Jaguars' Liam Coen Addresses Preseason Plans

What plans does Jacksonville Jaguars HC Liam Coen have for the preseason?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen stands with his hat over his heart during the playing of the National Anthem 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

For Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and his team, things are getting a bit more real this weekend when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town for the preseason opener.

For the first time, Coen will be able to see his team stack up against an opposing unit. No practices, no scrimmages, nothing.

And while it is just the preseason, it is still a key part of the evaluation phase.

“It's big. I mean, we don't know what you have ever. You really don't. I mean, you have a feel. You know what you're doing against each other," Coen said after Tuesday's training camp. "As we saw even in the scrimmage the other night, like, we'd be lying if we didn't see some, bright eyes and maybe getting into guys doing some things that maybe they hadn't been doing in practice settings because we're in the stadium and there were some fans there.

"It is different, to go through the pregame routine, to get into your routine of getting ready to go play a game, but also, like you mentioned, going and competing against somebody else, especially Pittsburgh, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, plays a little bit of a different structure than we do. They play differently with their D line than we do in some ways, so it might be great for us to get some of that work.”

The key question, of course, is whether the Jaguars' starters will play vs. the Steelers. And if they do play, exactly how long will it be for?

These are all questions Coen, his staff and the Jaguars brass are still weighing as they prepare for Saturday night's key game.

“Not yet. We're still working through it. We wanted to kind of get through these next two padded days, to evaluate, see where we're at as a group, before making that decision," Coen said.

"We've obviously had conversations as a staff and with Tony [Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli] and James [General Manager James Gladstone] as well, but we're going to let these two days play out, see what it looks like, and make a decision from there.”

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