Report: Liam Coen a 'key candidate' for Jaguars head coaching job

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been in contact with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their vacant head coaching job, according to NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Coen was in Jacksonville on Thursday “discussing a deal to become the head coach.” It was originally reported on Wednesday that Coen told the Jaguars he would stay in Tampa as the team’s OC. However, after the team fired GM Trent Baalke, Jacksonville reached out to see if Coen would reconsider.

The news comes just days after Coen agreed to a contract extension with Tampa Bay. According to Schefter, the Buccaneers had “made multiple efforts to reach him.” Coen has apparently not picked up the phone.

Moreover, the Buccaneers appeared to be under the assumption that Coen was going to return to Tampa next season as the new contract had been agreed upon. However, the pen was never put to paper and Coen has yet to sign his new deal with the Bucs, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

Tampa was not informed that Coen was to spend Thursday in Jacksonville meeting with the Jaguars to discuss the team’s head coaching vacancy.

Coen is coming off his first season in Tampa Bay, hired by Todd Bowles to replace Dave Canales, who took 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.

Tampa Bay set franchise-best marks in yards per carry (5.25), completion (71.5%) and third-down conversion rate (50.9%). Quarterback Baker Mayfield had his best season as a pro, throwing for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a 106.8 passer rating. However, they were unable to overcome the Washington Commanders in the wild-card round.

If hired, 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. They missed the playoffs in two of Pederson’s three seasons. However, the franchise has made it to the postseason just once in the last seven.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report.