NFL insider reveals reason for 'secrecy' in Liam Coen, Jaguars head coaching talks

The news that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen was in Jacksonville on Thursday to meet with the Jaguars to discuss the team’s vacant head coaching position came just 24 hours after it was reported that Coen would be returning to Tampa on a new contract.

NFL insider Albert Breer provided additional context as to what may have caused Thursday’s meeting to be done in secrecy despite Coen withdrawing from the coaching search on Wednesday.

“The Buccaneers offered a 3-year deal on Monday to make their OC the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history. It was contingent on him not taking the second interview with the Jags. Which is the reason for the secrecy on the Jax visit,” Breer reported.

Breer also revealed where Coen currently stands between the Bucs and the Jags.

“Just a wild situation,” he followed up. “Fair to say that Coen is on track to become the Jaguars’ next head coach, and is almost certainly done with the Buccaneers either way.”

While Coen originally told the Buccaneers that he would be staying in Tampa, Jacksonville reportedly reached out to Coen after the team fired GM Trent Baalke to see if he would reconsider the offer. According to Breer’s report, it appears as though Coen has.

Once reports came out that Coen would be returning to Tampa, the Buccaneers appeared to be under the assumption that Coen would be in Tampa next season as the new contract had been agreed upon. However, Coen never put pen to paper and the deal with the Bucs, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, was never signed.

Coen is coming off his first season in Tampa Bay and was hired by Bucs head coach Todd Bowles to replace Dave Canales, who went on to take the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers last offseason.

He inherited the league’s No. 23 ranked offense the year prior and guided that unit to a No. 3 finish in 2024. The Buccaneers averaged 399.5 yards and 29.5 points per game under the first-year OC.

If hired by Jacksonville, Coen will be taking over for the ousted Doug Pederson. Pederson spent three seasons as the Jaguars head coach, leading them to consecutive 9-8 seasons in 2022 and 2023 before finishing with a 4-13 record this past season.