Veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy describes facing Liam Coen’s scripted plays as a "nightmare," highlighting the offensive mastermind's transformative impact on both Tampa Bay and Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Jaguars' coach Liam Coen's offensive mind has lit opposing defenses on fire, and former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy called Coen the best play caller in the last two years.
Van Noy appeared on "Up and Adams Show" with Kay Adams on Tuesday, discussing multiple topics, like his former team, the idea of playing for the San Francisco 49ers and Coen's offensive brilliance.
The 35-year-old free agent linebacker reminisced about the 2024 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- when Coen was the offensive coordinator.
Although Baltimore left victorious, 41-31, Van Noy remembers the first 15 plays Coen called that left the Ravens' defense shocked.
"The first 15 plays are scripted. I mean, they were a nightmare," Van Noy said. "Everyone was like, 'Holy hell, they were all problem plays.' And you get back to the sideline, and you're like, 'We're gonna be in a dog fight cause these are crazy.' And they were just great concepts, great schemes."
Tampa Bay scored the first 10 points against Baltimore, with multiple plays going over 10 yards. Baker Mayfield dissected the defense with precision, throwing for 116 yards and one touchdown en route to a 370-yard, three-touchdown and two-interception performance.
The Buccaneers became an elite offense across the board under Coen, and his excellence earned him the head coaching position for the Jaguars this past season.
Van Noy said he was impressed with Coen's first season in Jacksonville and highlighted that he has a bright future ahead of him, the longer he remains the head play caller.
"I think he's an awesome coordinator," Van Noy said. "I think he's only going to be more and more successful as he gets comfortable in his head coaching role as well as calling the plays. He does a phenomenal job."
Coen led the Jaguars to a 13-4 season, which started shaky. The team had a 5-4 record after Week 9, and could not build on its three-game winning streak from Weeks 3-5.
However, Jacksonville turned it around and finished the season as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. They went on an 8-game winning streak, and the offense put up league-best numbers.
The Jaguars averaged 36.6 points during their winning streak. They scored under 25 points once, scoring 23 points against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17.
Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinsky did not upgrade Jacksonville into a top-five offense across the board, but the team made significant improvements compared to the pre-Coen era.
They jumped from 25th in total yards per game (306.2) to 11th (337.4), 24th in passing yards per game (204.5) to 12th (223.2) and 27th in points per game (18.8) to sixth (27.9).
The running game for Jacksonville is the one area that did not see explosive improvement compared to other aspects of the offense. It jumped from 27th (101.7) to 20th (115.1).
Trevor Lawrence posted his third 4,000-yard season, throwing for 4,007 yards, 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He entered the offseason healthy and is ready to continue improving under Coen's guidance.
The future of Jacksonville's offense is bright. Lawrence is at the helm, the wide receiver group is deep with the additions of Josh Cameron and CJ Williams through the draft, they exercised Anton Harrison's fifth-year option and drafted Emmanuel Pregnon -- highly touted as a first-round prospect -- and are handling the running game with a "by-committee" approach.
Coen and Udinsky helped the Jaguars finish just outside the top-10 in offense across the board, barring the running game, and could rise over the hump next season.
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