New Jaguars Center Explains How Coen Transformed Bucs Offense in 2024

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Robert Hainsey to replace Mitch Morse at center, and Hainsey knows what new head coach Liam Coen will do to create offensive identity.

Oct 13, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) calls for the ball from center Robert Hainsey (70) against the New Orleans Saints during he first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Liam Coen said last week he wanted to instill a certain level of mental and physical toughness in Jacksonville’s rushing attack. So, when free agency began this week, the Jaguars were selective.

They landed a nasty offensive guard from the league’s best rushing offense, Baltimore’s Patrick Mekari, then brought in a center from the NFL’s fourth-best ground unit, Tampa Bay’s Robert Hainsey. The Jaguars have taken the first step toward becoming the offense Coen wants them to be. And Hainsey, who replaces Mitch Morse in the middle of Jacksonville’s offensive line, said Coen is the perfect coach to cultivate an identity.

“He focuses on our strengths as players,” said Hainsey, whose offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay last season was Coen. “He knows what he wants but if we're doing something better, he's not going to try to fit a square peg into a round hole. He's going to lean on what we do.”

Hainsey said the Buccaneers, for example, discovered early last season they excelled in their gap-scheme offense so they leaned into it with running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving.

“That became one of our calling cards,” Hainsey said, “even though when he got there around this time last year, I'd say it probably wasn't his original plan. But you could see how he adapted to it, used those strengths that we showed on film as a team, and made it our whole strength, made it our identity.

“That's a huge characteristic for a football coach to be able to listen to your players and do it, put them in the best position to win. That would be what a lot of coaches will tell you is their main job, to put your players in the best position to win. I think he does a great job of that and I'm excited to see what nuances he has to our offense.”

The nuances Coen had for the Bucs last season helped them improve from the worst rushing offense in the league over the prior two years to No. 4 in 2024. Irving exploded for 1,122 rushing yards during his rookie season. Jacksonville, which finished 26th in rushing offense last season, has two similar backs in Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby.  

“Using our strengths to the team's advantage,” said Hainsey, who snapped to Tom Brady in the quarterback’s final NFL season. “That's what's important to him, and that's why, that's how you become good at running the football, not by trying to make your players do things they're not good at.

“It was easy to buy into because of the way it's presented, because it's, it's simple enough to understand, but complex enough to confuse others, and it's exciting to be able to take that next step in the same system.”

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