Jaguars coach Liam Coen’s awkward ‘Duval’ doesn’t have to define his tenure

Liam Coen understood the assignment on Monday when he was introduced as the Jaguars’ new head coach — mostly.

The former offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who was recently hired to replace Doug Pederson, knew exactly how to address the Jacksonville faithful at the team’s press conference. His execution could use work, though. 

Coen’s awkward rendition of the Jaguars’ signature “Duval” chant garnered most of the attention at his introductory press conference. Considering the drama that surrounded Coen’s hiring in the first place, he’s had a memorable start to his NFL head-coaching career.

To recap: owner Shad Khan parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke to clear a path to land Coen, who reversed course after telling Tampa Bay he planned to remain the team’s offensive coordinator. Khan called Coen late Wednesday, persuading him to change his mind about interviewing and consider becoming the eighth head coach in franchise history and fourth in the past six years. 

But first impressions aren’t everything, in both the real world and the NFL. Just ask Dan Campell, who was ridiculed for saying, “we’re going to bite a kneecap off” when he was introduced as the head coach in Detroit four years ago. Now the Lions are the two-time defending NFC North champs. 

It’s too early to know what kind of coach Coen will be, but what he had to say about how he plans to turn the Jaguars sounded promising, even if his “Duval” needs a little practice. 

Here are the other takeaways from Coen’s first media session as Jacksonville’s new coach.

Khan was looking for an offensive-minded coach who would modernize the Jaguars and get the most out of Trevor Lawrence, who signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension in June.

“The fundamental thing that we need to address and the No. 1 thing, obviously, is the quarterback position and our commitment to Trevor,” Khan said. “I think it’s well known, and we believe in him.

“That was the fundamental question really to all the candidates: How would they do it? After we got done with that, it was very evident to me that Liam was the guy.”

The 39-year-old Coen was the architect of one of Tampa Bay’s most productive offenses in its history in 2024. The Buccaneers ranked third in the NFL in yards (399.6 per game) and fourth in points (29.5).

Coen became the first NFL coordinator in at least the past 25 years to average more than 28 points a game, average more than 6 yards a play, convert more than 50% of the time on third down and score touchdowns 65% of the time in the red zone.

And Coen envisions having similar success in Jacksonville with Lawrence, who has missed eight games the past two seasons because of various injuries.

“When I went and watched his response to negative plays, whether it was a pick, an incompletion, a critical third down miss or a punt or whatever it was, I felt like he always responded,” Coen said. “And that was something that I was like, ‘Man, OK, he’s got that. That takes (heart). That’s all that matters. That’s not all that matters, but in that moment, that’s what matters. And so I saw that and I’m like, ‘OK, he’s got that.’ That’s huge to start off with.”

Coen envisions a certain style of play

The Jaguars lost 18 of their final 23 games under former coach Doug Pederson, who was fired with a 23-30 record after three seasons. One of the main complaints about Pederson’s team was it lacked an identity — on either side of the ball.

“How do we want to play the game? Fast, fundamentally sound, attacking, situational masters and tough both mentally and physically,” Coen said. “It is players over plays. How do we make this as much about the players and making this about bringing out the best in you.”

Getting there, Coen said, starts with creating culture. It’s a topic he’s already broached with Lawrence and fellow captain and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen.

“I heard guys that are yearning for more, just more culture, more unity, more communication, just everybody being on the same page, a true aligned vision and for everybody to be able to tell each other some hard truths in ways and see each other’s blind spots and communicate those because that’s where the growth occurs,” he said.

Coen is already making moves

Coen interviewed Minnesota defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Daronte Jones on Monday for Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator position. He also already decided to retain special teams coach Heath Farwell, who signed a three-year contract Monday.

Two of Farwell’s specialists, punter Logan Cooke and long snapper Ross Matiscik, made the Pro Bowl.

“That was a no-brainer,” Coen said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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