The Jacksonville Jaguars have quickly turned heads with their offseason moves. In a crazy turn of events, the Jaguars plan to hire Liam Coen as their new head coach. Coen was one of the top head coach candidates on the market, but many believed he was returning to his former job as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. This seemed like a sure thing after Jacksonville pursued Coen. The doors appeared shut on their negotiations until the Jaguars fired their general manager, Trent Baalke. Then, Coen changed his mind and is now set to be the next Jacksonville Jaguars head coach.
Firing Trent Baalke
The Jacksonville Jaguars firing Baalke was the kickstart to this predicament. At the start of their offseason, the organization held onto Baalke. Owner Shad Khan claimed he did not want a complete overhaul of the organization, so once the season ended, they fired head coach Doug Pederson but kept Baalke. This was not a popular decision. Baalke’s stint as general manager was heavily criticized from bad draft picks to poor roster construction. Decisions like drafting Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson or giving out a huge contract to Christian Kirk and the organizational dysfunction in general left people uneasy about the Jacksonville Jaguars front office.
But the Jacksonville Jaguars were oblivious to these concerns until this offseason. They were fine with keeping Baalke around until the head coaches they tried to hire expressed a disinterest in working under him. Ben Johnson was the top coaching candidate available but he wanted to be sure of the situation he was entering before taking a job. Seemingly because of Baalke, Johnson had no desire to coach the Jaguars, instead, going to the Chicago Bears. It looked like the same thing was going to happen with Coen until Baalke was officially fired.
Liam Coen Joins the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Liam Coen hiring was an intriguing, ever-changing process. It was originally reported that Coen was taking an extension with the Buccaneers and declining the Jaguars offer. But that extension was never officially signed. Then, Baalke was fired and many assumed it was because Baalke’s role prevented the Jacksonville Jaguars from hiring Johnson or Coen. But the following night, Adam Schefter began to report that Coen had begun negotiations with the Jaguars and became their new head coach. It was a wild saga, where Jacksonville ended up snatching Coen to turn around what was shaping up to be an underwhelming offseason.
Where the Jacksonville Jaguars Go from Here
The biggest beneficiary of this hire is Trevor Lawrence. Coen’s success with Mayfield can hopefully translate to Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars offense. Lawrence has always had the tools and arm talent to be a successful quarterback but hasn’t taken that “next step” many thought he would under Doug Pederson. If Coen can unlock the potential in Lawrence, this could be a home-run hire for Jacksonville. Now the next step needs to be bringing in a defensive coordinator to handle that side of the ball while Coen presumably calls the plays and runs the offense.
