Jaguars' Liam Coen Made Right Call Keeping Special Teams Staff in Place

For Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, there should not have been a more obvious decision than to keep the past special teams coaching staff in place.

Shortly after Coen was hired, the Jaguars officially extended special teams coordinator Heath Farwell and retained special teams assistant Luke Thompson. In doing so, Coen ensured the core leaders of the Jaguars' most consistent unit of the last three years stayed in place.

The Jaguars' special teams unit has shined in each of the last three seasons, with the Jaguars sending players like Jamal Agnew, punter Logan Cooke and long snapper Ross Matiscik to the Pro Bowl under Farwell and Thompson's leadership.

“They were excited. Getting the band back together. We’ve got a good group. That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to be back. Those guys are special talents, special guys, special families. They’ve got a great family, and they’ve kind of taken my family in with them. Got to spend some time with them at the Pro Bowl a couple weeks ago. It’s just a good group," Farwell said last week.

"To bring those guys back with us, [Assistant Special Teams Coach] Luke Thompson, my assistant’s able to come back as well. I tell them all the time, not only those three guys, but the rest of the group, we wouldn’t be back if they didn’t play as well as they did. So, they’re a huge part of it, the way they played every single day. That’s why we’re here. They were excited. It’s great for everybody.”

Coen deserves praise for the move considering he had zero ties with Farwell and Thompson coming into his tenure. Instead of turning to coaches he had familiarity and comfort with, Coen opted not to fix what wasn't broke -- not only with Farwell, but with Thompson as well.

"I mean, continuity. The guys love him. He works with the gunners outside. He works field goal block. We blocked two kicks last year. It was a big part of what we were doing. Our gunners played fantastic. So, he does a really good job across the board," Farwell said.

"The guys love him. Again, just bring everybody back together, we did a good job, and we’ve got to continue to get better. That’s the best part, is Cam will be in his second year, so things are going to change a little bit for him, but that’s part of the progression. We’ll keep working with him. Ross and Logan, they’ve got to stay at that level. That’s the standard: Pro Bowl level. Let’s keep it that way and keep growing everybody else. I think that’s the beauty of it. We’ve got good continuity, but let’s keep getting better with it.”

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