REPORT: How Liam Coen Rescued the Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan was close to making a monumental mistake until Liam Coen reportedly agreed to remain a coordinator over becoming the head coach of the Jaguars. Coen inadvertently forcing Khan's hand ended up being the right move.

Jul 25, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars went to great lengths to sign Liam Coen as their next head coach. However, Coen's initial decision to reportedly accept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' pay raise to remain their offensive coordinator instead of accepting the Jaguars' head coaching position was the first domino to fall in a unique series of events.

Tyler Nettuno of USA TODAY believes Coen's change of heart proves the Jaguars possessed a desirable situation and head coaching position. Coen's move essentially confirmed that Baalke was the problem.

"Coen’s 180 ended a wild 48-hour saga in which he initially turned down the Jaguars only to covertly resume conversations following the dismissal of general manager Trent Baalke," Nettuno said. "And by taking the job, he may have just saved the franchise’s skin."

"After Ben Johnson, the highly-coveted offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, accepted the Chicago Bears head coaching job, Jacksonville’s next move seemed pretty obvious. While Johnson was reportedly viewed as a top option to replace fired head coach Doug Pederson, the team was also quite impressed with Coen, who apparently wowed the Jags’ brass in his initial interview. According to Jaguars on SI's John Shipley, Johnson and Coen were viewed within the building as candidates 1a and 1b.

"However, Coen, who was scheduled to return for a second, in-person interview, stunned everyone — including Jags owner Shad Khan and Baalke — when he removed his name from consideration on Wednesday afternoon. As was the case with Johnson, Baalke’s presence played a factor in Coen’s lack of interest in the job, though it wasn’t the primary reason, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco.

"Still, it was enough for Khan to do what many expected he would do when he fired Pederson and oust Baalke, too. Within hours of Coen’s initial decision to stick with the Buccaneers, Baalke was unemployed.

Many around the league speculated that the Jaguars would have trouble filling their head coaching position with Baalke still in the picture. However, it was only speculation until Coen dropped out of the head coaching search.

"Ahead of the coaching carousel cycle, NFL insiders indicated that by not firing Baalke along with Pederson, as Khan was widely expected to do in league circles, the Jaguars could potentially be limiting their pool of interested candidates," Nettuno said. "That turned out to be the case.

"Khan’s decision to wait to fire Baalke until his top two options told him no was horrific from a process perspective, but regardless, a franchise that hasn’t strung together back-to-back playoff runs since 1998-99 lucked into some hope. It remains to be seen if Coen’s run as a head coach will be a successful one. The 39-year-old has limited NFL play-calling experience, but his 2024 Tampa Bay team was a historically efficient offensive unit."

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