Coen Previews His Jaguars Offense, Game-Management Decisions

New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen explains why he'll be aggressive in his game decisions, and why his offense will run to set up the pass.

Dec 1, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) signals to wide receiver Mike Evans (13) in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Liam Coen detailed his four-pillared head-coaching philosophy when the Jaguars introduced him as head coach on Jan. Then, in an excellent interview at the scouting combine, he explained how that philosophy will manifest itself this season.

The philosophy is F.A.S.T., which stands for fundamentally sound, attacking, situational masters and toughness. He said last week that the last part is most important.

“The mentally and physically tough part is the one that we really want to talk about,” Coen said on W-Wednesday’s edition of Barstool’s Pardon My Take. “We go into Tampa this past year, they have the 32nd-ranked run game in the NFL in the last two seasons and we go and bring it to No. 4 this past season.”

Coen inherits something similar in Jacksonville. The Jaguars’ rushing offense combined over the 2023-24 seasons (99.3 yards per game) ranked 28th in the NFL. The team’s average yards per carry (3.89) ranked next to last at No. 31. Suffice to say, the ground game is fertile for improvement as long as Coen can achieve the same buy-in he got from the Buccaneers last season.

Would Brian Thomas sacrifice some of his catches and yards to take out a third-level defender for Tank Bigsby?

“It was buy-in,” Coen explained. “It was all about toughness, physicality, the way that we wanted to play the game; our style of play. I mean, Mike Evans is digging out support on safeties. He doesn't have to do that. And so, we got him to that point. There was immediate buy-in. I think that that's where it all kind of stems from.”

Where Coen’s game-management philosophy stems from is a Bill Belichick book of secrets. Whether smuggled out of New England by undercover operatives or simply duplicated on a Gillette Stadium Xerox machine, Coen said a lot of coaches are using it. He got it from Sean McVay.

“We thought it was like the Bible that you have, and it's been kind of passed along through a lot of different people. He's got specific games, situations when things came up to where you can go back and look at. Those situations still come up today.”

Speaking of those situations, the rookie head coach explained how he’d handle two specific game circumstances. Quizzed by hosts Big Cat and PFT Commenter, Coen said he’d be aggressive.

Situation A: Down 14 with five minutes in the game, the Jaguars score a touchdown to cut their deficit to eight points. Would Coen go for two or kick the PAT?

“Going for two,” he said. “Just so you know what you're going to deal with, going forward.”

Situation B: Late in the game, Jacksonville has fourth-and-goal at the opponent’s 8-yard line. Oh, by the way, the opponent has the greatest quarterback of all-time. Will Coen kick the field goal to cut the deficit to five points, or go for the touchdown and potential game-tying two-point conversion?

“Got to go for it.”

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