Did the Jaguars' Defense Impress in Scrimmage?

In a tune-up for what the team will experience next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Northern Florida, Head Coach Liam Coen and his Jacksonville Jaguars were afforded an opportunity to get out under the Friday Night Lights and show their stuff.

While everything will be scrutinized and assessed, anybody associated with Duval Football is interested in the performance of Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile's unit. Head Coach Liam Coen talked about the defenders after the mock game at Everbank Stadium concluded. What did the first-year head man have to say?

Coen on the amount of time spent with Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile and the defense

Because of technical issues, Coach Coen was delayed before he could spend time with his defense, but when he did, he was impressed with what he was witnessing.

“Yeah. I only called the – Grant's [Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski] mic was cutting out,
so I called the first and second group for the first, I don't know, six drives, and then he took
the rest, so I was able to be on the defensive side of the ball," recalled Coen.

"Hearing his communication with his staff, just hearing the communication to the players, I thought they did a nice job," said Coen.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen points before an NFL scrimmage at EverBank Stadium Friday August 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coen on how the defense looked in Friday's Mock Game

"With the exception of that one drive, the first defense did a pretty nice job. I thought, at
stopping the run and also getting some pass rush," complimented the head coach. "I thought [CB] Jarrian Jones had a good night tonight as well. But yeah, I thought their communication and operation on defense was clean as well.”

There were a lot of questions going into the event on the format, and Coen explained it as more of an exhibition, with limited hitting. While we all want to see what the Jaguars can do on both sides of the ball in 2025, it's so much more important to escape healthy. Thankfully, both units impressed, and still, the defense made a very nice impression

For this thing to move forward in Jacksonville, that is something Josh-Hines Allen, Foye Oluokun, Jourdam Lewis, and their respective position groups will surely want to expand on.

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