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Michael DiRocco
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Friday that they have agreed to terms with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen to be the team’s head coach. A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the deal is for five years.
The decision capped a two-day saga in which Coen pulled himself from consideration for the Jaguars job, then agreed to a contract extension with the Buccaneers that would have made him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, and then changed his mind after Jacksonville reached out to ask him to reconsider after it parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday afternoon.
“To repeat my message earlier this week, I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “I also believe in being judged by actions, not words. That’s why I took swift and decisive action this week to hire Liam Coen as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am pumped that Liam is accepting the challenge and opportunity to build the winner that Jaguars fans and partners fully deserve. I know our players feel the same.”
Coen traveled to Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon and met with Khan and interim general manager Ethan Waugh. A source told ESPN’s Jenna Laine that Coen reached out to Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles earlier Thursday night to tell him about his renewed interest in the Jaguars’ job, but Coen did not speak with anyone else in the Bucs’ front office.
The Jaguars had interviewed Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham earlier Thursday and were scheduled to have an in-person interview with former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh on Friday.
A league source said they had hoped to reengage with Coen after the exit of Baalke — their GM since 2021 — but were prepared to expand the search into next week if Coen declined.
An unwillingness to work with Baalke instead of a GM of his choice was a factor — but not the main one — in Coen’s initial decision to pull himself from consideration, the source said.
Coen was one of 10 candidates the Jaguars interviewed, with the sides first speaking virtually Jan. 15. He will be the eighth head coach in franchise history and replace Doug Pederson, whom Khan fired Jan. 6 after three seasons.
“Becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is an opportunity of a lifetime, and one that I am going to run with to instill a championship culture and winning tradition here in Duval,” Coen said in a statement. “This doesn’t happen without the support and opportunities that my family and I have been afforded throughout my career, especially during this past season in Tampa Bay. We thank Todd Bowles for his continued support and the entire Buccaneers organization for the experience, and know they will have success ahead.
“Most of all, we are grateful to Shad Khan for his belief in what we will bring to the Jaguars. We will work tirelessly to reward his confidence. As head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, I will hire a first-class coaching staff, establish a distinctive and effective brand of football on both sides of the ball, and our players will live for the black and teal. Shad and Jaguars fans should expect nothing less, and that’s what we plan to deliver and more. My wife Ashley and our family are honored to be here and a part of the Jacksonville community. We are ready to get to work.”
Coen, 39, will become the fourth-youngest active head coach in the NFL, behind only the Seattle Seahawks‘ Mike Macdonald (37), Chicago Bears‘ Ben Johnson (38) and Los Angeles Rams‘ Sean McVay (38).
Coen has spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach, including 10 at the college level. He spent four seasons with the Rams under McVay as an assistant wide receivers coach (two years), assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator (2022), and then this past season with the Buccaneers under Bowles.
Coen was hired by Tampa Bay to replace Dave Canales, who left the Bucs to become coach of the Carolina Panthers. That reunited Coen with Baker Mayfield — whom Coen had coached with the Rams in 2022 — and the two put together one of the best offenses in Bucs history.
Mayfield’s passer rating of 106.8 was a franchise record, and the Bucs were the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in passing yards per game (250.4) and rushing yards per game (149.2). The Bucs ranked in the top five in total offense (399.6 yards per game), scoring (29.5 points per game), rushing, passing, third-down conversions (a league-high 50.9%) and red zone efficiency (66.7%).
In addition, Mayfield set career highs in passing yards (4,500), passing touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4%) — ranking in the top three in the NFL in each of those categories.
The Rams’ offense struggled in 2022 because quarterback Matthew Stafford sat out eight games because of a concussion and spinal cord contusion. Los Angeles started four quarterbacks that season: Stafford (nine games), Mayfield (four), John Wolford (three) and Bryce Perkins (one) and finished last in total offense (280.5 yards per game) and 27th in scoring (18.1 points per game), rushing (97.7 yards per game), and passing (182.8 yards per game).
Coen spent 10 seasons as a college assistant, including two separate stints as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator (2021, 2023).
This was a critical hire for Khan because he’s trying to find long-term stability for franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence will be on his third full-time coach and fourth playcaller in five seasons in the NFL.
The Jaguars went 4-13 in 2024, the 10th time in Khan’s 13 seasons as owner that his team has posted double-digit losses.
Source: www.espn.com