Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen has emerged as the front-runner to become the Jacksonville Jaguars next head coach, just a day after backing out of contention for the gig. The Buccaneers offensive coordinator is in talks with the Jaguars. Coen clearly wasn’t interested in the opening until Jacksonville fired general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday.
CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported Tampa Bay was set to make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid offensive coordinators, but things have clearly shifted. Jones reported on Thursday that Tampa Bay’s attempts to reach Coen went unanswered until later on Thursday evening after reports leaked out that he was back in as Jaguars’ top candidate to become their next head coach.
Coen, who will turn 40 on Nov. 8, succeeded Dave Canales as Tampa Bay’s offensive play caller, and the Buccaneers didn’t skip a beat. They won the NFC South division for a fourth year in a row while producing the NFL’s No. 4 scoring offense (29.5 points per game) and the league’s No. 3 total offense (399.6 total yards per game). Quarterback Baker Mayfield registered career bests in completion percentage (71.4%), passing yards (4,500), passing yards per attempt (7.9), passing touchdowns (41) and passer rating (106.8) while running Coen’s attack in 2024.
Now, the Jaguars are doing what they can to secure Cohen’s services in hopes that he can recreate a similar type of magic with Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Jaguars firing GM Trent Baalke needed move for fresh start; next regime set up with good nucleus left behind
Pete Prisco
