REPORT: Inside the Jaguars' Mad-Dash to Sign Liam Coen

The Jacksonville Jaguars refused to take no for an answer, doing whatever it took to hire Liam Coen as their next head coach.

May 23, 2022; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen during organized team activities at California Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan's change of heart on former general manager Trent Baalke set off a series of events that sound like a movie script, but it landed the Jaguars one of the top coaching options on the market this offseason.

After firing former head coach Doug Pederson, but retaining Baalke, many around the league wondered why Khan did not get rid of Baalke as well.

It was no secret that Baalke's presence in the front office gave many coaching prospects pause and reportedly played a role in new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen initially declining Khan's offer to interview in person.

Khan was either in denial or too loyal to Baalke, as Coen deciding to remain the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator over becoming the Jaguars' head coach was the straw the broke the camel's back. Shortly after Coen turned down Khan's offer, Baalke was fired.

Khan's quick reversal on Baalke was undoubtedly late, but still welcomed. However, more went into it than just getting rid of Baalke. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN noted the fact that in addition to losing out on another top coaching candidate, the fact that the Jaguars were concerned the Buccaneers would make Coen an offer he could not refuse.

Fowler noted that according to a source, "part of the Jaguars' urgency stemmed from viewing the Bucs as a threat -- the Jags thought the Bucs could seek to make Coen a head-coach-in-waiting, similar to how they positioned Bowles as the league's highest-paid defensive coordinator under previous coach Bruce Arians. They also saw what happened with Dirk Koetter being elevated to head coach after the dismissal of Lovie Smith after the 2015 season. They were worried about the Bucs making promises.

"[Todd] Bowles has taken the Bucs to the playoffs three straight seasons but had yet to be rewarded with a new contract, so the feeling has been that he has never been on completely solid ground in Tampa, a league source said."

While Kahn's delay in firing Baalke is notable, so was his quick thinking in getting rid of him, once it became clear Baalke was a problem. Khan's quick action made up for holding on to Baalke too long, while also not giving the Buccaneers a chance to counter.

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