The Jacksonville Jaguars are taking their time in their search for a head coach to ensure they end up with the right man for the job. One of their biggest priorities throughout the process has been to find someone who can get the best out of Trevor Lawrence, who's coming off a pair of disappointing seasons.
Lawrence played at a high level during Jacksonville's 2022 playoff run. However, the team's brass didn't do enough to help him the following year and relied too much on him to win football games. Late in the 2023 season, the former Clemson Tiger suffered a series of ailments that hindered his production and the Jags failed to qualify in the postseason.
Expected to bounce back in 2024, Lawrence instead regressed. His decision-making and fundamentals weren't great. Compounding the issue was that the coaching was inadequate, and to make matters worse, he suffered a shoulder injury that cut his season short.
Now, the Knoxville, Tennessee native enters Year 5 needing to prove he can take the Jaguars to the promised land. Of course, having a head coach who can get the best out of him would most definitely help.
Although the Jags lost out on Ben Johnson, they still have several intriguing options left. They're set to interview a trio of coaches in the upcoming days and have already met with a few others early in the search. Some of the candidates may be better fits for the vacancy than others, but all of them will be tasked with having Lawrence play like a top-10 quarterback.
This begs the question, who's better suited to help Lawrence get back on track? These three head-coaching candidates come to mind.
Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator
Not long after the Jags dismissed Doug Pederson, Liam Coen became the betting favor to replace him. It's easy to see why. His predecessor, Dave Canales, did an outstanding job leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense. However, he struggled to get the running game going and finished dead last in the NFL in rushing yards in 2023. Nevertheless, his work didn't go unnoticed, and the rival Carolina Panthers hired him as their head coach last offseason.
Coen picked up where Canales left off and took the Tampa Bay offense to the next level in 2024. While the Buccaneers still ranked in the top 5 in passing yards, they also were fourth in rushing yards.
Leaving aside Coen's offensive prowess, the Jaguars' brass was impressed with his knowledge beyond his side of the ball and his leadership skills. Jacksonville could most definitely use both.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Throughout his coaching career, Joe Brady has helped a handful of quarterbacks reach their ceiling, and he's done it at both the collegiate ranks and the pros. In LSU, he played a big role in Joe Burrow's ascension during the Tigers' Championship run.
Later with the Buffalo Bills, Brady helped Josh Allen put it all together. Under his guidance, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback managed to stay aggressive and take deep shots while reducing the number of turnovers the past two years. Trevor Lawrence could certainly benefit from that kind of coaching.
Moreover, Brady led one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL in 2024 and did it without many top skill-position players. Sure, Khalil Shakir had an amazing rookie season and Amari Cooper was serviceable after landing via trade. However, you will be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks Buffalo's arsenal of weapons was among the top 10 in the league last year.
The bottom line is that Brady deserves consideration for a head-coaching job, and the Jaguars should most definitely look at what he brings to the table. The only downside is that they would have to wait until the Bills are eliminated from the playoffs to hire him.
Kliff Kinsbury, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator
After an impressive career in the collegiate ranks, Kliff Kingsbury got the chance to make the leap to the pros when the Arizona Cardinals made him their head coach in 2019. Unfortunately, he was given the boot after four underwhelming seasons.
Following his dismissal, Kingsbury coached at USC in 2023 and returned to the NFL as the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator last year. At the time, his stock was at an all-time low but he's managed to quell the biggest concerns that spelled his doom in the desert.
Back with the Cards, his offense cooled down as the year progressed, and his relationship with Kyler Murray soured. However, Kingsbury has shown in Washington that he could put together an explosive offense if he had a quarterback in place to run his system. Moreover, Jayden Daniels became an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate under his tutelage.
The only issue with pursuing Kingsbury for a coaching job is that Kingsbury isn't taking interviews right now. And by the time the Commanders either get eliminated from playoff contention or win it all, most coaching candidates will have landed a job. So if the Jags miss out on Kingsbury, they won't have many options left.