Big Cat Country
Welcome to Big Cat Country’s staff roundtable!
Before we fully transition into coaching staff changes, free agency previews, original mock drafts, and plenty of other offseason content, we’re taking one last look back at the Jaguars’ highly memorable 2025-26 season.
“I was extremely proud of a lot of things that we were able to accomplish,” head coach Liam Coen said at the team’s end-of-season presser. “Very proud of their response to adversity and to that 1-0 message and that next-play mentality and now the real work is here to where we have to go and reload it.”
Was Jacksonville’s first season under Liam Coen, James Gladstone, and Tony Boselli a success? How much does its heartbreaking Wild Card Round loss influence your answer?
Dillon Appleman: I don’t think anybody would have predicted a 13-win season, a division title, and a shot at the conference’s No. 1 seed in the first year of this regime, so it is absolutely an unquestionable success. The Wild Card loss, if anything, makes me more confident going forward for a couple of reasons. One, this was the worst performance both sides of the ball had had since their win streak started and they still had the lead against the reigning MVP with a minute left in the game, and two, a loss like that can serve as a learning lesson for a young coach. I expect a more poised level of play in the next playoff run.
Travis Holmes: When a four-win season is the bar, it feels insane not to consider the 2025 season anything short of a raving success. Despite the heartbreaking Wild Card Round loss, the team showed measurable improvement in coaching and development from the majority of younger Trent Baalke-acquired players on the roster. Additionally, Trevor Lawrence’s second half of the season clearly showed that the Jaguars have the right quarterback and coach to build from. In year one, that’s the primary goal: 13 wins, an AFC South division title, a top young defensive coordinator in league circles, and a league-leading defense in turnovers and stopping the run is simply a bonus (one heck of a bonus).
Gus Logue: The season was a success because the team won more than expected, and critically, not in a fraudulent way. Jacksonville finished the regular season top-five in the NFL in point differential, DVOA, and ANY/A, among other team efficiency metrics. Lawrence and the rest of the roster looked more than legit in multiple high-pressure spots down the stretch. The early playoff exit still stings, but as Dillon pointed out, the performance in that game shouldn’t make us doubt that the Jaguars are trending up. I will say: the season was a success relative to preseason expectations; it was a failure relative to post-Thanksgiving expectations. As Coen said, “Clearly it was not good enough for the full end of the season standard, but 31 other teams are having a similar conversation … that’s the beautiful part about this profession and...
