Liam Coen isn’t as heralded as the other offensive coordinator who took a head coaching job this week, but that doesn’t mean he might not be even better. Coen’s work in Tampa Bay was pretty remarkable.
The Bucs were good enough offensively a year ago, recall, that Dave Canales got the top job in Carolina. But Coen took over that job and helped make that offense a lot better.
Only three teams scored more points than Tampa Bay last year, and only two gained more yards. The Bucs under Coen averaged 9 more points per game than they did in 2023.
Only one team in NFL history has averaged over 5 yards per carry while also completing over 70 percent of its passes. That would be these Bucs from last year. So very appropriate that the Jaguars were willing to fire their GM to get Coen to agree to a deal.
The Bears got their offensive guru (Ben Johnson) to help develop Caleb Williams. Jacksonville’s pairing of Coen with their No. 1 overall pick quarterback looks comparable. Let’s see what it looks like in the preseason, but I’m thinking I might be interested in selecting Lawrence in the teens heading into next season, with him positioned to take a big statistical step forward.
With Baker Mayfield at quarterback, the Bucs last year completed 71.5 percent of their passes. In NFL history, only four teams have finished higher (the Lions from the just-completed season, and three offenses directed by Drew Brees).
It was Coen’s work with the running game in Tampa Bay that was most impressive, with the team finishing with over 1,000 more rushing yards than either of the previous two seasons. The Bucs averaged 3.4 yards per carry in the 2022-23 seasons, but moved up to 5.3 per attempt last year.
Some of that improvement can be attributed to picking up Bucky Irving in the draft, but more of the jump, I think, should be credited to changes in play-calling and scheme. To me, Coen looks like he could be really good.
If we compare the Bucs of the last two seasons, with the personnel being pretty similar, the Coen version from last year was better in almost every category. He also put Will Levis on the NFL radar when he was a coordinator at Kentucky in 2021.
I like this hire for the Jaguars.
| COMPARING COEN TO CANALES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Diff |
| Points / G | 20.5 | 29.5 | 9.1 |
| Run Yd / G | 89 | 149 | 60 |
| Run Yd / Att | 3.4 | 5.3 | 1.8 |
| TD runs | 8 | 16 | 8 |
| Comp% | 64.1 | 71.5 | 7.4 |
| Pass Yd / G | 238 | 265 | 27 |
| Yass Yd / Att | 6.65 | 7.37 | .72 |
| TD pass | 28 | 41 | 13 |
| Interceptions | 10 | 16 | -6 |
| Pass Rating | 94.2 | 106.8 | 12.6 |
—Ian Allan