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By the time you read this, coach Liam Coen will likely have the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2026 schedule in his possession. Tough stretches. Manageable sections. Prime-time appearances. Short weeks. And, of course, the season opener.
After the Jaguars' rookie camp practice on May 8, I asked Coen how soon will he start digging into the Week 1 opponent?
“Relatively quickly,” he said. “It just gives you something a little bit competitive to build on and start to just get your mind going.”
For that reason, the lid-lifter is often the most fascinating regular-season game of the year from a schematic standpoint. Coen was talking 18 weeks and one day from the Jaguars’ projected Sept. 13 opener and he couldn’t wait to start his research.
Awesome, right?
Imagine Coen in his second-floor office at the Jaguars’ facility, the big projector screen fired up and clicker in his hand, starting to plot ways to start 1-0 for the second consecutive season.
(Oh, to be in that room as an observer. Last October, I was in that office as he rewound, paused, rewound, fast-forwarded, and paused one Jaguars offensive play. I was furiously writing notes without looking down at my pad because I didn’t want to miss one of his points.)
The offseason program can have a Groundhog Day feel to it. The returning players are learning the same plays as they were last year. There is no hitting. And Week 1 seems so far away.
But starting to plan for the opener?
“I think it just gives you a little of excitement,” Coen said.
It sure does.
Coen’s rationale for getting a head start on Week 1 is clear: When the Jaguars open training camp in late July, the first several weeks are all about them. Re-installing the systems. Callousing up the players by working them in pads. Evaluating the players in front of the coaches, not the opponent down the road.
“Your focus, it’s so internal,” Coen said. “Everything is self-scout and worrying about ourselves and I want to keep that focus the same.”
The offseason program, though, isn’t a race against time. There is no game coming up. To that end, Coen will spice up the voluntary workouts (and next month’s mandatory minicamp) by presenting potential looks from their Week 1 opponent.
More from O'Halloran: Why new Jaguars WR Ben Patterson picked NFL rookie camp over graduation
“You start diving into it and we can start to almost incorporate it into our offseason program,” he said. “Alright, let’s throw some stuff (at the players) that we know we’re going to install. And there may be something that pops up on tape that we would know we’re going to run in Week 1 — well, let’s start to sprinkle that in throughout the offseason and see what that looks like. Maybe even throw it up against some of the looks that could be presented.”
Week 1 is usually the time for exotic coverages and pressures thrown at an offense early in the game or throughout on gotta-have-it downs.
To that end …
“I would say toward the end of minicamp, we’ll do ‘BPU’ (blitz pick-ups) against all of our Week 1 opponent’s pressures,” Coen said. “We will script them and rep them out here without (the Jaguars players) knowing.”
Well, they know now!
Coen has been an NFL play-caller in two previous season openers and the results should encourage Jaguars fans regardless of who they play and where they play in Week 1.
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator in 2024, Coen directed a 37-20 home win over the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders’ defense had no answers (although they would get their revenge in a wild-card round win over Tampa Bay).
The Buccaneers were 9 of 13 on third down, gained 392 yards on 61 plays, scored on seven of their eight possessions (not including a kneel-down to end the game) and had players with 83, 75 and 61 yards receiving. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 146.4 rating. Tampa Bay built a 23-7 lead and never trailed.
In his Jaguars’ head-coaching/play-calling debut last September, Coen directed a 26-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The Jaguars gained 378 yards on 63 plays, rushed 32 times for 200 yards and never trailed while building a 23-3 lead. Interesting to me was how Coen kept it simple personnel-wise, using only two groupings — “11” (three-receiver, one-running back and one-tight end) and “12” (two-receiver, two-tight end and one-running back) — in the first three quarters.
On the Jaguars’ first drive, three players had rushing attempts, tight end Brenton Strange caught three passes for 49 yards and receiver Travis Hunter two for 20 yards.
Coen’s brief track record is of Week 1 offensive production and around 8 p.m. on May 14, Jaguars fans get fired up about how he will attack this year’s opening opponent.
Contact O’Halloran at [email protected] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Thursday (1:15 p.m. in “XL Primetime") and a new two-hour show every Friday ("The Lead," from 4-6 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Liam Coen ready to dig into Jaguars' Week 1 opponent once it's revealed
Continue reading...
After the Jaguars' rookie camp practice on May 8, I asked Coen how soon will he start digging into the Week 1 opponent?
“Relatively quickly,” he said. “It just gives you something a little bit competitive to build on and start to just get your mind going.”
For that reason, the lid-lifter is often the most fascinating regular-season game of the year from a schematic standpoint. Coen was talking 18 weeks and one day from the Jaguars’ projected Sept. 13 opener and he couldn’t wait to start his research.
Awesome, right?
Imagine Coen in his second-floor office at the Jaguars’ facility, the big projector screen fired up and clicker in his hand, starting to plot ways to start 1-0 for the second consecutive season.
(Oh, to be in that room as an observer. Last October, I was in that office as he rewound, paused, rewound, fast-forwarded, and paused one Jaguars offensive play. I was furiously writing notes without looking down at my pad because I didn’t want to miss one of his points.)
The offseason program can have a Groundhog Day feel to it. The returning players are learning the same plays as they were last year. There is no hitting. And Week 1 seems so far away.
But starting to plan for the opener?
“I think it just gives you a little of excitement,” Coen said.
It sure does.
Spicing up offseason practices
Coen’s rationale for getting a head start on Week 1 is clear: When the Jaguars open training camp in late July, the first several weeks are all about them. Re-installing the systems. Callousing up the players by working them in pads. Evaluating the players in front of the coaches, not the opponent down the road.
“Your focus, it’s so internal,” Coen said. “Everything is self-scout and worrying about ourselves and I want to keep that focus the same.”
The offseason program, though, isn’t a race against time. There is no game coming up. To that end, Coen will spice up the voluntary workouts (and next month’s mandatory minicamp) by presenting potential looks from their Week 1 opponent.
More from O'Halloran: Why new Jaguars WR Ben Patterson picked NFL rookie camp over graduation
“You start diving into it and we can start to almost incorporate it into our offseason program,” he said. “Alright, let’s throw some stuff (at the players) that we know we’re going to install. And there may be something that pops up on tape that we would know we’re going to run in Week 1 — well, let’s start to sprinkle that in throughout the offseason and see what that looks like. Maybe even throw it up against some of the looks that could be presented.”
Week 1 is usually the time for exotic coverages and pressures thrown at an offense early in the game or throughout on gotta-have-it downs.
To that end …
“I would say toward the end of minicamp, we’ll do ‘BPU’ (blitz pick-ups) against all of our Week 1 opponent’s pressures,” Coen said. “We will script them and rep them out here without (the Jaguars players) knowing.”
Well, they know now!
Coen’s Week 1 successes
Coen has been an NFL play-caller in two previous season openers and the results should encourage Jaguars fans regardless of who they play and where they play in Week 1.
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator in 2024, Coen directed a 37-20 home win over the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders’ defense had no answers (although they would get their revenge in a wild-card round win over Tampa Bay).
The Buccaneers were 9 of 13 on third down, gained 392 yards on 61 plays, scored on seven of their eight possessions (not including a kneel-down to end the game) and had players with 83, 75 and 61 yards receiving. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 146.4 rating. Tampa Bay built a 23-7 lead and never trailed.
In his Jaguars’ head-coaching/play-calling debut last September, Coen directed a 26-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The Jaguars gained 378 yards on 63 plays, rushed 32 times for 200 yards and never trailed while building a 23-3 lead. Interesting to me was how Coen kept it simple personnel-wise, using only two groupings — “11” (three-receiver, one-running back and one-tight end) and “12” (two-receiver, two-tight end and one-running back) — in the first three quarters.
On the Jaguars’ first drive, three players had rushing attempts, tight end Brenton Strange caught three passes for 49 yards and receiver Travis Hunter two for 20 yards.
Coen’s brief track record is of Week 1 offensive production and around 8 p.m. on May 14, Jaguars fans get fired up about how he will attack this year’s opening opponent.
Contact O’Halloran at [email protected] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Thursday (1:15 p.m. in “XL Primetime") and a new two-hour show every Friday ("The Lead," from 4-6 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Liam Coen ready to dig into Jaguars' Week 1 opponent once it's revealed
Continue reading...
