Days after hiring him, the Jacksonville Jaguars held a press conference to introduce Liam Coen as their next head coach. Throughout the media availability session, he and owner Shad Khan touched on several topics. One that was obviously going to come was having to work with Trevor Lawrence and the overall state of the roster. Coen's comments about No. 16 and the team's overall level of talent should get fans excited.
Coen says that he doesn't think the Jaguars are a 4-win team, noting that they'll need to establish a new culture if they want to turn things around.
"I've mentioned this to the guys, this isn't a four-win team. Yes, that is the that is the the record, but this is not a four-win team," Coen told the local media. "Okay, how do we go from winning games to not losing them? I think that that's something we've got to address, and that is got to be in our veins and in our DNA, the culture of winning. "
Coen continued, "I've learned it from the Los Angeles Rams and from a ton of other great organizations on how to go win football games. And so I think that that's something that it has we have to start as a team, as a group, and show how we're going to go do it."
Later in the exchange, Coen said that he was thrilled to work with Lawrence and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, but they're far from the only game-changer in the Jaguars roster.
"I think the leadership, first and foremost. I believe that you look at Josh Hines-Allen the person, right, Trevor Lawrence, the person. I mean, these guys have done unbelievable things throughout this community already, right?" Coen responded when he was asked what he was the most excited about. "We know, and I know that I'm going to be going to work with unbelievable people first and foremost, right? Then you look at 20 draft picks over the next two years, right? You look at some of the players already, currently on the roster that did some great things this year."
"Well, everybody needs a coach, everybody needs a player. We need each other. And I am so looking forward to doing this collaboratively with them, with this staff, there's so many good pieces. You got a rookie wide receiver that you can do a ton with. You got two running backs that you can do so many good things with, and a defense that man, they can go. We just got to put them in some of the better positions to be successful. And I think we can do that."
"Special teams, what a great shining spot for you guys this year. We got to continue to do that and be special on special teams, there's so many good things about this roster, and like we mentioned before, the future, the next few years, that's truly what's exciting as well," Coen said.
The Jaguars went 3-14 in 2024 and 9-7 the year prior. While they certainly had talent, they needed a coach that could help them win close games. That's why they fired Doug Pederson and brought in Liam Coen.
The Jaguars have the talent to compete in Year 1
Nobody will blame you if you aren't sold on the Jacksonville Jaguars even after hiring Liam Coen. After all, they've struggled the past two years, and Trevor Lawrence has been inconsistent in that span. Moreover, the Jags need to address several needs in the offseason.
That said, Trent Baalke left ample talent to work before he got the boot. Aside from Lawrence, Coen will have a No. 1 receiver to work with in Brian Thomas Jr. Similarly, the defense has holes but also a few players to build around, including Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker.
All things considered, Coen likes the current state of the team. Sure, he's got his work cut out, but he certainly has the pieces in place to enjoy success right off the bat.