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EXCLUSIVE: How Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen is working to help Trevor Lawrence
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- EXCLUSIVE: How Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen is working to help Trevor Lawrence
This is the second of two parts of an interview with Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen.
The debriefing for Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence started with the Jaguars ' first offensive play against the Los Angeles Rams , which served as a microcosm of the first seven games in general and Lawrence's first seven games in particular.
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The Jaguars started at their 30-yard line. Receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter were bunch right.
Take it away, Liam …
"Trevor does a great job of seeing the blitz, gets out of a run (play). … We have a 'choice' route with Travis. … He runs an in-breaking route. … Trevor is getting (pressured). … We don't throw it and we take a sack on the first play of the game. … If we would have protected better and completed it, we're starting with who-knows-what. … We have to cut that (throw) loose. He knows that."
During our interview in his office Tuesday, Oct. 21, Coen whirls the video back and forth. And wow, you can see what he is talking about.
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Thomas runs a clear out-type route down the field to get one Rams cornerback out of the way. Hunter, reading the coverage correctly, chooses an in-breaking route and is wide open. If Lawrence let it rip before the pressure arrived, the Jaguars may have started with at least a 20-yard gain. Instead, a sack to start an eventual 35-7 loss that dropped the Jaguars to 4-3 entering this week's bye.
The moral of that one play? The Jaguars' offense has been out of sorts. If Lawrence sees the right thing, the protection may not cooperate. If the protection holds up, the receivers may not get open. And if the receiver gets open and protection is there, Lawrence may lack decisiveness.
The Jaguars rank 22nd in points per game (20.9) and have only three offensive touchdowns in the last two games.
In the second part of my interview with Coen, we talked about Lawrence, Hunter, the offense in general and how he handles losses:
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MORE FROM O'HALLORAN: How Jaguas coach Liam Coen is trying to get better during the bye week
What Coen wants from Lawrence
Lawrence's rankings among quarterbacks aren't pretty. He is tied for second with 259 pass attempts (90 in the last two games) and tied for fifth with five interceptions (but only one in the last four games). The red flags are 28th in completion percentage (58.7%), 23rd in yards per attempt (6.25) and 26th in rating (80.6).
In the interest of fairness, the Jaguars have 16 dropped passes per my game charting.
The first positive Coen pointed out about Lawrence is his pre-snap work.
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"He's been phenomenal when it comes to the 'cans,' and getting into the right play," Coen said.
What's a "can?" If Lawrence puts both hands on his helmet, followed by the skill-position players doing the same, he is "canning" the current play in favor of another one called in the huddle.
"That is probably something not a lot of people care about, but that's helped us and led us to 4-3," Coen said.
Post-snap, Lawrence has been let down by Thomas, who I have charted for six drops (one touchdown) in particular, the hip injury to tight end Brenton Strange has been critical (he had a team-high 20 catches through five games and is out at least two more games) and the Jaguars have allowed 14 sacks in the last two games.
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"We're really going to look at what are the things Trevor does best and what are the areas that we need to improve in our offense in order to take the next step and what are the things that we don't need to spend time on because it's not worth it?" Coen said.
In his meeting with Lawrence, Coen said he stressed two priorities moving forward.
"When No. 1 in the progression is open, we have to be automatic in A, throwing it, and B, catching it," Coen said. "We need to pull the trigger when No. 1 is open. (Secondly), continuing to use his legs and I think that's something we have to continue to lean into and get him going early on.
"There have been moments (offensively). Our 'good' has been really good and our bad is like, 'Whoa, we're off.'"
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Coen believes Lawrence has improved.
"I think he is throwing the ball better; the ball is starting to jump off his hand more," Coen said. "Now we just have to catch the football better. There were some throws in the (Rams) game that he put in some really good spots and we have to start making some plays."
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks to the video scoreboard with wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Seahawks defeated the Jaguars 20-12.
Coaching Travis Hunter
Want to draw the ire of Jaguars fans? Suggest that playing Hunter 100% of the snaps on both sides of the football is bad idea. They'll come at you with pitchforks and Tasers.
The Hunter Experience was always going to be a work-in-progress, folks. The Jaguars said the right thing in training camp — it would be a week-to-week discussion — and don't discount the time he missed in camp. Through seven games , Hunter has played 67% of the offensive snaps (324) and 36% of the defensive snaps (162). He's on pace to play 1,180 snaps.
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My workshopped theory is the Jaguars' plan for Hunter has been adjusted because of the in-progress demise of Thomas.
Hunter's 28 catches lead the team and he has 298 yards receiving and one touchdown. On defense, he has 15 tackles and three pass break-ups.
"It's been pretty cool," Coen said of coaching Hunter. "It's been a different challenge. I think we've gotten to a good place in terms of the schedule and rhythm and routine."
Coen said managing Hunter's practice work is "pretty easy," because he can participate offense vs. scout team and then defense vs. scout team.
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"It's the meeting time and walk-through time that is the biggest challenge within the confines of the time we have with him and making sure he's hearing all of the details and little things that get corrected or tweaked or changed within a week's game plan, specifically on offense with the quarterback," Coen said. "We did see a connection start to unfold (between Hunter and Lawrence against the Rams)."
Coen made another good point — it's not just about Hunter toggling between offense and defense. Hunter's teammates have to trust that he can handle what's required of each position from an assignment, adjustment and communication standpoint.
The Jaguars didn't trade a package that included next year's first-round pick to run Hunter into the ground as a rookie.
Learning to move on from losses
After losses to Cincinnati , Seattle and the Rams, during his Monday media availability, Coen appeared measured, confident and matter-of-fact. The Jaguars lost and he had to present a positive front. I asked how important that is to provide that impression.
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Coen cited his first boss in coaching — Phil Estes at Brown — as influential in that approach. Coen worked three years as Estes' quarterbacks coach (2010 and 2012-13). Estes was in London last week, attending one practice and the game.
"We were talking about that at practice," Coen said. "What I learned specifically, as a young, first-year coach from him was how good he was after a loss. It was almost like he was at his best as a coach after a loss with not just the players, but the staff and the people in the building. When he got in front of the team, he didn't allow them to see (the loss) take a few days (to get over)."
The losses, all of them, are still like a shotput in Coen's guts 24 hours later. They all play the "What If?" game. Especially in a sport where the season is 17 games, I can't imagine the angst.
"It does still sit in your craw until you play another game," Coen said. "But I think it's about trying to show it's one day and one game. We lost on Sunday. We can't lose on Monday. We can't lose again on Tuesday. We can't get beat on Wednesday. We can't let it carry over. I had good examples in this game showing me that when you truly need to be at your best as a leader is after a tough game."
Contact Ryan O'Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How Jacksonville Jaguars Liam Coen is working to help Trevor Lawrence
