The Jacksonville Jaguars showed that they're not afraid to spend to keep their special teams together, giving Logan Cooke a four-year deal worth $16 million. For his part, he expressed excitement about being valued. On the other hand, head coach Liam Coen said that he was impressed with the unit when he was hired, and having continuity was a priority.
Cooke had an exchange with the press corps after Day 1 of mandatory minicamp and said that the Jags had made it clear, since before the new regime took over, that he was part of its long-term plans.
"Yeah. I mean, I think before we even changed leadership roles, before we got James [Gladstone] here, there was a lot of conversation had between me and people who were still here at the time. That was, 'hey, like, I don't care what happens. I know there's a lot of change coming,' but as long as this guy stays, everyone in the room wants that, talking about Heath [Farwell].
Cooke continued, "And Heath, his three years here, he's had three Pro Bowlers every year. I think it's a testament to him, and obviously our scheme is putting people in good positions to make plays in a career year."
Coen also met with the local media and said that he realized just how good the special teams were when he talked to people in the organization after he was hired.
"Yeah, it was important after talking to people once I actually got the job, and then you start to watch a little bit more film on special teams and watch our specialists and how they operated. Then, you obviously start talking to the people in the building, and not only about Heath [Farwell] and Luke [Thompson], but obviously about the guys and just the professionalism, the way that they practice, the way that they go about their business, "Coen responded when asked how important it was to keep the special teams core intact."
Coen continued, "And then obviously, when you turn the tape on and you see the the weapons that they are as specialists, that's a part of the game that, man, when you don't have those assets, it's a difficult game at times, especially when you got to be able to flip the field and play field position, when you need to be able to get points from a longer distance. So that was really important. It was critical to keep that continuity together. And so far, I've been nothing. But pleased with these guys."
A seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft, Cooke is one of the team's longest-tenured players. He was a Pro Bowl selection and earned a Second-Team All-Pro designation last season. Furthermore, his net average of 44.8 yards per punt was the second-best in the NFL.
Extending Logan Cooke gives the Jaguars much-needed continuity on special teams
It's common for new head coaches to retain some assistants from the past regime. In Liam Coen's case, he brought back tight ends coach Richard Angulo and special teams coordinator Heath Farwell. Keeping the latter around makes plenty of sense when you take into account that the Jacksonville Jaguars were among the best teams in the league in terms of special teams play.
As the saying goes, if it's not broken, don't fix it. And the Jags realized that the one phase of the roster they didn't have to tweak much was the special teams. Sure, they key contributors such as Caleb Johnson or Tim Jones, but the team's brass didn't make as many changes as it did to the offense or defense in the offseason.
Ultimately, it's good to see that the Jaguars are rewarding their good players and doing anything they can to win as many games as possible next season.