BREAKING: Buccaneers Have Lost Contact With Liam Coen As Jaguars Pursue

The Jacksonville Jaguars' search has continued to take twists.

This time, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen has reversed course and traveled to Jacksonville to have a second interview with the Jaguars -- an interview he declined to take on Wednesday when he withdrew his name from the head coach race.

Now it appears Coen, who has long been the favorite for the job, could actually land in Jacksonville. This is amplified by the fact that, according to multiple reports, the Buccaneers have not been in contact with Coen on Thursday.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Coen arrived at the Jaguars' facilities on Thursday evening.

"Coen had not spoken to the Bucs since yesterday afternoon. They tried to reach him and have been unable to. Instead of signing his contract, which was a formality, he secretly traveled to Jacksonville to meet with Jags owner Shad Kahn," Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud said.

Coen had not spoken to the Bucs since yesterday afternoon. They tried to reach him and have been unable to. Instead of signing his contract, which was a formality, he secretly traveled to Jacksonville to meet with Jags owner Shad Kahn.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 23, 2025

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, however, Coen has made his intentions clear to Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.

Liam Coen said he reached out to Bucs HC Todd Bowles to inform him of his interest in interviewing for the Jaguars head coaching job. https://t.co/b5ceyz2NJ9
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 23, 2025

The Jaguars moved on from general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday, largely the result of the public embarrassment of the team's top candidate turning down a second interview with them. Since then, Jaguars ownership has continued their pursuit of Coen.

Coen, who has been a long-time assistant for Sean McVay and also had success with Will Levis at Kentucky, just wrapped up his first year as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator -- a year that saw the offense turn into a top-5 unit. In 2024, the Buccaneers ranked top-five in: total offense, scoring offense, rushing offense, passing offense, third-down percentage, and red-zone touchdown percentage.

"Liam has done an incredible job," Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield said earlier this month.

"It's the influence he's had throughout all the guys teaching the game of football, and I've mentioned to you guys like all year, that teaching the details of why we're doing certain things, why we have certain plays alerted or canned, whatever you want to call it. And he does a great job of that, and then calling the plays with player strengths, that's what good OCs do. And so he's done an unbelievable job."

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.