First-year head coach Liam Coen got his first win in the NFL when the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-10 in the season opener. Next, the Jags are slated to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, and Rich Eisen has come up with a prediction for the bout.
Eisen isn't sure whether Jacksonville will beat the Bengals. However, he guarantees that Coen won't follow in Urban Meyer's footsteps.
Liam Coen won't embarrass the Jaguars like Urban Meyer did
Rich Eisen was discussing with co-host Chris Brockman whether the Bengals can fend off the Jaguars. The only thing he could guarantee is that Liam Coen will fly back with the team, whether the Jags win or lose.
The only thing I can say for sure about that game, without a doubt, is that the head coach is going to fly back with the team to not go to his bar in Columbus and create a big ass problem, which is the last time Jacksonville played in Cincinnati," Eisen said (25:40 mark). "I don't know. Liam Coen, personally, I'm just going to assume he will be on the flight."
Eisen continued, "And then he will not be fired, because he's created a big ass problem for his team, even though he's the greatest coach, apparently, in college football history. Just pointing it out at any opportunity I can get to hit on Urban Meyer in that regard, I'm going to take it, and I just did. That's the only thing I can guarantee you about that game."
Eisen is making reference to the fact that the Jags lost to Cincy in Week 4 of the 2021 season. It was a Thursday Night game, and instead of flying back with the team, Urban Meyer stayed in Ohio, supposedly because he was going to spend the weekend with his kids. However, the embattled head coach was caught dancing improperly at a bar with a woman who wasn't his wife, Shelley.
The clip went viral, and Meyer begrudgingly apologized. That would turn out to be one of the many incidents that led to his dismissal less than a year after the Jaguars hired him.
Related: Urban Meyer or Mike Mularkey? Who's the worst coach in Jags franchise history?
Liam Coen has the Jaguars trending in the right direction
Liam Coen can take pride in the fact that he won his first game as a head coach in the NFL, and nobody will take that away from him. That said, it's hard to tell how his career on the sidelines will unfold. He could fail to get the Jaguars back on track, or perhaps he'll turn them into a powerhouse.
But regardless of how things play out, Coen won't reach Urban Meyer's levels of dreadful. Heck, even if he ultimately flops and loses the locker room three years down the road ** knocks on wood ** he won't confuse any players, or kick them to motivate them. Simply, he's shown to be a competent coach everywhere he's gone and is well-regarded around the league.
Will that be enough? Time will tell, but the one thing you know for certain is that he'll get on the plane whether the Jaguars come out on top in Week 2.
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