Published on January 24, 2025 at 2:42 pm
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After bit of turmoil, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a new head coach — Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Team owner Shad Khan announced the hiring of the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Friday afternoon after a tumultuous two days.
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Coen pulled of out consideration Wednesday; Khan fired General Manager Trent Baalke hours later; and Coen then reconsidered Thursday before his hiring Friday.
“I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville,” Khan said in a post Friday on X. “I also believe in being judged by actions, not words. That is why I took swift action to hire Liam Coen as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I am pumped that Liam is accepting the challenge and opportunity to build the winner that Jaguars fans and partners fully deserve. I know our players feel the same.”
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Coen released a statement calling the Jaguars position “an opportunity of a lifetime, and one that I am going to run with to instill a championship culture and winning tradition here in Duval.”
“We are grateful to Shad Khan for his belief in what we will bring to the Jaguars,” Coen wrote. “We will work tirelessly to reward his confidence. As head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, I will hire a first-class coaching staff, establish a distinctive and effective brand of football on both sides of the ball, and our players will live for the black and teal.”
The Jaguars have had nine head coaches since Tom Coughlin shepherded the team from its first season in 1995, through 2002. Since then, Jack Del Rio, Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone and Urban Meyer have held the job until Pederson’s hire in 2022.
Coen’s record
Coen had 14 years of coaching experience when the Buccaneers hired him last year to be their offensive coordinator, including four years with the Los Angeles Rams.
Before joining the Buccaneers, he was the University of Kentucky’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2023 and 2021 seasons. Before that, he was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2022 after spending time as the club’s assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020, and assistant wide receivers coach in 2018 and 2019, according to his Tampa Bay biography.
While at the University of Kentucky, Coen put forth two of the highest-scoring single seasons in school history, helping the team amass 56 total touchdowns in 2021 and 50 total touchdowns in 2023. Coen’s teams were one of the most efficient in the SEC, amassing over 425 net yards of offense per game in 2021 as he led the team to a combined 17 wins across his two seasons there, his biography said.
Khan fired Pederson on Jan. 6, after a 4-13 season. He went 22 and 29 over his three seasons as head coach including losses in 18 of the last 23 games.
In a statement about the firing, Khan said he strongly believes it’s possible to restore the winning environment that existed in Jacksonville not that long ago.
“As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded,” Khan said. “In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.”
Coen had been the favorite to lead the Jaguars after Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson accepted the Bears’ head coaching job and a third candidate, Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, was hired as the New York Jets’ head coach.
Coen reportedly decided to return to the Buccaneers with a pay raise after an initial interview in Jacksonville. His contract in Tampa Bay was never signed before he returned to Jacksonville.
The Jags still must hire a general manager. Assistant General Manager Ethan Waugh is serving as interim GM.
