After the Urban Meyer debacle, the Jacksonville Jaguars were counting on Doug Pederson to steer the ship in the right direction. And for a brief moment, it looked like he was going to pull it off. Right after hiring him in 2022, the Jags made the playoffs and seized the AFC South. However, their success wasn't sustained.
After Pederson's first year at the helm, Jacksonville failed to qualify for the postseason two years in a row. That wouldn't have been an issue if the team were showing signs of growth. After all, progress isn't linear; sometimes you need to take a couple of steps back before you can take a few forward. But that wasn't the case. Quite the opposite. The Jaguars were getting worse, and Pederson even threw players under the bus to justify their lack of execution.
After three seasons on the job, the organization had seen enough and ousted Pederson. After an extensive search, it settled on Liam Coen, an offensive mastermind who turned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a powerhouse in just one season. But aside from his knowledge of Xs and Os, he wooed the top brass with his leadership. It didn't take Coen long to put all his skills to good use, and early in his stint with the Jags, he's proving to be the right guy to turn them into a sustainable winner.
The Jaguars chose Liam Coen over other more flashy or experience candidates
The Jaguars cast a wide net during their search for a head coach, setting their sights on candidates such as Ben Johnson, Steve Spagnuolo, Patrick Graham, and Robert Saleh. In the end, they thought outside the box and rolled with Liam Coen, ushering in a new era in Duval. Of course, there were reservations about his hiring, just like there are with any other first-time head coach.
However, experience for the sake of experience isn't always good. Sometimes, it's better to take a chance on a young coach with fresh ideas. That's precisely the route Jacksonville chose when it hired Coen. Make no mistake, though, he's no spring chicken. He learned from one of the most innovative and successful head coaches in the NFL: Sean McVay.
Granted, having a great mentor doesn't guarantee that you'll have success, but most of McVay's disciples have gone on to flourish as head coaches. Coen is no exception. As John Shipley of Sports Illustrated pointed out, it took him only six games to reach six wins, the fastest coach in franchise history to do so. For context, it took Pederson 14 games to achieve the feat, and Tom Coughlin needed 17.
So why exactly has Coen been successful? Throughout his brief tenure in Duval, he's used the right balance to get the most out of his players: Push them in practice as much as they can while genuinely caring for them at an individual level.
More importantly, the Jaguars are building an identity under Coen, something they haven't had in a while. He's building a tough and resilient team that won't be bullied and will instead bully opponents. Sure, Jacksonville has experienced several ups and downs under Coen. They were humiliated by the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in consecutive weeks. More recently, Jacksonville suffered a huge meltdown against the Houston Texans. But it didn't throw in the towel.
Instead, the Jags bounced back and steamrolled the Los Angeles Chargers in a dominant 35-6 win. Do you remember the last time they overcame adversity? That's what they did, and it's hard to picture them doing the same under Doug Marrone or Urban Meyer.
You could make the case that Jacksonville started 3-6 in 2022 only to get hot in the second half of the season, with Doug Pederson at the helm. But that success was short-lived. Coen is putting in the work to ensure the Jags win games beyond 2026.
What's next for Liam Coen and the Jaguars?
Liam Coen is quickly living up to expectations, and you even argue that he's already exceeded them. Either way, he needs to build off the win over the Chargers and finish the season strong. There are a pair of reasons to believe he'll do it.
For starters, the Jaguars have a relatively easy slate the remainder of the season, with games against the New York Jets, the Tennessee Titans (twice), and the Arizona Cardinals. Couple that with the fact that the offense showed notable improvement against Los Angeles, and it's easy to picture Jacksonville earning a playoff berth.
But even if the Jaguars come up short this season, Coen is quickly planting the seeds to ensure they win games for years to come.