Liam Coen's Jacksonville Jaguars tenure began not with a bang, but with a weak "Duval!"
While the Jaguars franchise has seldom been triumphant in recent years, no one can deny that the fan base's proud "DUUUVAL" chant—a reference to Jacksonville's home county—has really caught on. They hope that wins will follow with a young offensive mastermind in Coen taking the reins of the franchise, but he clearly needs to work on his rallying cry.
Coen has been catching slack for his muted introductory press conference "Duval" for nearly three months now, and so far has declined to take a second shot at it. Until he rectifies the situation, the ribbings will continue, including from the other members of the NFL coaching community.
Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator in 2020, when Liam Coen served as the franchise's assistant quarterbacks coach, and he pulled back the curtain on some of the teasing that Coen has put up with during his first NFL annual meeting as a head coach.
"I will say, there may or may not have been 'Duvals' from a few of us coaching throughout the week," O'Connell said during a media session, after sharing some of the advice he gave Coen about being a head coach.
"He's probably had about enough of that, but that's all part of it here. That's the most fun we have here as coaches, spending time together the way we do."
Kevin O’Connell and some other NFL coaches have been razzing Liam Coen this week about his infamous “Duval” https://t.co/fDZgFHCHOa pic.twitter.com/KrubAjGMWO
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) April 2, 2025
Coen and the Jaguars are flying a bit under the radar this offseason, but there is some excitement that the man who helped Baker Mayfield continue his impressive development with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can similarly unlock another former No. 1 pick at quarterback, Trevor Lawrence.
The Jags can add a big piece to their roster with the No. 5 pick and if they make some noise in the AFC South this year, Jacksonville's diehard are sure to embrace the 39-year-old, whether or not he can say "DUUUVALLL!" with his chest.