It's been a hectic day for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just hours after getting shunned by Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coem, they dismissed controversial general manager Trent Baalke. Now, the Jags will need to look for a potential replacement on top of hiring a new head coach. However, an NFL voice argues that instead of extending their search, they should pivot to Coen again.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports points out that the Jaguars were thrilled with Coen during his coaching search, so he wouldn't be surprised if they make another run at him now that Baalke is gone.
With Baalke out and knowing how interested the franchise has been in Liam Coen, it would not be shocking to see the Jaguars make another run at the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. They make him tell them no twice.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 22, 2025
The issue with courting Coen now is that he already agreed to a new contract that makes him one of the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL.
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen is taking himself out of the running for the Jaguars’ head coaching job to stay in Tampa on a new contract that now will place him amongst the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2025
Bucs are keeping their OC. pic.twitter.com/PWy5GP2uTy
Of course, Coen could renegade from his new contract. Sure, he wouldn't make many people happy at Tampa Bay, but it doesn't hurt the Jaguars to give it a shot. After all, they were impressed with his knowledge of football and leadership skills when they interviewed him early in the process.
In fact, Coen was set to meet with the Jags a second time just one day before he returned to the Buccaneers. Who's to say that he won't at least listen if Jacksonville came calling?
Liam Coen could reconsider the Jaguars job with Trent Baalke out of the way
Firing Doug Pederson but not Trent Baalke was always going to hurt the Jaguars' chances of attracting the top coaches in his hiring cycle. Heck, one prominent candidate for the opening said that he was less inclined to take the job because of the controversial general manager.
Although the Jags missed out on Ben Johnson, they still have a few appealing options for their opening and could end up landing a good head coach with Baalke out of the way. The first thing on their to-do list needs to be asking Liam Coen to reconsider. If he declines, they can simply move on and zero in on other candidates.
Keep in mind that the Jags are still scheduled to interview Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham, so they still have options. That said, they shouldn't hesitate to expand their coaching search to include Kliff Kingsbury, Joe Brady, or even Todd Monken.
The downside of pursuing Kingsbury or Brady is that Jacksonville would need to wait until their respective teams are eliminated from playoff contention to interview them, and by then, they run the risk of being left with subpar candidates.
On the other hand, the Jags can meet with Monken given that the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs. They should err on the side of caution and arrange a meeting as soon as possible. The team's brass already meet with him once, so they have an idea of what to expect.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars should've fired Trent Baalke as soon as the 2024 season was over. Fortunately for them, they still have options but they'd better move quickly.