Liam Coen expected to be named Jaguars’ next coach, 1 day after withdrawing from search: Sources

Liam Coen is expected to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new head coach, pending final negotiations, according to league sources, in a rapid turn of events one day after he withdrew from consideration for the job.

Coen, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, was set to return to the Bucs with on a theee-year contract that would have made him the highest-paid OC in the NFL, according to a league source. But he and the Jaguars resumed talks just a day after Jacksonville and general manager Trent Baalke parted ways, and the Jaguars made continued efforts to sway Coen to reconsider.

As part of the push, Jaguars ownership told Coen they would let him pick the general manager and would pay him “Ben Johnson”-level money, along with multiple years, league sources said, a reference to the coach the Chicago Bears hired Monday.

Coen spent the day and early evening in Jacksonville on Thursday, returning to Tampa at night while his agent ironed out a contract. On Thursday night, Coen informed the Buccaneers that he would be taking the Jaguars job. A formal announcement is expected Friday, league sources said.

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Coen’s stock rose this season after he directed a Tampa Bay offense that ranked third in total offense, second in passing offense and fourth in rushing offense and points per game. The team’s 502 points marked just the second time in franchise history that Tampa Bay totaled over 500 points and was just nine points shy of matching the franchise-best mark of 511 points in 2021.

Tampa Bay won six of its final seven games to win the NFC South for a fourth straight year and reached the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season.

Under Coen’s tutelage, quarterback Baker Mayfield enjoyed a career year — posting career highs in completion percentage (71.4), passing touchdowns (41), pass attempts (570), passing success rate (53.9) and quarterback rating (106.8). With Coen’s impending departure, Mayfield will have his eighth offensive coordinator in eight seasons.

Baker Mayfield offensive coordinators by year:

2018 — Todd Haley/Freddie Kitchens
2019 — Todd Monken
2020 — Alex Van Pelt
2021 — Alex Van Pelt
2022 — Ben McAdoo (CAR)/Liam Coen (LAR)
2023 — Dave Canales
2024 — Liam Coen

If Coen takes the Jacksonville job, Mayfield would be…

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 24, 2025

Coen was one of three candidates the Jaguars tabbed for second-round interviews this week. Jacksonville also had plans to interview former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Saleh was supposed to fly to Jacksonville late Thursday for an interview Friday, his second with Jacksonville. As the Coen news broke, however, he canceled that flight.

Jacksonville went 4-13 this season and holds the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence missed seven games due to injury— including the final five contests. Rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. emerged on the scene as a top target with 87 receptions for 1,282 yards (third-most in the league) and 10 touchdowns (tied for sixth-most in the league).

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Before going to Tampa Bay, Coen worked two separate stints under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams and spent a decade in college football. He joined the Rams staff in 2018 and spent two years as an assistant wide receivers coach before one season as the assistant quarterbacks coach (2020). Coen returned to the Rams in 2022 as the team’s offensive coordinator after Kevin O’Connell took the head coach position with the Minnesota Vikings.

Following one season as the Rams OC — where he did not call the plays — Coen returned to the college ranks. Sandwiched around his stints with the Rams, Coen had two separate one-year stints — 2021 and 2023 — as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Kentucky. In 2021, Coen was a key factor in the Wildcats notching 10 wins (which were later vacated due to NCAA penalties) and a bowl victory in the Citrus Bowl over the University of Iowa.

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During his first stint at Kentucky, Coen helped develop quarterback Will Levis, who went on to become a second-round pick in 2023 by the Tennessee Titans. Devin Leary, who was Coen’s QB in 2023, was drafted in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2024.

Coen’s college career began at a number of schools in the New England area. The Rhode Island native had two stints at Brown University (2010, 2012-13) as the quarterbacks coach, coached at the University of Rhode Island (2011) and the University of Massachusetts (2014-15) as the pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He was also the offensive coordinator for two seasons (2016-17) at the University of Maine.

Coen played football at the University of Massachusetts and holds the program records for completions (830), attempts (1,302), completion percentage (63.7), passing yards (11,031), yards per attempt (8.5), passing touchdowns (90), and passer rating (150.7). He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2022.

— Michael Silver contributed reporting to this story.

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(Photo: Julio Aguilar/ Getty Images)