Reports: Liam Coen accepts Jaguars' head-coach job

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th January, 02:52 2025

Aug 23, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

After two days filled with twists, Liam Coen reportedly is set to become the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach.

ESPN reported Thursday night that Coen told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he is leaving his job as offensive coordinator to take the top post in Jacksonville. NFL.com reported that the Jaguars are due to announce the hiring of Coen on Friday morning.

All of that occurred a day after Coen agreed to a contract with the Buccaneers that would have made him the NFL's highest-paid coordinator.

Jacksonville fired head coach Doug Pederson on Jan. 6 following a 4-13 season. The Jaguars finished 22-29 in three seasons under Pederson, reaching the playoffs just once, when they went 1-1 following the 2022 campaign.

Coen, 39, just finished his first season overseeing the Tampa Bay offense.

He reportedly stepped out of consideration as a candidate to become Jacksonville's head coach on Wednesday, hours before the Jaguars parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke.

In a Jan. 6 news conference after the firing of Pederson, Jaguars owner Shad Khan kept Baalke on board. But Khan also said that day that he would be open to a discussion if a head coaching candidate took issue with the structure of the front office or working with Baalke.

In Coen's second stint as an NFL offensive coordinator, Tampa Bay averaged 29.5 points per game, fourth in the league in 2024. The Buccaneers ranked third in averaging 399.5 yards per game, third at 250.4 passing yards and fourth at 149.2 rushing yards. They led the league by making 50.9 percent of their third-down attempts (110 of 216). Their total of 395 first downs was second in the league.

Leading that offense, Baker Mayfield set career highs with 41 touchdown passes, 4,500 passing yards and a 71.4 percent completion percentage under Coen's watch.

Coen in recent years has bounced between the NFL and the University of Kentucky, where he was offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2021. He was the Los Angeles Rams' OC in 2022, and he worked under head coach Sean McVay as the Rams' assistant wide receivers coach (2018-19) and assistant quarterbacks coach (2020).

--Field Level Media

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