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The Jacksonville Jaguars landed their next head coach in former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. In just one year with Tampa, he led Baker Mayfield to a 40-touchdown season and a playoff appearance. But the hiring did not come without a shadow of secrecy. Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer outlined the suspicious circumstances that led to Coen becoming the Jaguars head coach.
Breer first outlines how Coen verbally accepted an offer from the Buccaneers to become the highest-paid coordinator in league history. Shortly after, the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke. That changed things for Coen, who did not show up to sign his contract on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning, citing a personal matter.
“During the 5 p.m. hour [Thursday], Coen called Bowles and told him he was still dealing with his personal matter. He also told him that things had materially changed in Jacksonville, and that he was going to travel there to explore the opening,” Breer reported. “Within an hour of that phone call, a Bucs staffer got tipped off by someone in the Jaguars’ facility that Coen was already in the building.”
Within hours, Coen was officially the head coach of the Jaguars. That wild sequence of events put the Buccaneers in a rough spot and a lot of pressure on Shad Khan to hire the right GM.
At this time last year, Liam Coen was not a head coach candidate in the NFL. He was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Kentucky before getting the Bucs job. Within one year, he had the opportunity to lead an NFL team so no one can blame him for burning the Tampa bridge.
Once the surprise of Thursday night’s events subsides, the pressure will be on Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. Lawrence could not stay healthy this year, pushing Jacksonville to a miserable four-win record. Coen worked wonders with Mayfield and they hope he can do it with Lawrence.
The Jaguars are in a weak division that can be snagged from the Houston Texans next season. Lawrence and Coen will be the key and if they click like Coen and Mayfield did, it could be a dangerous combination. But the history of the Jaguars is not kind to coaching hires. With no NFL experience as the head man, it could be tough sledding for Coen.
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