Jaguars Head Coach Should Be Considered During Award Season
As the Jacksonville Jaguars enter the final week of the season with the division title on the line, it is no understatement to say that the team has vastly outperformed all expectations entering the season. Entering the 2025 campaign, the Jaguars had an entirely new coaching staff led by first-year head coach Liam Coen, a former offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The change from the franchise’s prior head coach in Doug Pederson, to Coen was expected to bring a change to the performance of the core offense, including the leader in quarterback Trevor Lawrence. It is safe to say that Coen has helped improve Lawrence’s game tremendously, as Lawrence has been put into conversations and dialogue about being one of the best quarterbacks in the game. In a shortened season due to injury in 2024, Lawrence had 2,045 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. After the addition of Coen and a new offensive scheme, Lawrence has had 3,752 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 16 games.
While many critics made fun of Coen’s introductory press conference with his lackluster Duval chant performance, he quieted the doubters quickly. Jacksonville jumped out to a 4-1 start to the season, matching the previous season’s win total in just the first five games. After two rough games against NFC West opponents, the Jaguars have gone 8-1 since then, sitting at 12-4 and in first place of the AFC South entering the final week. If the Jaguars win against the Tennessee Titans or if the Houston Texans lose to the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars would win their division in Coen’s first season as a head coach. It would be one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NFL history, taking a team from four wins to 12 in just his first season of leading the unit. The offense and defense are currently ranked within the top 10 of the NFL, putting the team as one of the best in the league. Although there may be more surprising storylines in the NFL, like the Chicago Bears' success, the Jaguars were clowned on for the hire, only to have their coach be one of the best in the league.
If anything, Coen deserves to be considered for the NFL AP Coach of the Year award. While there are many big names in the running, like New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, Coen deserves to get some recognition for the great job he’s done for the small-market team. Jacksonville doesn’t have the resources like many of the teams around the league get, so to have the Jaguars at their highest win total since 2005 is an impressive feat. Would Liam Coen win the award? Probably not, barring a deep playoff run. However, that shouldn’t take away the fact that this is one of the most impressive first coaching seasons ever, and that the Jaguars have a bright future ahead of them.
