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Jaguars' Super Bowl window is wide open after disappointing playoff loss
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- Jaguars' Super Bowl window is wide open after disappointing playoff loss
Those in Jacksonville will be watching the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 longingly after the Jaguars enjoyed a season of what could have been.
After rolling to a 13-4 season and winning the AFC South, the team expected to go beyond the first round. But a bad draw against the Buffalo Bills led to a 27-24 loss and a disappointing end to an otherwise stellar campaign.
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As players cleaned out their lockers in January, a sense of disbelief lingered. The team wasn't ready for the season to end. Though head coach Liam Coennever mentioned the Super Bowl, he would have been lying had he said the team was just happy to be there in the tournament.
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"It was weird. It was an interesting morning," Coen told The Athletic shortly after the team's loss to Buffalo. "But man, it was a weird day. You can't quite put your finger on it because you just weren't prepared for it to end."
In his speech to players the following morning, Coen restated his vision and mission for the team this season: live through the process and see what the results would be. But, in the end, everyone knew what they were playing for. It's what everyone's playing for: "the end game, the end glory, is the Lombardi. And we're all after that, or we wouldn't be in this room right now," Coen told his team.
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The Jaguars will need to wait a bit longer for that glory. They're one of four teams that haven't played in one, including the Cleveland Browns , Detroit Lions and Houston Texans .
A Super Bowl "window" isn't tangible. There's no real rhyme or reason to what it constitutes. Teams change dramatically each season. That never prevented the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots from their respective dynasties.
Perhaps the quarterback position dictates that. Well, the Jaguars have an MVP-caliber signal-caller in their backfield. So, what does that mean? Still, the Indianapolis Colts rostered Peyton Manning for 14 seasons and saw just two Super Bowl appearances (one win).
Hall of Fame QB Dan Marinonever won one after making an appearance in the big game in his second season with the Miami Dolphins . He lost to Joe Montanaand the San Francisco 49ers 38-16. He played 17 seasons in the NFL, exclusively for the Dolphins.
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There's a window, but it's not quantifiable. That's why it's important for the team to take advantage of it sooner rather than later.
"I feel like that's where we're at right now, where next year we have to make sure it's the year. They always talk about windows. No window is closing, but I feel like next year is gonna be really special," Jaguars receiver Tim Patrick said in January during locker room cleanout day.
Tony Khan is more optimistic than ever for Jaguars future
Director of Football Strategy Tony Khan for the Jacksonville Jaguars answered questions during the press conference where they announced James Gladstone as the general manager Monday morning February 24, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]2025
Optimism can be the blinders of realism, but there's a reason why Jaguars Chief Football Strategy Officer and co-owner of the team, Tony Khan, is bullish on Jacksonville 's future prospects.
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Khan spent some time with Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen show this week to talk about All Elite Wrestling and give his reaction to Jacksonville's historic season.
"This was my 14th season working here. It'll be my 15th season now, and I thought it was the best outlook for the future, going into the next season we've ever had. I've never felt better going into an offseason about the future of the organization than I do right now in 15 years," Khan told Eisen.
Khan cited the team's leadership, including Coen, general manager James Gladstone, and EVP of Football Operations Tony Boselli, as the primary reason for his optimism. That could extend to the team's quarterback, Trevor Lawrence , who posted a career year under Coen's leadership.
Coen flipped the team's culture on its head in 2025, and that extended to the top signal-caller.
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"He said he would get the best from Trevor Lawrence, and he absolutely has. I think that's embodied in seeing Trevor Lawrence nominated for the Comeback Player of the Year and nominated for MVP ," Khan said, while mentioning that there are still 53 players plus everyone else in the organization who make it work.
"Liam Coen said, 'I can really work with Trevor Lawrence. I would love to work with Trevor Lawrence, and I think I can make this a better team, and I think I can make Trevor a better quarterback,' and I think all those things happened this year and that's why I'm so happy for Liam, that he had this fantastic result," said Khan.
So what's next? Khan feels the team accomplished a lot in its first year even with their sights set on something greater.
"I think we're all really excited for the future here with the Jaguars. We wanted to go even further and take it further, but getting into the playoffs and winning the AFC South were big goals for the team this year, and that's a massive improvement year-over-year," said Khan.
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Jacksonville's future is bright, and as the lights shine on Sunday evening for the Super Bowl, there's no question Coen and his team will be watching with anticipation of what's next for the team.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky at Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Why Jaguars' Super Bowl window is wide open after first-round exit
