best coaches of this coaching cycle. His time with some of the league's best coaches will prove beneficial for the Jaguars.
May 23, 2022; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay (left), offensive coordinator Liam Coen (center) and quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during organized team activities at California Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
May 23, 2022; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay (left), offensive coordinator Liam Coen (center) and quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during organized team activities at California Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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After losing out on Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan was determined to find the right head coach for his team.

However, after the Jaguars' next option, Liam Coen turned down Khan's request for an in-person interview; Khan did what any good leader would do and made the necessary moves to get the head coach he wanted.

Coen was widely regarded as arguably the second-best head coaching candidate behind Johnson. He helped guide the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to new heights and was vital in getting the best out of veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield.

He will now be tasked with helping another talented former first-round draft pick who has struggled lately. Coen will need all the help he can get to help turn around a Jaguars team that has done significantly more losing than winning over the past couple of seasons.

Still, Coen is ready for the challenge. He credited his father and many seasons working closely with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay with helping him develop into a head coach.

“It starts off with [Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay]," Coen said. "My dad right here, in terms of the mindset, he was a playcaller; he was an offensive designer. And he always instilled the players-over-plays mentality. Then you go to Brown, with [former Brown University head coach] Phil Estes, to UMass with [former University of Massachusetts head coach] Mark Whipple and then continue to go.

"And, yeah, I think getting to the Rams and with Sean, that was where I learned truly the game, I think, in a lot of ways. Where I got my, if you will, Ph.D. in coaching and learned at a different level. To be around him, the [former L.A. Rams offensive coordinator and current Minnesota Vikings head coach] Kevin O'Connells, the [former L.A. Rams assistant and current Cincinnati Bengals head coach] Zac Taylors, those guys, the [former L.A. Rams offensive coordinator and current Green Bay Packers head coach] Matt LaFleurs, to be around them to see how they operated, this is the way I would like to do things. You're always going to have your own twist on it. But I'm proud to say I'm in the Sean McVay tree."

Coen explained in detail what he learned from McVay that benefitted him the most as an up-and-coming coach.

“I think the vulnerability to be honest with yourself when you do make mistakes, being able to own up to them, to be able to move on," Coen said. "If we can all be honest with each other in this building, we'll be able to grow. I think that's the first thing, the ownership. The ownership is not just in the good times; it's truly in the adverse times. And how do we handle success while also being able to handle adversity -- those are things I learned from Sean [McVay]. We had to learn some -- we had a difficult season in 2022. That formed us. That changed us. We've talked about that year and how difficult that was, but we're better from it. So those experiences, that ultimately helps mold who you are, what you're made of, and I hope to be able to bring that here as well.”

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