Liam Coen fuels Jacksonville’s underdog mentality, leveraging a national media snub to spark Trevor Lawrence’s MVP trajectory while rivals like Caleb Williams command the spotlight.
Coming off of a breakout season under first-year head coach Liam Coen, the Jacksonville Jaguars' message all offseason has been building upon their success.
Despite an AFC South crown, a 13-4 finish, and young talent scattered around the roster, the team is not getting as much attention as many other emerging teams are.
But, for head coach Liam Coen, this is a positive.
"This is the best part about coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars," Coen said on Thursday. "You don't have to make up the fire. Its given to us everyday. I look at the NFL website, and see if there's anything on the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think I'll see 40 pictures of Caleb Williams. And nothing on any of our players! It's beautiful."
These comments made headlines around national media, as they drew support and flack from various analysts and fanbases.
But, this is an unspoken benefit for a team like the Jaguars, who could argue they were one of the biggest surprise successes in the NFL last season.
Of course, Williams and his Chicago Bears were in a very similar boat, as first-year head coach Ben Johnson led the team to their most successful season in a long time.
Johnson was actually asked about Coen's comments, to which he gave a witty response himself.
"Well, we’re the No. 1 regression candidate, so I think we’ve got plenty of motivation ourselves. We’ve talked about Caleb in the past," Johnson responded. "He’s used to handling a lot of attention, so I’m not worried about that."
First Things First on FS1 followed up this dialogue with a comparison between Lawrence and Williams from last season, which showed Lawrence outplaying his fellow No. 1 pick in nearly every category.
Lawrence recorded 13 wins compared to Williams' 11 (although the Bears won multiple playoff games), while recording more passing yards, total touchdowns and a higher quarterback rating.
While, of course, Williams made some of the more-remarkable plays of the year, Lawrence's consistency and play down the stretch vaulted him into legit MVP candidacy.
In the final six games of the regular season, Lawrence threw for 15 touchdowns and just one interception while leading his team into the playoffs on an eight-game win streak.
Throughout the offseason, Coen has praised Lawrence for his consistent work ethic, while saying he believes they are just scratching the surface of what they can achieve.
“Four new systems, multiple different head coach situations, OCs, whatever it is, go throughout the season, and you find out, I mean, [Trevor] doesn’t miss a single practice, doesn’t miss a single throw in practice, played the whole season," Coen said in an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio in early April. "MVP finalist, Comeback Player of the Year finalist, did some great things. There is so much room to continue to improve, and I think that’s what we’re excited about attacking."
Thus far, through training camp and OTAs, Lawrence has impressed his coach even further, with Coen gushing about his increased chemistry amongst his plethora of dangerous wide receivers.
With Jacksonville's running game going through a major transition after Travis Etienne's departure, the Jaguars will need another MVP-caliber season from their golden-haired gunslinger.
