The Jacksonville Jaguars hit a home run when they hired Liam Coen as head coach.

In his first season, Coen led the Jaguars to a 13-4 season, a nine win improvement from the year before, and the team captured the AFC South division championship. He also guided quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was named an MVP finalist, to the best season of his career.

At only 39 years old at the time of his hiring, and with only one season as an offensive playcaller under his belt before being named a head coach, many people were surprised at Coen's immediate success.

Jaguars' new run-game coordinator Brian Picucci was not one of them.

As detailed by Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union, Coen and Picucci have a relationship that goes way back. Picucci actually coached Coen at UMass from 2004-2008, starting when the latter was only 18 years old. Later, in 2016-17, the pair were reunited on the coaching staff at the University of Maine.

Now the two have linked up again in Jacksonville, with Coen hiring Picucci away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in late January of this year.

As Harvey notes, Picucci's two-decade-long relationship with Coen has given him a front-row seat to watch Coen's ascent up the coaching ladder. Picucci has seen first-hand just how gifted Coen is, and isn't the least bit surprised to see him succeed so quickly. When asked about Coen around the end of Jacksonville's offseason program, Picucci was very candid about Coen's success.

"I'm not surprised. I'm proud. Anytime you see a player from 18 years old developed to where he's at now, it's pretty impressive. Really proud of where he's at in his career. But, no, I've expected all of this stuff to happen for him. He's worked at it and he deserves it all," Picucci said.

Another reason Picucci thinks so highly of Coen is his knowledge of, and commitment to, the run game. Coen was a quarterback when Picucci coached him, and the Jags' new run-game coordinator says that, even back then, his QB knew the importance of having a solid rushing attack.

"As a player when we were coaching him, he knew how important the run game was, because our run game was as diverse as it is here. Terminology is different, the level is different and all that stuff. But, when you look at coordinators in the NFL, you can't say that every coordinator in the NFL cares about the run game as much as Liam does," Picucci explained.

Picucci certainly has had an insider's look at Coen throughout his coaching career. The two have known each other professionally for over 20 years, giving the pair critical knowledge about the other. It's why the duo can help transform Jacksonville's rushing attack, even without Travis Etienne, into a team strength.

Even though Coen has had a meteoric rise through the NFL coaching ranks, he has worked very hard to get where he is. Picucci has seen what makes Coen a special coach for decades, and is adamant he deserves every one of the accolades he has received.

Now that the two are back together in Jacksonville, we should expect a strong commitment to improving the run game, something the Jaguars will desperately need in order to not only replicate, but surpass, last season's success.

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