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For the third time in 5 years, the Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to find a brand new head coach.
Massive Cat Nation’s Jaguars head coach hiring course of tracker is consistently being up to date — however to offer extra info on the highest candidates being interviewed, we’ll be releasing in-depth profiles all through the search.
Different head coach candidate profiles:
Subsequent up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who Jacksonville has requested an interview with.
Photograph by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures
Expertise
Coen performed quarterback from 2004-08 on the College of Massachusetts Amherst the place he was a four-year starter and ultimately voted into the UMass Athletics Corridor of Fame after setting six of the eight accessible UMass profession passing data.
Coen then started his teaching profession in Rhode Island, touchdown a job as Brown College’s quarterbacks coach in 2010, a job he later returned to in 2012 and 2013 after one season because the College of Rhode Island passing sport coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He then returned to UMass in 2014 as their move sport coordinator and quarterbacks coach earlier than touchdown his first offensive coordinator function on the College of Maine in 2016.
Liam then jumped to the NFL in 2018 as an assistant huge receivers’ coach for the Sean McVay-coached Rams the place he would later transition to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020. After three years in Los Angeles, Coen would take the ideas realized with the Rams to Kentucky, the place he can be named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2021 season. Coen helped the Will Levis-led Wildcats obtain a 10-3 report and a 2022 Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa, scoring 32 factors per sport. In his first season at Kentucky, Levis would throw for twenty-four touchdowns, putting him on the radar of NFL normal managers.
After the Citrus Bowl win, Liam returned because the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2022. Los Angeles was contemporary off a Tremendous Bowl LVI victory and former OC Kevin O’Connell was employed as head coach of the Vikings. Whereas McVay can be in control of play calling, Coen would deal with weekly sport planning and set up in collaboration with McVay. Nonetheless, the staff would finish the season Twenty seventh in factors scored after dropping a number of key members to damage for vital parts of the season. Quarterback Matthew Stafford missed the preseason and performed in simply 9 video games earlier than touchdown on injured reserve with a season-ending neck damage. Prime huge receiver Cooper Kupp would additionally miss eight video games and finish his season on injured reserve as a consequence of an ankle sprain together with dropping receiver Van Jefferson for the primary six video games.
With McVay reportedly considering retirement for the second straight offseason, Coen returned to Kentucky to tackle his prior function, enhancing their 2022 19 factors per sport to 26 factors per sport. He would then hop again to the NFL, this time calling performs for the Buccaneers, bringing us present on his 15 complete years of teaching.
Liam’s offense, led by the resurgent quarterback Baker Mayfield, has helped the Buccaneers obtain a 2024 10-7 common season report regardless of battling via accidents on offense. Tampa Bay was fourth within the league in factors scored and third in yards gained whereas down a few of their high pass-catchers: Chris Godwin missed 10 video games with a dislocated ankle, and Mike Evans and Cade Otton every missed three video games with hamstring and knee accidents, respectively.
Efficiency
2024 Buccaneers offense
Factors per sport: 29.5 (4th)
First downs per sport: 23.2 (2nd)
Yards per sport: 399.6 (third)
Yards per play: 6.2 (third)
EPA per play: 0.133 (fifth)
Success price: 49.4% (tied 2nd)
Passing offense
Whole touchdowns: 41 (2nd)
First downs per sport: 13.2 (third)
Yards per sport: 250.4 (third)
Yards per try: 7.9 (sixth)
EPA per play: 0.211 (fifth)
Success price: 52.6% (third)
Speeding offense
Whole touchdowns: 16 (14th)
First downs per sport: 8.06 (seventh)
Yards per sport: 149.2 (4th)
Yards per try: 5.3 (2nd)
EPA per play: 0.012 (sixth)
Success price: 44.4% (sixth)
Situational offense
Early down EPA per play: 0.095 (fifth)
Early down success price: 48.1% (third)
Late down EPA per play: 0.271 (fifth)
Late down success price: 54.3% (1st)
Landing price within the pink zone: 66.7 (4th)
Quotes
How new Bucs OC Liam Coen views the offense
From River Wells for BucsWire (Feb. 2024)
“I was taught in times of crisis, you think players, not plays. It’s not about what maybe I like, or the play that I might like the most, but what is going to get the ball into our best players’ hands. What can our guys execute at a high level, be able to go do and have confidence in? Also, in the back of my call sheet, I have a player box for multiple players. Ultimately, we want to get the ball in their hands, right now, no questions asked, the coverage is not going to change, it’s not [going to] matter what happens – the ball is going to their hands right now. Because this game is a personnel game, right? And at the end of the day, it’s about those guys.” – Liam Coen
What offense ought to we count on from new Bucs OC Liam Coen?
From Mike Kiwak for BucsNation (Feb. 2024)
In a single yr underneath [former OC Dave] Canales, the Bucs have been simply center of the highway within the league, ending 18th in move makes an attempt off PA (101 throws) and twenty third in passing yards off PA (728 yards). By comparability, the [University of Kentucky] Wildcats underneath Coen have been high 25 nationally in PA share in 2023, and so they have been high 20 in PA effectivity with Will Levis in 2021. To that time, it was with Coen that Levis emerged as a high school passer and potential first-rounder, earlier than the Coen departed and Levis considerably declined in ‘22.
Who Are the Greatest Up-and-Coming NFL Head Teaching Candidates?
From Diante Lee for The Ringer (Nov. 2024)
Coen constructed a strong résumé via the primary half of the season. Within the first seven weeks, earlier than the Bucs misplaced receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to accidents, Tampa Bay had the sixth-best passer ranking and yards per move try and was considered one of simply seven groups averaging 5 yards per carry or extra. Tampa Bay’s 18 passing touchdowns and 946 dashing yards in that span have been greater than it had prior to now two years mixed. However what ought to make Coen stand out from his friends is what he has performed within the weeks since dropping one of many league’s greatest receiver duos, taking an already wholesome offense and catapulting it ahead. He has proven he’s able to maximizing subpar expertise and crafting a system his quarterback is assured in.
Why Liam Coen Deserves Thorough Consideration for Bears Coach
From Gene Chamberlain for Chicago Bears on SI (Dec. 2024)
Coen’s offense outperformed Ben Johnson’s offense in solely his second sport as an NFL play caller. In Week 2 this yr, the Buccaneers went to Detroit and handed the Lions their solely loss, 20-16. Coen does not have the dominant offensive line within the league paving the best way for his offense. He does not have a quarterback who has been in his system for 3 years the best way Jared Goff is for Johnson. He took castoff Baker Mayfield and put collectively the third-best assault within the league.
From Shaw Syed (Sumer Sports activities) for JoeBucsFan (Jan 2025)
“Baker Mayfield has played well but is not in that elite tier of other quarterbacks that we have talked about. You lose Chris Godwin but you do a really good job of scheming up Jalen McMillan. You bring in Bucky Irving because Rachaad White was a pretty inefficient rusher last year and you change your run-fit concepts to better fit both of them and you use two-back sets a lot” complementing their types.” – Shaw Syed
Liam Coen: Being a head coach is the purpose
From Myles Simmons for Professional Soccer Speak (Jan. 2025)
“I do believe I’m ready to do so[be an NFL head coach]. I don’t think you’re ever truly fully ready, but yeah, that is a dream. Does that need to happen when I’m 39 years old and having probably the most fun of my life coaching and working and being here? No, that doesn’t mean that needs to occur right now. But yeah, that is the goal. That is absolutely the goal… But like I said before, that goal can hold off for a while here and continue to do what we’re doing. That would be pretty special.” – Liam Coen
Obvious pluses
Offensive coach from the Sean McVay tree (just like Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell, Shane Waldron, Zac Taylor, and so on).
Has proven quarterback growth at each cease. After putting in an offense that allowed Will Levis to go from dropping a quarterback battle at Penn State to transferring and changing into a high 50 NFL draft choose, Coen then helped propel Baker Mayfield’s 2023 efficiency into one other tier of play in 2024 by utilizing a balanced, but fashionable offensive scheme.
This season, the Buccaneers turned the primary staff in NFL historical past to finish 70% or extra of their passes and rush for not less than 5.0 yards per carry in the identical yr. pic.twitter.com/yw2TfT6yOa
— Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) January 6, 2025
The Buccaneers have been the one staff in 2024 to rank within the top-5 in passing yards per sport (250.4 – third) and dashing yards per sport (149.2 – 4th). pic.twitter.com/pvpEvyPJZt
— Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) January 9, 2025
A youthful, offensive-minded head coach who is ready to develop his fashionable offense with Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr as staples.
Has constructed a convincing resume in reigniting a beforehand struggling run sport. Below Coen, the Bucs’ Twenty seventh-ranked 2023 dashing EPA improved to sixth in 2024, the dashing success price went from thirty second to sixth, and their dashing yards per try went from thirty second to second. His success on this space is made extra spectacular as he achieved these outcomes with minor personnel adjustments up entrance, with the staff including free agent guard Ben Bredeson (1 yr, $3.5 million) and middle Graham Barton within the draft. Does this sound acquainted to Jacksonville’s present predicament? Would Coen be capable of have comparable success in shortly turning across the Jaguars’ dashing assault with just some changes in personnel and scheme?
Lingering questions
Will Liam be capable of construct a robust teaching workers on each side of the ball early on? This query has gotten many first-year head coaches in bother early on, as a consequence of hiring a help workers that may be a little too model new throughout the board. What connections has Liam constructed all through 15-years of teaching and is he capable of leverage these into an skilled workers? In an in depth analysis, the distinction between a company deciding to go along with Coen or one other offensive-minded teaching choice might come right down to who their deliberate defensive coordinator and/or workers picks are.
Is Coen nonetheless too new as a play caller? Whereas Coen has a major variety of years in teaching underneath his belt, now we have but to see his offensive scheme be challenged or compelled to evolve with the identical personnel in back-to-back seasons. How does he react to defensive coordinators’ offseason counters towards him after and full low season of evaluating his offensive tendencies, scheme, and personnel use? These are questions that usually fail many play callers in yr two of their offense that Coen, as a play calling head coach, must quickly reply on the sphere for the primary time.
Kevin O’Connell when employed: 7 years of teaching (all within the NFL whereas by no means calling performs)
Liam Coen: 15 years of teaching, 8 within the NFL + 7 in school (2 years calling performs in school + 1 yr within the NFL)
Each hung out underneath Sean McVay. Why is Coen “inexperienced” once more?
— . ℍ (@TravisDHolmes) January 8, 2025
Is Coen head coach materials? His speedy success in Tampa has been each eye-opening and worthy of acclaim. Nonetheless, does being an awesome play caller and offensive thoughts in yr one certify that he’s prepared to steer a franchise and set the worldwide tradition? Is he a frontrunner of males with an id in thoughts and a plan for organizational success? With no prior expertise as a head coach underneath his belt, these would be the questions underneath investigation by many NFL normal managers over the subsequent month.
Would Coen be keen to work with Jaguars incumbent normal supervisor Trent Baalke as his GM or in one other function throughout the entrance workplace? As Gus identified in his Ben Johnson profile, a number of nationwide reporters have voiced considerations over the attractiveness of Jacksonville’s head coach opening with Baalke nonetheless on the town. Nonetheless, it might be stunning to see a high first-year head teaching choice select to handcuff themselves to a GM with that quantity of bags and reportedly, 2-years remaining on his contract.
Jaguars followers, how do you are feeling about Coen? Tell us within the feedback!
Author : usa-foot
Publish date : 2025-01-11 20:04:02
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