Liam Coen must fix one key area to turn the Jaguars into an offensive juggernaut

After a remarkable turn of events, the Jacksonville Jaguars landed one of the offensive gurus they sought all along.

After getting shunned by Liam Coen, owner Shad Khan decided to bite the bullet and give him what he wanted, ending a lengthy, drama-filled head-coaching search for his club. The 39-year-old will be entrusted to replicate his success from last season as offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2024, the Bucs’ offense was among the best and most consistent units during the regular season, finishing third in total yards (399.5) and passing (250.4), while they were fourth in team rushing (149.2).

Like his predecessor, Doug Pederson, Coen steps into a difficult situation with the expectations of bringing out the best version of Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars franchise player.

There are plenty of parallels between the Bucs and the Jaguars’ offense

While Coen will be tasked with more responsibilities, there are a lot of aspects to the Jaguars’ offense that are similar to the one he ran in Tampa Bay.

Like Lawrence Baker Mayfield was a former first overall draft pick with the weight of expectations on his shoulders. Mayfield had some lean years early into his NFL career and was written off after some dismal seasons with the Cleveland Browns before a disastrous stint with the Carolina Panthers, which lasted just six games.

While Mayfield had a remarkable debut for the Rams in 2022, the club reverted to Matthew Stafford at the end of the campaign. Coen may be able to relate to Lawrence, as, like Mayfield previously, many have written off the Knoxville, Tennessee native.

Following in Tom Brady’s footsteps, Mayfield thrived under Coen’s offense this past season. The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner was third in the NFL for passing yards this season (4,500) while registering the joint-second-most touchdown tosses (41). He boasted a career-high in both departments while also achieving personal bests in completion percentage (71.4), rushing yards (378) and passer rating (106.8)

In addition, the Bucs had a great season running the ball, with Bucky Irving finishing in the top 10 for rushing yards (1,122) in his rookie campaign while he’s on the shortlist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Irving is similar to Jacksonville’s running backs Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby.

Like Etienne, Irving has elite speed and explosiveness, with a lot of agility. At the same time, Irving is powerful and difficult to take down, just as Bigsby was this season.

Liam Coen needs to improve the Jaguars offensive line

There are some strong offensive pieces for Coen to work with in Jacksonville, but he needs to get his new quarterback more time to throw the ball.

It’s clear that for the Jags to get the best version of Trevor Lawrence, he needs better protection from the offensive line. Besides center Mitch Morse, the Jaguars were dismal in that department this past season. Lawrence tossed seven interceptions in 10 starts this season while being sacked 18 times. During his Pro Bowl season in 2022, he took just 27 sacks in 17 starts helping them make the playoffs.

While Lawrence’s completion percentage has always been solid, in the 70% range or higher, he turns the ball over far too much when under duress.

That was one of the few flaws Coen’s offense in Tampa had in 2024. Per Statmuse, the Bucs were in the middle of the pack in team sacks allowed (40). Even a half-decent offensive line didn’t always bring out the best in Baker Mayfield.

Last season, the 29-year-old threw 16 interceptions, the second-highest in his NFL career. He also took 40 sacks for a second successive campaign and had a career-high 13 fumbles. Outside of Tristan Wirfs, no other Bucs’ O-Lineman did an excellent job protecting Mayfield.

As innovative as Coen is, the Jaguars may be doomed for another rough season offensively in 2025 without a strong O-Line.

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