10 takeaways from Jaguars’ Liam Coen NFL Mix media availability

With their teaching workers now finalized, the Jacksonville Jaguars entrance workplace is in Indianapolis for the opening days of the 2025 NFL Mix. With head coach Liam Coen first to the stage, earlier than new normal supervisor James Gladstone, followers obtained an early alternative to learn the way the Jaguars brain-trust plans to construct the crew of their picture.

Listed below are the highest takeaways from Liam Coen’s inaugural NFL Mix varied media availabilities:

1) Get able to see BTJ moved everywhere in the offense

Early on inside his presser, Coen was requested about rookie sensation, Brian Thomas Jr and what his versatility brings to the offense. Liam shortly drew a line within the sand for all fantasy soccer house owners that the times of drafting Thomas Jr later in fantasy drafts is over. The passing sport will run by BTJ.

“He’s so dynamic, having the ability to transfer him round the place you noticed him in LSU, perhaps not do a few of these issues, proper? The place he was principally outdoors, working extra linear routes, vertical posts, some overs, after which the cease. So the flexibility for him to snap down, get within the slot, be capable to run a number of the selection routes, looky routes. After which, oh, by the best way, you may throw him a display screen and he can go do one thing with it. Our go sport, we’ll run by him and tremendous excited to get to work with him.”

A bigger problem for the prior offensive workers, these feedback must be a breath of recent air for Jaguars’ trustworthy. Brian Thomas was usually lined up stagnant, outdoors all through a lot of the sooner parts of the 2024 season. Solely later within the season, after accidents to Gabe Davis, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram did the crew start to maneuver BTJ across the area. Unsurprisingly, this utilization resulted in a median of 101 whole yards per sport over the ultimate seven video games, whereas scoring 5 touchdowns.

2) Trevor Lawrence’s improvement and course of can be key to crew success

The Jaguars head coach was additionally requested concerning the improvement of an important place on the sphere, the quarterback the place he laid out the variations from his time with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Baker Mayfield, comparatively.

“The event of Baker can be completely different than Trevor. It simply can be due to the completely different kind of participant. However you see a whole lot of the identical intangibles when it comes to the work ethic, the wish to. He needs to be nice. He needs to be coached exhausting. And the method, like how will we get him on a schedule, a course of each single day that he can observe to get him to the purpose that he seems like he’s enjoying at the next degree?”

He later continued:

“How will we create just a little little bit of sameness to present him a schedule? Hey, Mondays, that is what we would like. Search for your each day rhythm. Tuesdays inside the season with third downs. As we begin to transfer in direction of crimson zone, how will we sort of join with him to have a schedule? I feel that’s the consistency that we’re gonna attempt to create for him.”

In educating Lawrence a brand new playbook, Coen was adamant {that a} clear course of would must be outlined for the crew’s QB1 to have the best surrounding construction to achieve success. Coen made no mistake in his phrases; the crew will go as Lawrence goes, noting that he would solicit Lawrence’s enter in constructing out the roster, when warranted.

“We wish to have Trevor’s enter. He’s our man, he’s the franchise. And as a lot as we are able to contain him within the course of with out perhaps placing an excessive amount of on his plate, he’s a brand new father, now a husband. He’s simply moving into it, however he’s hungry. He’s hungry, he needs to be enjoying on the highest degree potential. And the way will we embody him in a few of these conversations, particularly with a number of the expert gamers and clearly on the offensive line. So, he will certainly be concerned in a few of that whereas simply being conscious of not placing an excessive amount of on him as a result of he’s gonna be studying a very new system and having to undergo a brand new transition once more.”

3) The ‘youthful’ teaching workers was not a mistake

Whereas a lot ado has been made concerning the age of the Jaguars teaching workers and entrance workplace, Coen appeared to lean into the construct as being extra purposeful for a forward-thinking group. When requested, the pinnacle coach has this to say concerning the workers that he has introduced in:

“Yeah, starvation, starvation, wish to. Guys which might be attempting to show it, guys that wish to proceed to ascend all through the occupation. I feel that now we have loads of expertise to get this factor performed. I consider within the workers that we constructed. I acquired (Los Angeles Rams head coach) Sean McVay, I’ve acquired (Vikings head coach) Kevin O’Connell. I’ve acquired a whole lot of guys that we are able to go and name in occasions of disaster which might be gonna be greater than welcome to a few of these conversations. And then you definately’ve acquired expertise all through the workers and we do have expertise. We’ve a whole lot of guys which were within the trenches in some actually productive organizations. There’s not one coach that we employed that did not have one other alternative.”

With the addition of a number of coaches with 15+ years of teaching expertise, together with these listed above and former 13-year NFL defensive coordinator Invoice Sheridan, the crew appears to be like to have a lot within the title of expertise, per Coen.

4) “Gamers, not performs” means adaptable teaching can be a should in Jacksonville

When discussing the teaching workers’s mentality in educating this group, Coen touched on a most essential trait of teaching within the trendy NFL, the flexibility for coaches to adapt of their scheme and educating methods to fulfill gamers the place they’re.

“It’s the adaptability, proper? We may have a core basis and rules of how we wish to, , function, proper? Our modes of operation, the best way that our tradition goes to be set, the non-negotiables, proper? That’s the muse of what we consider, however like I’ve mentioned in a number of completely different conversations, it’s about gamers, not performs, proper?

We may have the core rules and the way we wish to play, our model of play, however finally, it’s our job to pivot and be capable to adapt to gamers, particularly in the case of the draft. Since you need to have the ability to fill your holes, but additionally take the very best gamers obtainable, and it’s our job to have the ability to adapt to a few of these gamers.”

The inflexibility of the prior teaching staffs’ scheme grew to become a significant speaking level all through the 2024 NFL season, with Jacksonville changing into some of the predictable of NFL groups when it comes to offensive alignment, offensive movement utilization, offensive play-action use, and route distribution. Defensively, they have been equally rigid in blitz fee, stunt fee, and what coverages they selected to play. Listening to this from the pinnacle man in cost is in each manner proof of a brand new philosophy in Duval.

5) Accidents will occur; how the crew pivots from them can be key

The Jaguars have now seen back-to-back seasons with the crew crumbling within the face of adversity through offensive and defensive accidents. Coen spoke on how he’s discovered a method to lead teams to success regardless of these offensive limitations in previous stops:

“Final 12 months, we lose two of our greatest receivers in Tampa and credit score the method to only sort of, hey, put our heads down. It’s our job as coaches to go play with the very best, the gamers that now we have and be capable to pivot. That was the educational expertise that we had there, that now we have to have the ability to pivot, be capable to complement that manufacturing perhaps with a unique group of gamers. It may be Mike (Buccaneer’s WR Mike Evans) and Chris’s (Chris Godwin) manufacturing ended up having to change into just a little bit extra developed by the working again room, the tight finish room. Clearly, the quarterback having the ability to play off schedule. So, we discovered a lot from that 12 months. And it was actually simply, do now we have the flexibility to pivot and be capable to sort of complement a few of that manufacturing by completely different avenues and completely different gamers?”

6) Ethan Waugh has been a vital piece in evaluating the present roster (Motion Sports activities Jax)

When requested concerning the significance of the crew’s scouting course of over the previous few weeks, Coen was fast to present reward to Interim Common Supervisor Ethan Waugh and his position in managing the crew and likewise filling in any participant personnel analysis gaps.

“Ethan has been an amazing sounding board, clearly realizing the roster, proper? Realizing the dynamics of a number of the gamers, the analysis course of that led them to Jacksonville, whether or not will probably be free company commerce or draft acquisition. So he is acquired an amazing pulse on that. And he is acquired a whole lot of expertise that we have been in a position to lean on all through the final couple of weeks. He is been nothing however supportive. So I have been happy with him to this point.”

As we mentioned all through Jacksonville’s normal supervisor hiring cycle, Interim Common Supervisor Ethan Waugh has in depth scouting expertise from his time in San Francisco as their Midwest Space Scout from 2008 – 2011 when San Francisco drafted All-Professional guard Mike Iupati out of Idaho (seventeenth decide), QB Colin Kaepernick out of Nebraska (2nd spherical commerce up), and Edge Aldon Smith out of Missouri (seventh decide) from his area. Leveraging Ethan in getting on top of things on the present state of the roster would appear to be a clever decide by the first-year head coach.

7) James Gladstone’s historical past with Coen hurries up acclimation interval for employees (Motion Sports activities Jax)

With the rent of Los Angeles Rams Director of Scouting, James Gladstone as the brand new Jaguars Common Supervisor, the pinnacle coach and Gladstone in some ways have been in quick alignment. When discussing his course of for getting the workers and personnel on the identical web page in bringing in “his kind” of personnel, Coen appeared to point one thing related.

“I feel the rent that we simply made bridges that hole lots faster than perhaps if we’d have gone in a unique route. Simply what we’re searching for, the kind of gamers that we wish to deliver into this ecosystem, into this group, there’s automated alignment. Are we going to disagree? Completely. We will have completely different opinions. Completely. However realizing the place James is coming from, and that collaboration between coaches and personnel, I feel has been only a vital bridge that robotically makes it just a little bit simpler for us to have these conversations and know the kind of gamers that we’re attempting to go and produce into this group.”

With each Gladstone and Coen coming from the identical Sean McVay and Les Sneed system, a lot of their thought processes on analysis course of, participant kind, and methods could already overlap. Nevertheless, it by their interview course of, it appears that evidently lots of the excessive degree views are shared between the 2, leading to synchronicity with little rationalization wanted from Coen. Gladstone talked about one thing related throughout his introductory press convention.

8) Receivers coach, Edgar Bennett’s resume spoke for itself (Motion Sports activities Jax)

Whereas a lot of the incoming workers appeared to have direct or oblique previous working associations to the Sean McVay tree, former Las Vegas Raiders vast receiver coach Edgar Bennett was employed this offseason as Jacksonville’s receivers coach regardless of having no direct working relationship with Coach Coen.

“No, we didn’t (have a relationship with Edgar). I had a whole lot of unsolicited conversations with individuals about EB, the chief, the consistency, the mentor, the flexibility. He’s been a coordinator prior to now and clearly been in variations of the system. Coach Gruen ended up hiring him, I feel, with the Raiders firstly when it acquired there. However the expertise piece, former participant from the world, he’s so pleased to be in Jacksonville. You see it each day once you stroll by his workplace. He’s so proud to be right here.”

The Jacksonville native, Lee Excessive Faculty graduate, and former Florida State College fullback has 21 years of NFL teaching expertise, with the previous seven because the Las Vegas Raiders’ receivers coach. We beforehand profiled Bennett within the finalized teaching roster breakdown right here.

9) Roster will change into extra bodily (through Motion Sports activities Jax)

When discussing the addition of incoming Director of Energy and Conditioning, Eric Ciano Coen famous his need for this Jacksonville crew develop right into a extra bodily group, resulting in the rent of the previous Buffalo Payments Energy and Conditioning Director.

“Eric Siano has been very properly revered all through this occupation for the final, clearly, 15 years. He’s a Springfield School grad. A ton of these guys have actually gone on and ascended all through the energy and conditioning world. Simply the veteran expertise, proper? Everyone’s speaking about younger and inexperienced. Properly, I felt prefer it was sort of vital extra so simply in there to get any individual that’s performed it for a very long time. Hey, now we have to get by the AFC, proper? We’re going to should go play bodily. And I feel that that was one thing that we glance to perhaps develop just a little bit extra when it comes to that mentality, how we wish to play the sport, our model and model of soccer. He was vital to that rent.”

10) Miller Electrical Middle offers Jax with digital coaching benefits

When requested about his opinion of digital actuality coaching for in-game preparations, Coach Coen talked about one thing that appears to have been new info for a lot of the fanbase, in that the Jaguars at present have a digital walkthrough room in Jacksonville that’s ready for use by crew personnel.

“I actually consider that if that’s one thing that’s going to assist our guys and also you wish to make that software obtainable, we benefit from being sort of on the forefront of a few of these issues with T.Okay., [Chief Football Strategy Officer] Tony Khan, and Shad [Owner Shad Khan] wanting to have the ability to present each alternative that we are able to have. I don’t have a really sturdy opinion on it, however I do assume it’s one thing I’d be open to for positive. We’ve sort of a digital walkthrough room in Jacksonville that I’ve by no means had in any of the buildings I’ve been in. So, I’m actually enthusiastic about sort of having the ability to make the most of a few of these rooms, get into that for a number of the VR coaching, however not perhaps with the goggles on.”

In my time within the Miller Electrical Middle, the stadium, and the digital excursions on-line of the ability, I truthfully was not conscious of this room. This seems like one thing that might be a aggressive benefit for the Jaguars, as Coen talked about, it’s not one thing that each one NFL franchises have that we’re aware of in Jacksonville.

For these not in attendance or unable to catch the airings reside, you may catch the complete interviews on demand under:

Jaguars.com (from the rostrum)

Motion Sports activities Jax

Jaguars.com (1-on-1)

1010xl (1-on-1)

What have been your ideas or takeaways from Liam Coen’s NFL mix pressers? Tell us within the feedback!