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Jacksonville Jaguars' Liam Coen: Hard work is paying off. Season opening win proves it.
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- Jacksonville Jaguars' Liam Coen: Hard work is paying off. Season opening win proves it.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen said there was a lot to like about the team's 26-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 7 at EverBank Stadium, his first as an NFL head coach and the Jaguars' first opening-day victory over the Panthers in three tries.
What he liked the most was the overall physical and mental toughness the team displayed, whether it was big hits on defense, protecting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and blocking for running back Travis Etienne or coming through in key moments, such as converting both fouth-down opportunities on offense and stopping two fourth-down attempts by the Panthers.
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"It's nice to know a lot of the things that we've been preaching since we arrived did show up yesterday," he said at the Miller Electric Center. "Was it perfect by any means? No, but to start week one off physically the way we did … it allows us to continue to coach hard and fix some of the issues that we had, clean up the details."
Coen also addressed his early gamble of going for it on fourth-and-one from the Jaguars' 37, why second-year defensive tackle Maason Smith was inactive, then physical play off tight end Brenton Strange , his assessment of his first game working with quarterback Trevor Lawerence and why wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. , had only one catch on seven targets.
Liam Coen on the early fourth-down conversion
"I asked the guys [assistant coaches] real quick-like, 'what do you think?' And it was clear from everybody on the headsets. I think data and analytics would say it's a go. I would say a very high percentage. But we had confidence in the call that we had prepared for that moment [a jet sweep to Dyami Brown ] and the guys executed."
Carolina Panthers head coach Liam Coen talks to the referee and a line judge during the third quarter of an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium Sunday September 7, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Was Liam Coen trying to send a message with the early gamble?
"No … we wanted to go into the game being slightly aggressive with the fourth-down mentality. Wasn't necessarily a message. It was more like, 'hey, this has been kind of our mentality throughout the preseason and through training camp.' Trying to be aggressive in some of those moments."
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Liam Coen on the team's overall toughness
"If this is going to be part of our DNA, for it to show up in week one, [it] matters. It does matter because a lot of the things that you're preaching about did show up. It just helps with the team, with our whole buy-in and everything we're trying to do. We're going to have to be able to do that on both sides of the ball, really, in all three phases."
Liam Coen on DT Maason Smith being inactive
"I think it came down to lack of reps and opportunities in training camp [ Smith missed the first three weeks of camp on the PUP list]. We wanted to get him out there and want to get him going. It's a guy that we have confidence moving forward with. We fully expect him to continue to grow, continue to go in the right direction and help us contribute."
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Liam Coen on TE Brenton Strange
"He played his tail off, I mean, he did. He was physical in the run game. Was explosive when he had the ball in his hand, made a couple of good catches. He plays violently and he helps set the tone for our offense to be able to go and run the football, whether you're going to run at the tight end or away from the tight end. He's physical and he finishes."
Liam Coen on QB Trevor Lawrence
"There were some footwork things … there was a couple of mistargeted throws. If you look, he's 19 of 31 and we missed three screens, then you talk about the [first incomplete pass] to BT [ Brian Thomas Jr. ] and he's 25 of 31 for 200-plus [yards] … you eliminate the turnover and you're sitting there saying he had a damn good game. I thought he operated the offense really well. I thought he had great command. There were some really good things that did show up."
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Liam Coen on Brian Thomas Jr. having only one catch
"We try to get him a touch on the first play of the game, right? We don't convert it. Throw him a screen low, doesn't come down with it. We missed him on a breaker, which he had a lot of room to run, missed him on a corner route where he was fairly open and then missed one on the out of bounds. That's five catches right there. That gets him into the flow of it and it's just the way the game went. I fully expect to be able to get him going."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars toughness shown in opener 'going to be part of DNA'
