How Liam Coen is Adjusting His Play-Calling Down the Stretch

Liam Coen has already surpassed expectations for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his first season as head coach — not just with the team, but with the NFL in general — he has his team leading the AFC South at 9-4 and in the thick of the playoff race. When the Jaguars originally hired him on, the thought was that he could help develop the young pieces on this roster into serious postseason contributors. It seems he's done that in just one year.

With that said, Coen is still learning on the fly. While he's already shown why the Jaguars were so enamored with him, his job in Jacksonville is far from finished. He and his team won't be satisfied with just making the playoffs — they want to make some serious noise while they're there. To do so, he'll have to keep progressing as a head coach and ensure that he continues to coax the best out of his talent.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Indianapolis Colts, Head Coach Liam Coen, Shane Steichen — Dec 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen embrace after a game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Liam Coen is learning throughout the grueling NFL season

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already shown some significant growth throughout the 2025 NFL season. It took over half the campaign, but this team has learned how to take care of business against inferior competition and put together complete performances. They've had to cultivate the ability to rebound, whether it's from a singular bad play in a game or from a poor showing throughout the entirety of a contest.

The passing attack has displayed a lot of growth. Trevor Lawrence is heating up down the stretch, and it's not by accident or just an upswing coming at an opportune time in the midst of his erratic play. He's legitimately stepped up, aided by the arrival of Jakobi Meyers and a renewed connection with Brian Thomas Jr. But it's also a result of Coen, who's now had enough tape and experience to use it to his advantage against his opponents:

No one gives Liam Coen any props the guy is doing a great job pic.twitter.com/4MidSIUMYh
— Film Watchers (@Filmwatchers1) December 8, 2025

"Yeah, that's kind of more, I would say, what it's about at this time of the year. Just trying to maybe show and run the things that you've done well or you've maybe done before, and try to make it look a little bit different than maybe what you've put on tape. And that's the chess match that continues to evolve in this league. And you see so many great examples of it when you watch tapes throughout the week of everybody around this league and how creative people are."

"And then the defenses are obviously trying to match and do different things that are really cool to see as well. A lot of smart football coaches in this league. So, you've just got to make sure that you're finding a balance between new, repetition and just kind of changing the picture on these guys."

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