Liam Coen was expected to become Jaguars coach after informing the Buccaneers he is leaving the team

Liam Coen finalizes deal to become head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones.

Coen, who has been the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Buccaneers this season, stepped away from the Jaguars job on Wednesday to remain with the NFC South champions. At the time, Jones reported that the Buccaneers had agreed to terms to make Coen one of the highest-paid offensive coordinators in the NFL.

But things changed after the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke.

Jones reported Thursday that Jacksonville was reciprocating with a new offer to Coen after Baalke was fired. Additionally, Tampa Bay’s attempts to reach Coen went unanswered much of the day until later Thursday evening after reports emerged that he was back in play as a candidate to lead the the head of the Jaguars.

Coen, who turns 40 on Nov. 8, took over for Dave Canales as Tampa Bay’s offensive playmaker, and the Buccaneers haven’t skipped a beat. They won the division for a fourth straight season while producing the NFL’s No. 4 offense (29.5 points per game) and ranking third in total offense (399.6 yards per game).

Quarterback Baker Mayfield recorded career highs in completion percentage (71.4%), passing yards (4,500), passing yards per attempt (7.9), passing touchdowns (41) and passer rating (106.8) while running Coen’s offense in 2024.

Coen is a coaching arm of Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay. After eight seasons as a collegiate assistant coach, he entered the NFL as McVay’s assistant receivers coach with the Rams in 2018 and 2019. McVay promoted Coen to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020, then Coen left to become the University of Kentucky’s Offensive Coordinator in 2021, where he coached an offense led by quarterback Will Levis.

Once the Minnesota Vikings hired Kevin O’Connell to be their head coach after working as the Rams’ OC, McVay brought Coen back to Los Angeles in that role in 2022. It was the first time Coen had the chance to work with Mayfield after his mid-season arrival from the Carolina Panthers. Coen then returned to Kentucky as offensive coordinator in 2023 before Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles hired her to be his OC and play-caller, a responsibility Orda did not have. got to the NFL level while working for the Rams.

Coen will have a decent core of young talent to work with in Jacksonville, headlined by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., two offensive tackles who were drafted in the first two rounds, Pro Bowl edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge ,Edge,Edge,Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge, Edge. Rusher Travon Walker and cornerback Tyson Campbell. Now, Coen can see his vision of the Jaguars rolling out with support from the front office he will work with in Jacksonville.

It’s a nice recovery for a Jaguars franchise that seemed to be in disarray 24 hours ago. Sometimes the solution is as simple as starting over to have franchise-wide alignment between a team’s desired head coach and the front office.