Liam Coen Might Be a Player's Coach, But He's No Pushover

Liam Coen has quickly built a reputation for being a player's coach. He's always preaching teaching, development, and confidence in his press availabilities, and his post-game speeches speak for themselves, both after wins and losses. The energy and belief that he's instilled in his players is tangible, too, with the Jacksonville Jaguars knocking off five straight victories to establish themselves as legitimate playoff threats this season.

With the success he's already had, it's easy to forget that Coen is in his first year as an NFL head coach. After all, he's already notched more wins in a single season than Doug Pederson. But Coen is still learning on the fly, too. He's spoken on having to strike a balance between having confidence in his own beliefs and ideas and not being too stubborn as a coach and play-caller. That's not the only tightrope he's walking this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, New York Jets, Trevor Lawrence, Head Coach Liam Coen — Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen talks with Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the first quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What really makes a player's coach

Clearly, Liam Coen has a knack for connecting with his players. In just his first season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he's been able to get the best out of the talent that he inherited from the previous regime.

After a rocky start to the year for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, capped off by the team's fourth-quarter collapse against the Houston Texans in Week 10, in which T-Law went 3-and-out twice in a row to allow his opponent to complete the comeback, Coen told his new franchise gunslinger to stop worrying about the process and just 'let it rip.'

People aren’t yet understanding just how good of an offensive mind Liam Coen is pic.twitter.com/7jqxkToq1K
— Film Watchers (@Filmwatchers1) December 15, 2025

Since then, Lawrence has been on a tear. In his last three games, he's thrown for nearly 268 yards per game on 60 percent completion, with nine touchdowns and no turnovers. That's earned him a sterling 123 passer rating in that span. Coen's gotten the best out of T-Law, but he hasn't backed down from challenging his quarterback. Jacksonville media asked the head coach if he ever alters game plans to suit his players' preferences:

"Not much. Not a ton. I guess it's more so you get more and more used to the guys that you're working with, and within the fundamentals and techniques of the system and the plays. Look, it's always you're trying to be players over plays, but also there are things that you want to attack on a specific defense and finding out what our quarterback does best, what the other guys do best, and how that fits in with how the defense is playing you. I think we're probably seeing a little bit more single high than we were maybe earlier in the year in some ways. And so that's also helped get some one-on-one opportunities."

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