Liam Coen became a recent fixture of the NFL headlines after pulling out a reverse card on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, he agreed to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ next head coach despite initially turning down the offer.
Coen was the Jaguars’ top target for the role vacated by the fired Doug Pederson. After all, Coen helped Baker Mayfield become a viable starting quarterback and turned a unit featuring Mike Evans, Tristan Wirfs, and Bucky Irving into an explosive offense.
However, Coen withdrew his list from the Jaguars candidates before his scheduled interview. This move prompted the Buccaneers to offer him a multi-year extension, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid coordinators.
Before Coen signed that deal, the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke and reached out to Coen, asking if he would reconsider. Coen agreed to the Jaguars’ request, which eventually led to his hiring.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweeted that what changed Coen’s mind is that he can pick a general manager to work with and will earn a contract close to what the Chicago Bears gave Ben Johnson.
Contrary to reports that the Buccaneers couldn’t contact Coen when he was negotiating with the Jaguars, Tampa Bay Times writer Rick Stroud tweeted that Coen communicated with Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, saying that he was with his sick kid at the doctor’s office and mentioned the Jaguars only briefly.
To be clear, Liam Coen contacted head coach Todd Bowles around 5 p.m. Thursday. He said he had been with one of his kids, who had taken ill, at a doctor's office. He mentioned the Jaguars situation only briefly, saying he wanted to look back into it.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 24, 2025
Despite the dizzying turn of events, the Jaguars got their top choice, while the Buccaneers will have another one-and-done OC after Dave Canales left Tampa Bay for Carolina.
-Lance Fernandez