The Jaguars were one of the three teams heavily linked to Ben Johnson. The in-demand staffer wound up being hired by the Bears, though, leaving Jacksonville in need of pivoting to a contingency plan. 
It appears a favorite amongst the remaining candidates has emerged. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports the Buccaneers are bracing for offensive coordinator Liam Coen to be offered the Jaguars’ job. Coen is on Jacksonville’s list of finalists, having lined up a second interview for tomorrow.
The Jags are also slated to speak with former Jets head coach Robert Saleh as well as Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, but Stroud notes there is an increasing sentiment that the Jacksonville HC posting is “Coen’s to lose.” It was reported last week (when Johnson was still on the market) that the 39-year-old was in contention for the position. As a result, this latest update comes as little surprise.
Dave Canales had a successful single season as the Buccaneers’ offensive play-caller in 2023. He parlayed that into the Panthers’ head coaching gig, leaving Tampa to bring in Coen for this past campaign. The former Rams and Kentucky OC enjoyed a very strong debut season with the Bucs. The team ranked top-four in the league in total and scoring offense in 2024, remaining efficient on the ground and through the air along the way. Tampa Bay finished fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game after posting the worst figure in that category each of the two previous campaigns.
The Jaguars moved on from Doug Pederson after his third year with the team concluded. Several candidates with an offensive background were interviewed once as part of Jacksonville’s ongoing search process, though, and the continued interest in Coen is a sign the team is willing to make another hire from that side of the ball. Stroud confirms Coen’s first interview went well, noting his potential to help Trevor Lawrence as a key factor which could land him the job.
If Coen were to depart, the Buccaneers would need to find a new OC for the fourth consecutive offseason. It remains to be seen if that will be the case, but such a scenario is obviously one the team is preparing for.
Liam Coen was terrific for most of the year…his game plan for the Cobra Commanders sucked though..Quite frankly if Coen leaves …i would fire the whole staff with exception to Tom Moore because he is coming back…that guy is awesome…honestly I think a lot Buccaneers fans feel the way I do….I can appreciate that some Bucs were not fully healthy…but I am really disappointed about the who game plan …the Buca laid an egg…especially against a rookie quarterback…I don’t care how talented he is….that should never have happened SMH
They are not firing the staff…Coen is going to take a good amount with him like every coordinator that gets a hc job does. Only a few actually stay like Tom Moore because their job is different. Todd will find another OC like he just did, Liam wasn’t on other teams radar for OC when hired. Todd and team is 2 for 2 when finding OCs. That likely bodes we’ll for candidates because you know the organization helps you become a HC. Liam was good but I did have issues with Tucker not playing after the huge Saints game. The 9er game he went with 3 PS guys when Palmer and Jmac were active then closing with White over Bucky which cost them. It was year one but he had that issue of lineups.
It was baker who found him not Todd
Rather fire Bowles and keep Liam
Well, it would be kind of funny if they emptied out the whole building
It would show that Lefty has some power lol
Good luck to him if he gets it, Baalke still holds a lot of power. Jags are talented though.
If you can’t get Ben Johnson I guess Coen will be a good second choice. Trevor needs some consistency and direction. He’s a great talent, just needs a little tuning. The Jaguars could be a great team with the right people running the day to day operations. If Mr Kahn would keep his hand and his spectacular mustache out of the mix, and maybe get a new/better general manager they have the fan base, facilities (after a 2 year rebuild of the former Orange Bowl), and the cash to be successful for many years.
To be fair Kahn is fairly hands off. Almost too much as he needs to fire Baalke.
I don’t know what kind of head coach Coen will be, but at some point Jacksonville had to take a chance on pairing Lawrence with a more contemporary offensive mind, and Coen fits the bill. He’s certainly looked sharp this year.
Jacksonville should hire Joel and Ethan Coen to share HC duties. They could supplement their NFL salary by making a movie about the Jags playbook. The working title will be “Burn After Reading” 🙂