The Evolution of Jaguars' Liam Coen Comes as No Surprise to Brian Piccuci

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are led by one of the NFL's top young coaches in Liam Coen, and nobody on the staff has seen his evolution quite like run game coordinator Brian Picucci.

Picucci, who was Tampa Bay's offensive line coach in 2025 and a part of their staff in 2024 when Coen was offensive coordinator, is now at his fourth step with Coen after coaching him at UMass from 2005-08, coaching with him for a year at Kentucky in 2023, and then following Coen to Tampa Bay in 2024.

Now, Picucci is seeing Coen in a new light as head coach. And so far, nothing has surprised him.

brian picucci — Jaguars run game coordinator Brian Picucci talks with the media after the Jaguars’ fourth OTA of the year, Monday June 1, 2026 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Picucci Weighs In

"It's awesome. I am proud," Picucci said at the end of the Jaguars' offseason program. "But I also saw the evolution of when you're trying to find your voice earlier in your career, and you know as well as I do, the older you get, the more comfortable in your skin you get, and the more you know what you want out of a team."

Coen has certainly learned all of that. Picucci remembers him as a fresh-eyed college quarterback when they first met, and now he sees Coen leading one of the NFL's fastest-rising franchises as they embark on a quest to win another AFC South title. Coen, of course, has entrusted the development of the Jaguars' young offensive linemen to Picucci after their years together, and Picucci is perhaps the coach most equipped to handle such a responsibility.

The development Picucci has seen in Coen, from his days as a player to his first stint as a college coordinator and then, finally, his first stint as a full-time NFL play-caller in Tampa has been nothing short of astronomical. Coen has always had the talent, the leadership, and the football and emotional intelligence to lead a franchise, and he has even taken leaps since Picucci last coached with him two years ago.

"So, really proud, you know, even from Tampa, just that one year difference of, you know, how he stands in front of a room and owns the room and just being himself," Piccuci said. "And I really think the players have bought into everything, and coaching staff have bought into everything. His message is always great when he stands in front of a room and leads it, but it was like that as a player."

With Coen now having one of his most trusted voices and top lieutenants back at his side with Picucci, he can likely feel even more comfortable about the trajectory of his offensive line entering the 2026 season. And Picucci can feel confident in the direction the Jaguars are going, because he knows better than anyone where Coen has come from and where he can still go in his coaching career.

Picucci is set to play a prominent role on the Jaguars' staff this season for a reason. Coen trusts him, as evidenced by the fact that this is now the third staff Coen has ensured that he is a part of. But, more than anything else, Picucci's role is a symbol of Coen's growth. The coach who believed in Coen as a young college quarterback believes in him all these years later now that he is leading an entire franchise, and the Jaguars are all the better off for it.

Add us as a preferred source on Google