When the Jacksonville Jaguars were looking for a head coach in 2025, their search centered on someone who could get the most out of Trevor Lawrence. They ultimately settled on Liam Coen, who helped quarterback Baker Mayfield post career numbers during his lone season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Based on the small sample in the Week 1 preseason game, it looks like the Jags hired the right guy.
Lawrence started the game behind center and went 6-of-7 for 43 passes with no touchdowns and no interceptions. All things considered, it was a solid if unremarkable statline. However, a closer look shows an improved quarterback doing a good job distributing the ball to his receivers.
On the lone drive he played, No. 16 got the ball to Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Travis Hunter, and tight end Brenton Strange. Moreover, he looked confident. Normally, this wouldn't be noteworthy, but it is because he doesn't appear to be unfazed despite the fact that he dealt with a myriad of injuries the past two years.
What did Jaguars HC Liam Coen have to say about Trevor Lawrence after the Steelers game?
Following the game, Liam Coen met with the local media and said that he was pleased with Lawrence's performance, pointing out that the fifth-year quarterback managed to go through his progressions.
"Yeah, I think aside from the first play [a false start], he just was at the line with a can and kind of just took a little long, and it got us a little jumpy," Coen responded when asked how he thinks Lawrence did. "But I thought, aside from that, well, you look at getting through some progressions, you got back to [Brenton] Strange on a progression for a first down. That was really nice to see."
Coen continued, "I thought we protected Trevor pretty well. I thought he was accurate with the ball. The safety made a good drive on BT on that one in-breaker, but the wall was kind of where it needed to be, maybe a little bit more firm for him, but I think he operated at a good click."
After his media availability session, Coen had a one-on-one exchange with team reporter Kainani Stevens and more or less echoed the same thing, pointing out that Anton Harrison's false start to begin the game hurt the offense.
"So I was pleased with the way Trevor was able to get through some progressions. I thought he threw the ball accurately. I thought we protected him. Well, you know, we ran it okay, but I was pleased with Trevor in the way we ran the operation," Coen told Stevens.
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Where has Liam Coen been helping Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence
Before he suffered a season-ending injury in 2024, Trevor Lawrence's mechanics and decision-making were sloppy. Thus, it's not surprising that Liam Coen made both areas a point of emphasis after becoming the head coach.
Early in the offseason, Coen said that honing Lawrence's footwork was going to be a point of emphasis. More recently, he said that he was trying to get him to go through his progressions. That's probably why the head coach talked about it during the presser.
But more importantly, Trevor Lawrence has shown progress dating back to training camp. And if his performance against the Steelers was a sign of things to come, he and the Jaguars are headed in the right direction.
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