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Key to Jacksonville Jaguars turnaround? Liam Coen's communication, leadership early on
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- Key to Jacksonville Jaguars turnaround? Liam Coen's communication, leadership early on
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen stood in front of a somber locker room.
The Jaguars had fallen to 1-1 after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in a game they trailed for only 18 seconds. Unfortunately, it was the final 18 seconds of the game. A dropped pass from receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and a defensive pass interference penalty on rookie two-way player Travis Hunter sunk the team as they tried to stave off a Joe Burrow-less Bengals team.
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It was more of the same from previous regimes where the Jaguars couldn't close out games. But the messaging post-game was very different from how previous coaches handled losses.
Ryan O'Halloran: Led by Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars show they won't back down to anybody
"We win, we lose, we compete as a team. At the end of the day we didn't do enough to get it done," Coen said in a locker room video posted to social media. "It's never going to be just one play, we all know that. All of us have to go look at it. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, 'What can I do to help get us over the hump in these moments.'"
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Coen gave a shot of reality to the Jaguars.
It's hard to win in the NFL and it's even harder when you beat yourself. However, his message was clear: They would stick together and move forward as a unit.
The team responded to his messaging with back-to-back wins, including an impressive win against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara last week. They rallied around him after comments about " legal sign stealing " were made by Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, handing San Francisco its only loss this season.
And they had Coen's back after the game during a heated exchange between the two coaches.
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Now, the Jaguars (3-1) will take center-stage against the Kansas City Chiefs (2-2) on Monday Night Football in the first primetime game of Coen's head coaching career.
"He gets emotional. That's okay, it's football," center Robert Hainsey said of Coen. "We all put a lot of time and energy into this (expletive). It would be a problem, I think, if we weren't emotionally invested."
Liam Coen's effective communication started by watching his father as a kid and blossomed under Sean McVay
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 13: Head coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Liam Coen of the Los Angeles Rams on the sidelines during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Charger at SoFi Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Coen's father, Tim, was a longtime football coach. He can still recall being a kid and seeing his dad's players at their house.
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It allowed the players to build a different level of relationship with his dad that they probably couldn't reach on a football field.
There's a level of calmness that typically isn't available during games or intense practices. It's a pace that allows for actual conversations, with the ability to learn more about a person than how fast they can run or how hard they can hit.
"I think I had a great example of [good communication] with my dad being a coach," Coen said while reflecting about his youth. "I don't know if he was a players' coach or not — I think he probably was in a lot of ways."
New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, left, poses with father, Tim Coen, after speaking and being introduced during a press conference Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Thanks to his dad, Coen has been around the sport his whole life and spent time in a variety of football environments. But no space was more influential than his time spent with the Los Angeles Rams under head coach Sean McVay.
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He held different roles and had multiple stints with the Rams dating back to 2018 when he originally joined McVay's staff as an assistant wide receivers' coach. It was, in his words, "an example of the coolest place" he'd ever been.
Coen was immediately impressed with the organization. Especially, how on every level throughout the building they worked towards the same goal.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 13: Head coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Liam Coen of the Los Angeles Rams on the field before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Charger at SoFi Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Even further, McVay provided an example of what he wanted to be. An offensive minded head coach who still tried to show respect and build relationships with every player on the team.
Whether it was someone on defense, special teams, or offense, McVay showed players that he cared, and Coen has replicated that in his first season in Jacksonville.
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"For me, that's helped me be able to communicate a little bit more honestly with them because they know that there's investment in the relationship," Coen said. "It's not just, 'Hey, you didn't get the job done, this isn't good enough.'
"It's like, 'Okay, how can we get the best out of each player, each coach, each staff member in order to invest in?' Once they're invested, they typically will let you coach them harder."
Coen planted seeds early with players, he's seeing the cultivation of that during the season
Coen was hired to fix a ship that sinking. A locker room that was broken. A franchise headed in the wrong direction.
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Even with a massive task laid before the first-time head coach, he didn't come in and immediately change things. He knew in order to turnaround the direction of the team, he'd need to first understand his players.
With that in mind, Coen went to dinner with defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Josh Hines-Allen within the first week of being hired by the Jaguars. He also met with quarterback Trevor Lawrence shortly after getting the job.
It wasn't to impose his will or establish himself as the head of the team. He wanted to learn from the team's leadership.
"That's not very common for a head coach to go to dinner with players," Armstead said. "Especially, everything that's going on when they first get here. But he wanted to listen to us. Get to know us."
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen talks with Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) between plays before an NFL scrimmage at EverBank Stadium Friday August 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Coen understood that in order to get the most out of the players he needed to figure out what they need. In a locker room of 53 active roster players with 16 additional practice squad players, needs vary.
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Some players are in contract years and will allow that to influence their play. Some are personally motivated by their desire to win awards, establish a legacy or etch their names in history books.
Some just want to win and will do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. But it's on the head coach to figure out how to merge and mold roughly 70 different players to one common goal.
"Obviously, nobody's the same. We all have similar traits and things of that nature, but everybody has an aspect that they bring to the game different from one another," pass rusher Travon Walker said. "That's what makes it so special. Liam, he's very intelligent on both sides of the ball. He wants to help bring that out of all of us."
Jaguars players respond to the challenge, embrace Liam Coen's leadership
After the Jaguars won their Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers , Coen was given a water bottle shower by cornerback Jourdan Lewis .
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Lewis, in his first season with the Jaguars after signing a three-year deal in free agency, energetically splashed water on Coen to celebrate his first win as head coach.
He has emerged as a leader in the brief time that he's been with the club. He was named a captain and has led the team on and off the field. It all started with a conversation with Coen during the offseason.
"He's empowered me to be a leader on this team and communicate with guys and be an extension of what he wants to be as a football team," Lewis said. "I just feel like we're on the same page and I know it's going to be times where it's challenging, but I understand that it's coming from love."
Lewis is a nine-year veteran in the league and has seemed to find a perfect fit with the Jaguars. He's already recorded three takeaways through four games and has six pass deflections this year.
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But his value goes beyond his on-field play. He's the elder in a relatively young cornerback room.
He's been tasked with leaving his mark on impressionable players — a challenge Coen issued to him.
It's a responsibility Lewis is more than prepared to bear. Coen was upfront about what he needed from Lewis from the start and it made it easier for Lewis to respond accordingly.
"When you're vulnerable with your team, it's easier to relate to a head coach, especially when he tells his story," Lewis said. "Even the bad and good stuff … We know that he cares about us and he tells us the truth."
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) celebrates his interception with cornerback Jarrian Jones (22) and cornerback Christian Braswell (21) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 17-10.
That vulnerability isn't easy to show in a sport known for it's violence and toughness. But Coen has found the perfect balance between being tough on players while still showing a level of care and respect to them.
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During the offseason, Coen and his staff told players three things they do well and three things they need to improve on. They acknowledged the good, while not dancing around the fact that there was room for growth.
The result of those tough conversations is seen every week as several players are having positive results in their early season performances.
"I think the relationship starts with honesty and if the players understand that we're trying to get the best out of them in everything that we are doing, that they'll trust that regardless of the delivery," Coen said. "That it's coaching the player and not the person always. That we're trying to get the best out of them."
Liam Coen has Jaguars one victory away from matching win total from 2024 season
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 21: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars hugs Head coach Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars after a win against the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
The day after the Jaguars beat the Houston Texans , Coen was talking with running back Travis Etienne as they were going to the cafeteria of the Miller Electric Center. He expressed frustration to the fifth-year back, but not because Etienne logged a saeson-low in rushing yards.
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The frustration was with himself, saying he got away from calling things the Jaguars were good at. Etienne reassured Coen that he was thinking the same way and told him since they should keep running the football.
The veteran back rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and scored the opening touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers the next week.
"He's just very transparent," Etienne said of Coen. "He says what he means and means what he says."
Coen is obviously talented as a playcaller, evident by his work in Tampa Bay last season and the way he's already fixed Jacksonville's run game.
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But that's not what makes him unique as a head coach. It's his ability to set a standard, communicate what the standard is and hold everyone accountable to the standard that's been set.
It sounds simple, but in reality it's rare to have a coach who can do all three.
Every coach has a standard, sure. Most coaches will hold you accountable to the standard. Not every coach can communicate effectively what their standard is and what will happen if it's not upheld.
"The most important thing with communication, with anybody, but Liam and how he works, is just the clarity and being able to have those hard conversations," tight end Brenton Strange said. "Him telling you exactly what you need to hear, not what you want to hear."
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, left, Jacksonville Jaguars is executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli, center and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, right, all talk on the field after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ mandatory minicamp Tuesday June 10, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
A major area where previous regimes went off the rails was after breakdowns of communication. The ever-changing standard, blame game and behind-the-scenes dysfunction of old Jaguars' teams doesn't seem to be an issue so far.
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It's largely because Coen is in constant communication with every level of the organization. Whether it's the leadership group of Executive Vice President Tony Boselli and general manager James Gladstone or assistant coaches, staff members and players, Coen is able to communicate effectively.
And it's a big reason why Jacksonville has had such a quick turnaround through the first four games of the season.
"He's just a real guy. He's a hard guy not to like," defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said of Coen. "He's just very human but he's really been great with being demanding with the players and I don't ever see him as demeaning."
Coen and the Jagaurs will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football on Oct. 6. at EverBank Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Liam Coen reaching out to players key to Jacksonville Jaguars turnaround
