Jaguars' Liam Coen Describes NFL Evaluation Process for UCLA Bruins

Liam Coen has one of the most unique perspectives in the NFL as he's one of the few head coaches in the league that has first-hand experience with the transfer portal and NIL.

Coen, a longtime Los Angeles Rams assistant, was Kentucky's offensive coordinator in 2021 and 2023 before becoming Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator in 2024 before taking the Jaguars job this offseason.

At a recent press conference, Coen was asked several questions about his evaluation process and perspective, giving some insight on how UCLA's prospects will be looked at this offseason.

Coen was asked about his process now that he's a head coach.

“Yeah, I mean, special teams matter. [Laughter]," Coen said. "I mean, you have to look at the whole, right? It’s starting anew for me in a lot of ways, right, where you’ve been used to evaluating offensive players, and then naturally when you’re evaluating offensive players, defensive players shine, right?

"You start to see that, and then in recruiting, in college you’re recruiting defensive players as well. But the whole entirety, how they fit into the puzzle, the vision, what we’re trying to establish, and how those players end up fitting into those situations, it’s different.

"It’s just a different perspective. It’s great to listen to the collaboration between personnel and coaching when it comes to some of these meetings. So, it’s been great to listen. I’ve been doing a little bit more listening than talking right now.”

Coen went on to discuss how he feels the evaluation process will evolve.

“Ultimately, in this world that we’re in, what have you done lately? What are you doing in the now in order to show success and to show that we’re going in the right direction? So, ultimately, we have 10 picks. We're going to lean on some of those guys to play early on. Ultimately, we can't be afraid of that.

"We had three of them in Tampa last year play and have a lot of success for us. We can't be afraid of that moment and to play some young players. So, the goal is to get better, quicker. With having a vision, so having long sustained success, that's important to us. But at the moment, we're looking at winning right now.”

Considering the current state of the team, do not be surprised if the Jaguars draft Carson Schwesinger. He checks every box for Coen, and the team just declined former first-round pick Devin Lloyd's fifth-year option.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.