Could Jaguars' Liam Coen Be the Right Fit for Trevor Lawrence?
![New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen smiles after speaking and being introduced during a press conference Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen smiles after speaking and being introduced during a press conference Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6000,h_3375,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/jaguar_report/01jjt9b8myeqpv1fws5q.jpg)
It was around midseason when the Jacksonville Jaguars had an idea of what was likely to come: a complete regime change involving now-former head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke.
Pederson was fired following the regular season finale against the Indianapolis Colts and to the surprise and dismay of many, team owner Shad Khan kept Baalke around for another three weeks before realizing his star coaching candidates were walking away because of the embattled GM.
A week ago, Khan finally let the former San Francisco 49ers executive go, opening the door for any of the top coaching candidates available.
By then, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen had been offered a contract extension to stay with the team until the Jaguars fired Baalke. It was only a matter of time until they offered the former Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator a deal to become Jacksonville’s new head coach Friday.
Coen is considered by many as another potential great offensive-minded head coach who could turnaround his respective franchise and turn quarterback Trevor Lawrence into the superstar he is believed to be. In his opening remarks during Monday, he explained that it takes complementary football in all three phases to be great.
“How do we want to play the game? And that's fast, fundamentally sound, attacking, situational masters and tough, both mentally and physically,” Coen said. “You see players in the room right here, guys that I've had conversations with already. It will always be about you. Always. It is players over plays, how do we make this as much about the players and making this about bringing out the best in you.”
Coen said he would be the offensive play-caller for the Jaguars this season, an important aspect for not just the new coach but for his star signal-caller as well.
“How do we make Trevor Lawrence and this offense as dynamic and explosive as we can be?” Coen asks. “We've got to build it around him as well. We've got to make every part of this about improvement, and he will be a part of that process.”
Based on his time with Kentucky while coaching quarterback Will Levis, the Jaguars should have a dynamic unit almost right away. Coen’s concepts are built around high percentage throws, the wide zone schemes that prioritize responsibility for the wide receivers, large platforms that will increase the potential high percentage passes, and will lean into the outside zone run game with running backs Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne.
This system has the makings of a quarterback-friendly offense so much was the case in Tampa Bay when Coen coached Baker Mayfield to career-high passing numbers last season. Despite their lowly 2024 campaign, the Jaguars have the talent to return to the postseason as soon as next season and Coen could be a massive proponent to that.
Lawrence is the key to all of this. He’s a supremely talented quarterback who has gone through many changes in the last few seasons. He knows what it takes to win a playoff game and has shown to be the reason his team has a chance at the end of most games. Coen has the chance to take his game to the next level.
Coen wants to establish and gain a new culture in the organization when offseason workouts begin on April 7.
“What's the culture we want to establish, the direction in which we're going to go and how we're going to get there? That's first and foremost,” Coen said Monday. “After we start to establish the standard in how we want to do things, then we'll get into the fundamentals and techniques in which we want to participate and play the game at.”
This might be a coach who has socially awkward quirks and a cringe-worthy moment that could be replayed many times over if things don’t work out in Jacksonville. Yet, Coen is a coach who might offer the goods to be the right fit for Lawrence and the rest of the Jaguars franchise.
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