Pat McAfee buries critics for slamming Jaguars' viral press conference moment

The Jacksonville Jaguars ended the 2025 season on a sour note, losing to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. That said, one game won't outdo everything they accomplished throughout the year. A reporter made sure to remind head coach Liam of it, but what was seemingly a harmless message quickly turned into a huge controversy on social media.

Lynn Jones of the Jacksonville Press gave Liam Coen words of encouragement after the loss to the Bills, noting that he had done an excellent job in his first season as the head coach, and the best is yet to come. However, other journalists took offense at the exchange, noting that she wasn't professional.

The good news is that Jones has been getting plenty of support, and Pat McAfee was among the biggest voices that have stood behind her in light of the viral moment.

Pat McAfee goes to bat for Lynn Jones after the Jaguars viral clip

The original clip of Lynn Jones encouraging Liam Coen might have originally gone viral because Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted about it. That led several reports to criticize her, mainly because it was a nice gesture, but it was not the right moment or outlet.

The team, for one, doesn't seem to have an issue with it, as the Jaguars uploaded the clip on their official accounts on social media.

Similarly, several analysts and talking heads have argued that it's not a big deal, pointing out that Jones is not a sports reporter and her demographic consumes another kind of content. For his part, Pat McAfee wasted no time bashing her critics. Here's what he had to say.

Before McAfee talked about it on his show, he shared his thoughts on Twitter. Here's some of what he had to say.

"Now... We as a society have to stop taking these particular humans seriously," McAfee wrote. "Their opinions and thoughts are coming from a place of wanting to destroy sports. Sports are the greatest thing on Earth, these [expletives] have no idea... and will never get it."

McAfee continued, "Also, Thank you Lynn Jones for setting up a situation for me and all of us on how Liam Coen, a man who might be a GOAT when he's done, handles compliments during one of his most miserable moments. He handles it with class and humility.. feels like some journalism was actually done."

Related: 5 players who definitely won't return to Jacksonville after crushing playoff loss

Lynn Jones reminded everyone that Liam Coen achieved big things with the Jaguars

Ultimately, there doesn't seem to be a right or wrong answer. Both sides have made valid points, but critics of the message are most definitely blowing things out of proportion. They're making it sound as if Lynn Jones is shooting puppies out of a cannon when, in reality, she just did something that probably is out of the norm.

Was Jones wrong for not asking a question and taking time for the presser? Maybe, but she didn't take time away from her peers, and other reporters had more than enough time to ask what they deemed worthy questions. You can see that the loss definitely hurt Liam Coen, and he seemingly appreciated the words of wisdom.

And that's the thing. At a moment in which almost everyone was focused on the loss, Lynn Jones made sure to remind Liam Coen that he achieved big things in his first season with the Jaguars, and they're in good hands going into the offseason. Now, everyone knows.