Veteran safety Andrew Wingard has been with the Jacksonville Jaguars since 2019 and played for four different coaching staffs. This makes him the right man to assess Liam Coen and the new regime. Based on his comments, they get his seal of approval.
Wingard had a sitdown with News4Jax and said that he likes the coaching staff, pointing out that they know what they're doing and putting him in a position to succeed.
"I'm not going to answer that, but I like this coaching staff," Wingard responded when asked what his opinion was on the coaching staff and whether there was no longer dysfunction. "I think they're really good, they're young. They're hungry, they know how to coach NFL ball, and I feel like they're making me a lot better. So I'm really comfortable right now."
While Doug Pederson got off to a strong start to his stint in Jacksonville in 2022, he had worn out his welcome by last year. Things got so bad that he even threw players under the bus at one point and did such an inadequate job that he earned pretty bad grades in the NFL Players' Association survey.
Later in the exchange, Wingards heaped praise on defense Anthony Campanile, arguing that he knows how to balance things out and will push players just the right amount.
"I mean, he was going psycho this morning at 7:30, like we were watching a boxing motivational video or something. So it's really good. And he's definitely a guy that'll be in the trenches with you. He's super good because he's not gonna like [expletive] out or anything, like he's gonna yell, and like, get you fired up and all that stuff, but he's good, like a dad who's like, just hard enough on you, but just enough love. It's kind of like one of those deals."
Liam Coen hired Campanile not long after he became the head coach of the Jags because he "represents exactly what we want to be as a defensive unit and football team."
So far, the early results haven't been great, as the first-team defense struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season opener. The good news is that the things they struggled with are easily correctable, as Dewey says. Below is his full interview. His remarks about the coaching staff start at the 1:10 mark.
Related: The Jarrian Jones hype train is official leaving the Jacksonville station
Andrew Wingard's remarks prove the Jaguars are in great hands
The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't get to Urban Meyer levels of dreadful, but they sank pretty low. By the midpoint of the 2024 season, players were seemingly going through the motions, and that was the head coach's fault, as he's supposed to lead and set the tone.
Having seen enough of Pederson, the Jags gave him the boot after the 2024 season and hired Liam Coen to replace him. So far, he's made players accountable and pushed them to give their best. On the other hand, he's taken an active involvement in their development, something his predecessor rarely did.
Ultimately, Liam Coen will need to win to prove the Jaguars made the right call when they hired him. That said, they're headed in the right direction, based on Andrew Wingard's comments.
Here are other Jaguars stories you may also like: