Jaguar Report

How Jaguars' Liam Coen Is Using Accountability to His Advantage

The Jacksonville Jaguars head coach is using a learned approach to better connect with his 4-3 team.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) gets coached by Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) gets coached by Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- For Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, there is a clear precedent that has been set in his football life that rears its head constantly in his new role.

Accountability. Coen and the Jaguars' entire new regime has demanded accountability from one another and from the locker room and coaching staff since Day 1. Coen and the Jaguars sent public challenges to a number of players during the offseason as a way to make it clear what the new mode of operations in Jacksonville would be.

But one thing Coen has shown is that he isn't exempt from the same standards. Coen showed this in a team meeting after the Jaguars' 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, taking the blame for a poor play-call on fourth down.

And it is within that act of accountability that Coen hopes to give the Jaguars the edge they need.

Coen's Accountability

For Coen, this isn't just a coaching strategy he picked up out of nowhere. As a player, his coaches before him did it, leaving an impact and setting a standard. Then as a young coach in the NFL, he learned what it means to be a head coach and take one on the chin for your team.

"I thought when I was a player, Don Brown did it a lot as the head coach at UMass. He did a really nice job of just—man, we ask them to be accountable, the players, we want accountability from the players. Not to say it's their fault, it's just because then we can fix it and move on," Coen said on Monday.

"When you just say like, yeah, that was me, I got to fix that. And so, then you can—there's an openness now to learn and grow from the mistake and everybody can learn from that mistake. It's not, you're not correcting the player, you're correcting the play and ultimately everybody can learn something from that. guys, this isn't good enough by me either. It continues to hold each other accountable.”

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Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen talks with quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"And then I thought Sean [Rams Head Coach Sean McVay] did a nice job of it as well when I was in LA in terms of there's a standard of execution that we hold and that we have and that everybody is held to and we're no different as coaches. And so, I just think that when you can put a little bit on yourself and, and show, guys, this isn't good enough by me either. It continues to hold each other accountable.”

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Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen talks with Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) between plays 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

The Jaguars' locker room has picked up on Coen's lead-by-example style, and the hope is it can carry over into their first post-bye contest vs. Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders.

"I feel like no man is bigger than the program. I feel like when you got a coach that's accountable, it is only right everybody else is accountable," Jaguars running back Travis Etienne said in the locker roon on Monday.

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Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) passes as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen watches during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ mandatory minicamp Tuesday June 10, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I feel like Liam does a great job. Even when we were winning, he was still being accountable, taking it on the chest, you know, so being behind a coach like that, like there's no hiding, you know, you can't hide from anything. Everything is on film. You are what you put on your resume. And he understands that from a coaching standpoint. And I feel it trickles down to the players."

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John Shipley
JOHN SHIPLEY

John Shipley has been covering the Jacksonville Jaguars as a beat reporter and publisher of Jaguar Report since 2019. Previously, he covered UCF's undefeated season as a beat reporter for NSM.Today, covered high school prep sports in Central Florida, and covered local sports and news for the Palatka Daily News. Follow John Shipley on Twitter at @_john_shipley.

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