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Fifteen weeks after they last gathered in their ground-floor team meeting room to process the sting, shock and disappointment of their playoff loss, it is go time for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, April 20, when Year 2 of the Liam Coen Era kicks off with the start of the voluntary offseason program.
The journey to a repeat AFC South title. The quest to reach the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since 1996-99. And the road to Inglewood and Super Bowl 61 – it all starts right dang now.
Hyperbole? No way.
Just listen to Coen’s answer from earlier this month when I asked him what his initial message to the players will be.
“The entire message is we’re attacking this offseason,” Coen said. “We’re attacking the details, we’re attacking our relationships and we’re attacking our communication because there’s new, there’s change and there are different relationships that need to be blended and matched.”
Wants you to put on a helmet and run down in kickoff coverage for Coen, doesn’t it?
Last year was about pouring a new foundation (by necessity), establishing a new culture (comfort was out, accountability was in) and, you know, winning some games (4-13 to 13-4).
Coen and his staff, buttressed by a front office aligned with the coaches, were one of the NFL’s best stories in 2025. Armed with momentum, they now have to do it again.
“We’re not defending anything,” Coen said. “We’re not defending how we played last year. We’re not defending our record. We’re attacking a new opportunity.”
At this time last year, Coen said, the Jaguars were burning both ends of their figurative candles, like they were trying to fit 20 pounds of stuff into a 15-pound barrel. The staff churned out the office hours. Systems needed to be taught. The roster needed to be overhauled. And the draft preparation was lengthy.
“Our coaches were in there until 10, 11 p.m. every night and most weekend nights,” Coen said. “We’re not doing that now. We’ve earned that. You still grind, but the intentionality of it has to be finite and tight so that we’re maximizing our time as a coaching staff.”
More from O'Halloran: Jacksonville Jaguars should take big swing for Dexter Lawrence
Because Coen was a new coach last year, the Jaguars had two additional weeks to work with the players. This year’s program runs through June 15 and the only mandatory portion is minicamp (June 9-11). The Jaguars can’t pick up where they left off. Install No. 1 for both the offense and defense will be the same as last year. Things will be more seamless, but there is always a Must Start Over element to the process. Teams who want to run it back in every aspect are lazy teams and they get passed by their rivals.
“The way we worked on a day-to-day basis in Year 1? Great stuff,” Coen said. “We can learn from that and we can pull from that. But we are not going to be the same team in Year 2 as we were in Year 1.”
Not the same team as 2025, but pretty close personnel-wise.
The Jaguars are accurate in their belief they could play a game today and know their starting lineup. Currently, only running back on offense and one outside linebacker and safety spot apiece on defense are up for grabs. Things can of course change based on injury or the emergence of a to-be-acquired player, but it is a nearly ideal starting point for any team.
Chris Rodriguez Jr., Bayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen, Jr., will vie for the initial snap at running back, Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs will get a shot at linebacker and the same for Antonio Johnson and Caleb Ransaw at safety. (Adding a draft pick to the mix at linebacker would be wise.)
But don’t think for a second this team is “built.”
The Jaguars should have multiple objectives this spring/summer in addition to the aforementioned open starting spots.
They need to establish a course of action for Travis Hunter (and also tell him to ignore what’s being said about his role on social media).
They need to improve their running game and pass rush (the former nose-dived in the season’s second half and the latter was consistently impotent).
And they need to see if Ransaw has a grasp of the system after watching all of last year due to a foot injury (Johnson did have five interceptions so don’t discount him).
The Jaguars can’t get comfortable. Their history demands urgency. The last four times they won at least 10 games, they followed it up with seven, five and five wins, respectively. Success in pro football is fleeting because of the draft structure, salary cap and schedule. Stagnancy equals eventual struggle.
And Coen knows it, thus the “attack,” mantra that has become his buzzword of choice during his three offseason media availabilities.
“We’re attacking new details and fundamentals and techniques,” Coen said. “We (need to) maximize the entire offseason and be extremely dialed into everything we’re trying to improve on.”
It all begins April 20.
Contact O’Halloran at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' offseason program begins with 'attack' mantra
Continue reading...
The journey to a repeat AFC South title. The quest to reach the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since 1996-99. And the road to Inglewood and Super Bowl 61 – it all starts right dang now.
Hyperbole? No way.
Just listen to Coen’s answer from earlier this month when I asked him what his initial message to the players will be.
“The entire message is we’re attacking this offseason,” Coen said. “We’re attacking the details, we’re attacking our relationships and we’re attacking our communication because there’s new, there’s change and there are different relationships that need to be blended and matched.”
Wants you to put on a helmet and run down in kickoff coverage for Coen, doesn’t it?
Last year was about pouring a new foundation (by necessity), establishing a new culture (comfort was out, accountability was in) and, you know, winning some games (4-13 to 13-4).
Coen and his staff, buttressed by a front office aligned with the coaches, were one of the NFL’s best stories in 2025. Armed with momentum, they now have to do it again.
“We’re not defending anything,” Coen said. “We’re not defending how we played last year. We’re not defending our record. We’re attacking a new opportunity.”
Different season, different team
At this time last year, Coen said, the Jaguars were burning both ends of their figurative candles, like they were trying to fit 20 pounds of stuff into a 15-pound barrel. The staff churned out the office hours. Systems needed to be taught. The roster needed to be overhauled. And the draft preparation was lengthy.
“Our coaches were in there until 10, 11 p.m. every night and most weekend nights,” Coen said. “We’re not doing that now. We’ve earned that. You still grind, but the intentionality of it has to be finite and tight so that we’re maximizing our time as a coaching staff.”
More from O'Halloran: Jacksonville Jaguars should take big swing for Dexter Lawrence
Because Coen was a new coach last year, the Jaguars had two additional weeks to work with the players. This year’s program runs through June 15 and the only mandatory portion is minicamp (June 9-11). The Jaguars can’t pick up where they left off. Install No. 1 for both the offense and defense will be the same as last year. Things will be more seamless, but there is always a Must Start Over element to the process. Teams who want to run it back in every aspect are lazy teams and they get passed by their rivals.
“The way we worked on a day-to-day basis in Year 1? Great stuff,” Coen said. “We can learn from that and we can pull from that. But we are not going to be the same team in Year 2 as we were in Year 1.”
Not the same team as 2025, but pretty close personnel-wise.
The Jaguars are accurate in their belief they could play a game today and know their starting lineup. Currently, only running back on offense and one outside linebacker and safety spot apiece on defense are up for grabs. Things can of course change based on injury or the emergence of a to-be-acquired player, but it is a nearly ideal starting point for any team.
Chris Rodriguez Jr., Bayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen, Jr., will vie for the initial snap at running back, Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs will get a shot at linebacker and the same for Antonio Johnson and Caleb Ransaw at safety. (Adding a draft pick to the mix at linebacker would be wise.)
But don’t think for a second this team is “built.”
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Offseason program objectives
The Jaguars should have multiple objectives this spring/summer in addition to the aforementioned open starting spots.
They need to establish a course of action for Travis Hunter (and also tell him to ignore what’s being said about his role on social media).
They need to improve their running game and pass rush (the former nose-dived in the season’s second half and the latter was consistently impotent).
And they need to see if Ransaw has a grasp of the system after watching all of last year due to a foot injury (Johnson did have five interceptions so don’t discount him).
The Jaguars can’t get comfortable. Their history demands urgency. The last four times they won at least 10 games, they followed it up with seven, five and five wins, respectively. Success in pro football is fleeting because of the draft structure, salary cap and schedule. Stagnancy equals eventual struggle.
And Coen knows it, thus the “attack,” mantra that has become his buzzword of choice during his three offseason media availabilities.
“We’re attacking new details and fundamentals and techniques,” Coen said. “We (need to) maximize the entire offseason and be extremely dialed into everything we’re trying to improve on.”
It all begins April 20.
Contact O’Halloran at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' offseason program begins with 'attack' mantra
Continue reading...
