How Coen Used Scrimmage to Prepare Jaguars for Real Thing

Before Friday night’s intrasquad scrimmage, Liam Coen hadn’t been to an organized event at EverBank Stadium since Dec. 29, 2023. The offensive coordinator at Kentucky, he watched as Clemson outscored his Wildcats 28-14 in the fourth quarter to escape with a 38-35 Gator Bowl win.

Clemson defensive tackle Payton Page (55) pressures Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary (13) during the second quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, December 29, 2023. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Now at the reins of the Jaguars, Coen hopes Friday was the beginning of much better memories in Jacksonville. As a small but important first step, he made the wise decision to treat the scrimmage like a game – from the perspective of a rookie NFL head coach.

“We did a full operation pregame in terms of the ref meeting with me in the locker room, going through that,” Coen said. “That was my first one, so that was cool. We did the whole pregame. Was it perfect? No.

“It was great to just get this operation in before the first game. So, for all of us, just to know where your locker is, where's my stuff, where do I go, how do I handle this? And the communication throughout with penalties, declining, accepting, not a ton of true situational ball came up that we had to stress. Although, we got the two minutes, the third downs, the red zone, some of that. So, it was a great first start.”

Coen, Udinski split play-calling duties

Coen said passing game coordinator Shane Waldron and special teams coordinator Heath Farwell helped the head coach through his initial mock game. Initially, offensive coordinator Grant Udinski was going to have play-calling duties early but Udinski’s microphone malfunctioned. So, Coen called the first six drives, he said. Once Udinski’s communication issues were corrected, Coen moved over to work with defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen watches his team warm up before an NFL scrimmage at EverBank Stadium Friday August 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Hearing his communication with his staff,” Coen said, “just hearing the communication to the players, I thought they did a nice job. With the exception of that one drive, the first defense did a pretty nice job. I thought, A, stopping the run, and also getting some pass rush.

“I thought Jarrian Jones had a good night tonight as well. But yeah, I thought their communication and operation on defense was clean as well.”

Another observation that might bode well for the Jaguars’ speed on offense was Coen’s initial impression of the stadium grass.

Fast track for preseason opener with Steelers

“I think it's a fast track, too,” he said. “I've just kind of noticed that being out here. I thought it was a great job with the surface, and I thought our guys felt fast tonight, which I was really pleased with.”

Former Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey and new quarterback Aaron Rodgers will get their first preseason Steelers game when Pittsburgh arrives at EverBank Stadium next Saturday (7 p.m. ET, FOX 30, 1010XL).

Breaking Jaguars news is available on X (Twitter) by following @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley. And, be sure to join the discussion on Travis Hunter’s ability to play every snap on both offense and defense by visiting our Facebook page, here.