The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to terms with Liam Coen to become the team’s head coach, the Jaguars announced Jan. 24.
“To repeat my message earlier this week, I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a news release.
“I also believe in being judged by actions, not words. That’s why I took swift and decisive action this week 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.”
Coen was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Buccaneers. In his one season in Tampa Bay, he led the NFL’s only offense that finished in the top five in yards per game (399.6), scoring (29.5), passing yards per game (250.4) and rushing yards per game (149.2).
The Buccaneers became the first team in NFL history to complete 70% of their passes and average more than 5 yards per carry throughout an entire season, in addition to becoming just the second team in league history with 40-plus passing touchdowns and 5-plus yards per rush in a single season.
“Becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is 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,” Coen said.
“Most of all, we are grateful to Shad Khan for his belief in what we will bring to the Jaguars. 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.”
Coen helped quarterback Baker Mayfield record career highs in passer rating (106.8), completion percentage (71.4 percent), passing touchdowns (41) and passing yards (4,500), which put him among a group of 10 quarterbacks in NFL history with 4,500-plus yards and 40-plus passing touchdowns in a single season.
Additionally, Coen oversaw offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs’ Pro Bowl and first-team Associated Press All-Pro season and wide receiver Mike Evans’ NFL-record-tying streak of 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
Mentored by Coen, running back Bucky Irving led all rookies in scrimmage yards (1,514), rushing yards (1,122) and rushing touchdowns (eight), while wide receiver Jalen McMillan tied for second among this year’s rookie class in receiving touchdowns with eight.
Coen brings 15 years of coaching experience to Jacksonville, including five years in the NFL
Before his season with Tampa Bay, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Kentucky for the 2023 and 2021 seasons during which he put forth two of the highest-scoring single seasons in school history. The 2021 Wildcats team amassed 56 total touchdowns while the 2023 Wildcats team scored 50 total touchdowns.
Coen was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2022 after spending time as the club’s assistant quarterbacks coach (2020) and assistant wide receivers coach (2018-19).
A quarterback at the University of Massachusetts, Coen holds the school’s records for completions (830), attempts (1,302), completion percentage (63.7 percent), passing yards (11,031), yards per attempt (8.5), passing touchdowns (50) and passer rating (150.7). He graduated in 2008 with a degree in communications.
A native of Wakefield, Rhode Island, Coen and his wife, Ashley, have two sons, Jackson and Callahan.