First-year head coach Liam Coen has brought fresh energy, strategic play, and crucial player-coach alignment to Jacksonville, transforming the Jaguars into a surprising playoff contender.
Trevor Lawrence didn't come to Jacksonville knowing much about coaching changes.
When Lawrence quarterbacked at Clemson, there were never any questions about Dabo Swinney's job security.
Clemson went to the College Football Playoff three times and won a national title with Lawrence as the starter, which led to Lawrence being the slam-dunk No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft.
That pick went to the Jaguars, and then the stability Lawrence had known in college went out the window.
Long a QB coach in college and the NFL, Liam Coen (left) served as offensive coordinator for the Rams and the Buccaneers before being named Jaguars head coach in January 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)Lawrence's first pro coach was Urban Meyer, whose Jacksonville tenure lasted all of 13 games (2-11).
The Jaguars hired Doug Pederson to replace Meyer, and things went well at first, with the Jags winning a playoff game in Lawrence's second season.
Then the team unraveled.
After starting 8-3 in 2023, the Jaguars lost five of their last six in Pederson's second season and missed the playoffs.
2024 was a disaster, with the Jags finishing 4-13 and Pederson losing his job.
Enter Liam Coen.
A super-awkward introductory press conference on Jan. 27, 2025, invited skepticism of Coen, who had never been a head coach at any level.
New head coach Liam Coen sits next to Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan after being introduced during a press conference Mon., Jan. 27, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville. (Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union)But now, Coen has Lawrence and the Jags rolling.
Jacksonville is 9-4, having won five of its last six to take over first place in the AFC South.
This has put Coen in the mix for Coach of the Year -- and as JagsRT's Teri Berg reported Wednesday, the Coen/COY chatter has been heating up.
BetMGM has Coen with the third-highest odds (+750), behind heavily favored Mike Vrabel (-250) from the AFC East-leading Patriots (11-2) and Mike Macdonald (+700), whose Seattle Seahawks (10-3) are tied atop the NFC West with the Rams.
So what has Coen brought to the Jaguars?
“I think from the first day we were all in here, to be honest, just the energy that Liam's brought," Lawrence told reporters after practice Wednesday. "Just to see the alignment and the way everything's been handled. I've been through a few staff changes, and there's always a lot of positivity at the beginning, but to see how the staff has handled the adversity of the season [is impressive]."
Head coach Liam Coen has QB Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars on a four-game win streak ahead of their Week 15 home game against the Jets. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)To Lawrence's point, this season hasn't always been easy.
In London, the Jags suffered a brutal 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams to drop to 4-3.
Under Coen, the team has lost only one game since, and for Lawrence, the whole staff deserves credit.
"I've been really impressed with, obviously, Liam, how he's responded to everything. But the whole staff -- and the relationship between players and coaches -- has been very good, very professional. They've coached us hard, and it's been awesome to be around."