How Liam Coen is Approaching First Playoffs as an NFL Head Coach

The Jacksonville Jaguars clinched their postseason bid after Week 16's Monday Night Football feature, when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Indianapolis Colts, 48-27. Reportedly, the team hardly celebrated. They watched, applauded a bit, and congratulated each other, but these players have approached the playoffs as an inevitability for weeks now.

The job is far from finished. In Week 18, Jacksonville won't be resting its starters. The Jaguars have to take care of business against the Tennessee Titans if they want to stave off the Houston Texans for the AFC South crown. A victory in the finale would also give them a chance to climb as high as the No. 1 seed in the conference and earn the first-round bye. But at this point, the Jags have to start looking ahead to the bright lights of the postseason.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Indianapolis Colts, Head Coach Liam Coen — Dec 28, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Liam Coen taking it one step at a time

This season might be Liam Coen's first as an NFL head coach, but he has a bit of playoff experience to pass on to his team. Unfortunately, his last postseason, when he was the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ended in heartbreak. His team wound up losing 23-20 to the Washington Commanders in the Wild Card round.

However, that disappointment after a transcendent season might be the exact kind of acumen Coen needs to ensure that his Jacksonville Jaguars can extend their Cinderella run into the postseason. He was asked if he had begun talking to his players about the difference between regular-season football and the playoff atmosphere:

The Rams RBs ate with two spoons against the Cowboys 🍽 pic.twitter.com/oD3JZwhLFr
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 13, 2019

"Yeah, we haven't had any of those conversations. I agree with what you're saying. I felt that in 2018, we [L.A. Rams] played the Dallas Cowboys in a playoff game, which was my first-ever playoff game experience in the National Football League. And I felt from the box a different speed, physicality, all of that in a playoff game versus a regular season game in a lot of ways. Now, I think that the last X amount of games have been, in a lot of ways, around the league, you watch playoff caliber type games, not quite there."

"You watch that Rams-Seahawks game last week or whatever it was, that was a playoff football game, and you watch a lot of these games around the league. And so, I think it's trending that way towards the end of the season as you're playing meaningful games in December and January, and this week for us will be no different. We're playing for a division. We're obviously playing for a number of things, and for us to go and execute at the level we need to, it needs to be trending towards playoff football. And I think a lot of these guys will understand that this week.”

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