ClutchPoints
When new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen let out one of the most awkward “Duval” deliveries you will ever see, it instantly created a meme that the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator won’t soon forget.
Now granted, looking silly in front of reporters doesn’t necessarily make or break a head coaching career, as Nick Sirianni had one of the worst introductory pressers of all time, and Dan Campbell was walking about breaking bones well before he was leading his team to NFC Championship games. But for Coen to move past that initial awkwardness, he actually has to win, which Jaguars fans will have to wait a few months to see.
Asked about Coen’s moment on Thursday during Super Bowl media sessions, Sirianni noted that head coaches aren’t media trained before they get the gig, with their performances on the field far more important than in the press conference room.
“At the end of the day, we’ll be scrutinized for wins and losses, I know that. So really, that to me is whatever. We don’t train to do media. We get work at it, and now that I’m four years into the job, I’ve gotten more work at it, over and over again. We train to be football coaches. We train to be football players. If I’m training when I’m the offensive coordinator to get ready for opening press conferences, I would have been shorting the Indianapolis Colts,” Sirianni told reporters.
“My whole mindset was how do I get better at coaching and helping these guys develop and reach their goals. I think too much has played into that. I’ve said it to the guys. My first press conference sucked. I wasn’t getting ready for that. I was trying to get ready to help this team win, to get to know my players, and fortunately for me, you don’t get a win and loss based off your opening press conference. Now, did people still talk about it? ‘Oh my God his opening press conference was terrible.’ Yeah. I mean, I think I’m doing better now. You guys would agree, right? I’m doing a little bit better now. I’m waiting for when they’re going to drop that narrative. Whatever, it is what it is. Our focus is football.”
On one hand, Sirianni probably feels pretty good knowing that there’s another head coach getting flack for some silly introductory soundbites, as it takes some of the pressure off of him the next time it happens. With that being said, he is correct that, while his initial presser sucked, Sirianni has gone on to become one of the most successful head coaches in Eagles history. If Coen can take the Jaguars to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons with the team, no one will care about how he pronounces the county Jacksonville resides in. But if he struggles, it will go down as just another goofy Jaguars blunder in a seemingly never-ending series of Jaguars blunders.
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