Liam Coen Weighs In on Defense's Preseason Play vs. Steelers

The Jacksonville Jaguars came up just short against the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first preseason outing of the 2025 NFL campaign. Seth Henigan got a chance to lead a game-winning drive with 1:49 left in the game and marched the offense down to the Pittsburgh 29-yard line, but ultimately ran out of time, and the Jags fell, 25-31.

Of course, preseason record doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Instead, these games are meant to evaluate the depth within team rosters and get the players ready for Week 1 of the regular season. With that in mind, there were plenty of positive takeaways to come out of Jacksonville's loss to Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately, there were also plenty of flaws that were exposed. With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen now calling the plays as the new head coach of the Jaguars, Jacksonville's offense was the main story of the game. However, last season and this loss to the Steelers showed that Coen's got his work cut out for him on defense, too.

Darnell Washington, Tyson Campbell, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, defense, NFL, preseason — Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington (80) catches a pass for a touchdown score against Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell (3) during the first quarter of an NFL preseason matchup at EverBank Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Liam Coen expresses disappointment in starting defense's performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Jacksonville Jaguars opened their 2025 preseason with an encouraging 12-play, 44-yard drive that culminated in a field goal. They looked well on their way to reaching the end zone, but were ultimately derailed due to penalties.

On the other side of the ball, the defense started its preseason on a low note, giving up a touchdown on a nine-play, 65-yard march from the Steelers. Of course, that wasn't the way Jacksonville hoped its first-team defense would perform on its opening possession. Liam Coen expressed the concerns he had with that drive in the postgame presser:

"I think we were playing a little loose [with] some of our coverage system. I was a little disappointed with the early third-and-two, I think it was, where we were playing a tight three deep in that situation. We got off coverage to give an easy Omaha (audible) away — that was a little frustrating to see."

"Those are some things when you're playing a new system, right? They were playing a lot of man coverage over the last year here. I'm playing a lot more zone coverage, so oftentimes you almost start to do too much the other way, where we're giving up a lot of grass and a little bit of room, so I imagine we're gonna want to ask these guys to get a little stickier."

2025 will be defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile's first with the Jaguars, and he'll be tasked with overhauling a bottom-third defense from last season. Head Coach Liam Coen orchestrated one of the most prolific air attacks with Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in 2024, so he knows first-hand the importance of being able to disguise coverages and rattle opposing offenses with different zone looks. The Jaguars' defense will get another chance to prove their comfort within the new system against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, August 17.

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