Head coach Liam Coen is trying to steer the Jacksonville Jaguars in the right direction after a pair of underwhelming seasons under Doug Pederson. One of his biggest challenges has been to change the culture, but he's managed to come through. Just recently, the first-time head coach gave his quarterbacks, including Trevor Lawrence, a surprise test. This led a local beat writer to come up with an interesting theory.
Coen gave quarterbacks a 100-question test to find out whether they have a strong grasp of the offense. Backup Nick Mullens says that Lawrence led everyone with an 85 score.
HC Liam Coen gave his quarterbacks a 100-question test to ensure they fully understand the offense. Nick Mullens says he got a B, and Trevor Lawrence scored the highest with an 85!
Hays Carlyon of 1010XL caught wind of the news and suggested the team administer the test in order to boost Lawrence's confidence.
I think Liam Cohen does an excellent job to this point — Is a first-time head coach — I think he's he has done an awesome job in terms of how to emotionally play this team," Carlyon argued ahead of the Jaguars mock game (15:52 mark). "An example that I would bring up is the Trevor Lawrence pop quiz where he beat Mullins and Wolford."
Carlyon continued, "I have a fair amount of skepticism on that, but I think it's I think it's important, and I commend Liam Cohen for doing this, because Trevor Lawrence needs that confidence boost. He needs to feel, particularly with that element of his game, the intellectual, cerebral part of playing football. And look, I'm not saying I think it's a brilliant master stroke by Liam Cohen to present an exercise in which Trevor Lawrence comes out of it as the smartest quarterback. Maybe he was."
On paper, this is somewhat feasible. After all, Coen has been working one-on-one with Lawrence to fix his mechanics. However, the theory crumbles under the slightest scrutiny. The test was just a test, nothing that deep.
It wouldn't make sense for the Jaguars to prop up Trevor Lawrence with a test
All things considered, Hays Carlyon's theory is far-fetched. At no point has Lawrence shown signs of being thin-skinned or needing to be pampered. If anything, it's surprising that all the things he has had to deal with since joining the Jacksonville Jaguars haven't broken him.
For starters, No. 16 had to deal with the Urban Meyer debacle. Not long after joining the Jaguars in 2021, Meyer quickly showed that he was out of his range and had no idea what he was doing. That, in turn, hampered Lawrence's growth. Then, Doug Pederson helped him bounce back but stopped getting actively involved in his development, choosing instead to leave the task to protege Press Taylor.
Couple that with the fact that Lawrence has to routinely carry the team on his shoulders, and it's surprising that he's managed to stick
Of course, Lawrence has been far from perfect. The former Clemson Tiger was inconsistent last year and has failed to stay healthy the past two seasons. He needs to bounce back and play like he did in 2022 if the Jaguars want to have a shot at competing in the AFC South.
Working in Lawrence's favor is that he's back from the shoulder injury he suffered in 2024 and is the healthiest he's been in a while. Moreover, the team's brass have revamped his supporting cast, and Liam Coen's tutelage cannot be overstated.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars don't have to give Trevor Lawrence special treatment to get the most out of him.