One of the biggest storylines surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason is whether Trevor Lawrence can bounce back after leaving much to be desired last year. As recently as 2022, he was seen as a top-10 quarterback but injuries and other factors have hindered his play the past two seasons. The Jags realized they needed to help the former Clemson Tiger and hired a trio of coaches who should get the best out of him.
After dismissing Doug Pederson, the Jaguars hired Liam Coen to replace him. They also let offensive coordinator Press Taylor leave and brought in former Minnesota Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski to take his place. If that wasn't enough, they hired Spencer Whipple as the quarterbacks coach.
Coen and Udinski worked with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, respectively, last year, and both of them enjoyed success under center.
Under Coen's tutelage, Mayfield set new career bests for completion percentage rate, passing yards in a season, touchdown passes, and touchdown percent in a season.
For his part, Darnold enjoyed a career revival with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 after flaming out with different teams after being drafted third overall in 2018. Udinski played a big role in his success. On top of that, he mentored rookie J.J. McCarthy, which makes him an intriguing option to coach Lawrence.
On the other hand, Whipple learned under Kliff Kingsbury when he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Once Kingsbury was given the boot, his successor, Jonathan Gannon chose to keep Whipple around, which puts his work in a positive light. In Jacksonville, he'll be tasked with helping Lawrence fix his mechanics, which weren't great last year.
The Jaguars need Liam Coen and Grant Udinski to help Trevor Lawrence
After an unremarkable rookie campaign, Trevor Lawrence played like a top-10 quarterback under Doug Pederson's guidance in 2022. However, the team's brass failed to give him enough help in the subsequent years, which in turn put added pressure on his shoulders to win.
To make matters worse, Pederson became less involved in his development the past two seasons. Add the fact that the Jaguars failed to provide adequate protection to Lawrence up front, and it's easy to see why he regressed in 2024.
But Pederson is gone. Liam Coen is in, and he'll need to get the most out of Lawrence. Based on his track record with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he should be able to pull it off. One key area the new Jaguars head coach will focus on fixing is the running game.
Because the Jags couldn't establish the run the past two seasons, they became one-dimensional, which forced Lawrence to put his team on his back. Coen will take some pressure off of him. On the other hand, Grant Ubinski will need to get creative with the play design.
One of the reasons Jacksonville had trouble moving the ball and putting points on the scoreboard in 2024 was that its offense was unimaginative and grew stall under Taylor. Ubinski will need to change that. If he does, Lawrence will be in a position to reclaim his spot as a top-10 quarterback in the NFL.
The question is, will he seize the opportunity?