Coen Pulls Out as Jaguars HC Candidate

The grass may not always be greener on the other side. Tampa Bays offensive coordinator Liam Coen took his name out of the running and is no longer a candidate to be the Jacksonville Jaguars next head coach.

Coen, who was scheduled for an in-person interview on Wednesday with the Jaguars’ brass, which included owner Shad Khan, and the much-maligned general manager Trent Baalke and others, removed his name out of consideration and will sign a new deal to remain with the Buccaneers, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither side has disclosed the decision publicly.

The move shakes up Jacksonville’s search, which had been trimmed down to Coen, Las Vegas defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Graham and Saleh are scheduled for in-person interviews on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Khan insisted after firing Super Bowl winning coach Doug Pederson earlier this month that he did not believe Baalke’s retention as GM would have a negative effect on the coaching search.

The 60-year-old Baalke has a checkered past around the league when it comes to dealing and getting along with coaches, and three of the five coaches that he has hired in San Francisco and Jacksonville have had uninspiring one-and-done tenures. His draft picks have been hit and miss, and that is being kind, and last year’s free-agent acquisitions turned out to be a flop and some of the worst in franchise history.

Keeping Baalke in place clearly has made candidates have second thought, at the very least. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Detroit defense coordinator Aaron Glenn were among the 10 who interviewed with Jacksonville initially, only to see Johnson slip through their fingers and sign with the Chicago Bears and Glenn scheduling second interviews with New Orleans and the New York Jets.

Jacksonville still could double back on Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Under NFL rules and guidelines, the earliest they can interview again is next week because their teams are in conference championship games.

But Coen is out, turning down the opportunity to become a head coach now to remain a coordinator. The 39-year-old was the creator and architect of one of the Buccaneers most potent offenses in team history. The Buccaneers ranked third in the NFL in yards (399.6 per game) and fourth in points (29.5).

Coen had less success in his inaugural NFL season, in 2022 with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams brought up the rear, ranking 32nd in the league in yards while playing half the season without quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp. Coen returned to the college ranks (Kentucky) following that year.

Staying in Tampa Bay could leave Coen in line to eventually succeed 61-year-old head coach Todd Bowles.

The Jaguars (4-13), meanwhile, will move forward in their process with one less candidate to choose from.

They have a young ascending quarterback (Trevor Lawrence) with upside, a budding star at receiver (Brian Thomas Jr.), a several defensive building blocks (cornerback Tyson Campbell and pass rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker), a relatively new state-of-the-art practice facility, a $1.4 billion stadium renovation upcoming and a non-meddling owner with money to spend.

They have the fifth overall draft pick in April and roughly $50 million in salary cap space for 2025, play in arguably the NFL’s weakest division (AFC South) and work in a state with plenty of sunshine and no income tax. They also went 3-10 in one-score games, an indication that they could turn things around in short order.

But Khan is committed to playing at least one home game annually in London, even though it may put the team at a competitive disadvantage and will play home games in 2026 in front of a reduced capacity and play all of 2027 away from the comforts of Jacksonville. The Jaguars also have a number of aging veterans on their roster and Baalke.