Liam Coen Clarifies Trevor Lawrence's Cincinnati Wave-Off

Almost four years ago, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban introduced the football world to rat poison.

“What these guys wanted to gain was more respect. Not just the fact they were underdogs but you guys gave us a lot of really positive rat poison. The rat poison you usually give us is fatal. This rat poison you gave us this week was yummy," Saban told the media after an Alabama win.

Count Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen as a subscriber to Saban's extermination philosophies, with Coen once again addressing Wave Gate on Monday after the Jaguars' 31-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Wave Gate, of course, was the simple waving off that quarterback Trevor Lawrence gave to Coen in the fourth quarter after an animated Coen gave Lawrence an earful about his accuracy,

Wave Off

Carolina Panthers head coach Liam Coen talks to the referee and a line judge during the third quarter of an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium Sunday September 7, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The quarterback and head coach both downplayed the moment following the game and expressed their bond and respect for one another. But when asked about it again on Monday, Coen delved deeper into what his quarterback was saying in that moment, and why he understands the rat poision that resulted from it,

“Yeah, I mean, I was [laugh], it gets made to be a thing obviously in this rat poison world we live in, but it's emotional. It's an emotional game. It's a competitive game. We're all competitive. We're all emotional," Coen said.

"I can control mine better and he was just telling me to chill, like, move on. He wasn't telling me to go screw, he's just saying, dude, move on."

The usually even-keeled Lawrence has let his fire and emotion show a bit more under Coen, who himself is a more fiery version of a coach than Lawrence has played for. And for Coen, that can only be good news.

"But to answer your question, I was very pleased with the way he showed something, he did, he got ticked off at times. He had great dialogue with his teammates on the sidelines," Coen said.

"He made some huge throws for us in critical moments and if anything, I was extremely encouraged with Trevor post-game and we had some great conversations in the locker room, on the plane, today, so, all is well when it comes to our relationship.”

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