The Biggest Decision Jaguars' Liam Coen Must Make This Week

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There is no shortage of tough decisions that Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen must make each day. Such is life in the role of the leader of an NFL franchise, and luckily the Jaguars have found a coach who can handle such responsibility.

But as the Jaguars prepare for the true dog days of training camp this week, including with a scrimmage on Friday, there are some clear big decisions facing Jaguars head coach Liam Coen. Which one is the biggest, though?

lia — Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen walks off the field after the fourth day of NFL Training Camp in shells at the Miller Electric Center on Sunday, August 2, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Biggest Decision Facing Coen

The biggest decision facing Coen entering this week's scrimmage in particular is clear. What is Coen going to do in terms of his offensive line set-up, and which direction is he starting to lean for Week 1? The Jaguars' offensive line was always set to be full of moving pieces this summer, both by design and because of the injury situation facing Cole Van Lanen at left tackle. But even with that in mind, the offensive line shake-up has been interesting over the course of camp.

The Jaguars entered training camp with Walker Little manning the left tackle spot, though he would eventually flip to right tackle before pads came on, switching spots with Anton Harrison. Harrison has been at left tackle since, including a dominant showing in the first practice in pads on Monday. As a result, it is fair to wonder whether this is just the usual musical chairs the Jaguars were always set to play, or if it means more.

"We’re going to continue to mix and match guys and try to find the best five. We know that it's very rare for the same five offensive line to start at the same exact position for every single play for an entire season, for whatever reason that may be," Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said earlier in camp.

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, left, and head coach Liam Coen talk as they walk off the field after the sixth day of NFL training camp at the Miller Electric Center on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"We're really fortunate to have guys like Anton who are flexible, who can play left and right. We've had other guys that practice playing left and right. We've had guys play tackle and guard. That is one of those things that – we talk about not taking Park [WR Parker Washington] for granted – I certainly don't take that for granted, the depth that we have at the O-line position. Not just Anton, but across the board."

Last year's scrimmage inside the Miller Electric Center saw several players take snaps at left tackle. Could the Jaguars go with the same plan this year, letting Harrison, Little, and others such as Chuma Edoga or Wyatt Milum take snaps there? Or will they want the bulk of the first-team reps to go to Harrison? That is the key decision Coen will have to make, because it could tip the Jaguars' hand when it comes to the left tackle spot as Van Lanen recovers.

We saw last year how important it was for the Jaguars to have linemen available to play multiple spots. Van Lanen himself started games at four different positions, and it ended up helping him earn a contract extension.

"Their flexibility and their willingness to go in there and change positions, because that's not an easy thing to do. You learn all those body patterns and those movement patterns at left tackle or right tackle, you learn the calls and you learn the looks on what that looks like," Udinski said. "Then one day later, you're going out there and you're changing everything that you got to do. And oh, by the way, you're doing it against [DEs] Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen, so that's no easy task. It's an absolute blessing for us as coaches to have guys like that.”

Cross-training offensive linemen will be key for the Jaguars yet again in 2026. But whether that takes precedent over Harrison's development at left tackle will be a key decision that Coen must make.

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