Former UMass quarterback and coach Liam Coen announced as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Published: 01-24-2025 5:13 PM |
It has been quite an adventurous week for former UMass quarterback Liam Coen. On Wednesday evening, it was reported that Coen, who served as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator during the 2024 season, would be returning to the organization as the highest-paid assistant coach in the National Football League – turning down a head-coaching offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the process.
But a day later, on Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Coen was in Jacksonville working out a deal with the franchise to become its next head coach – a complete shift from Wednesday. Coen’s unit in Tampa Bay was ranked fourth in the NFL in total offense, and the Buccaneers won the NFC South to earn a spot in this year’s playoffs before losing 23-20 to the Washington Commanders in the Wild Card round.
Coen, a Warwick, Rhode Island native, played in Amherst for the Minutemen from 2004-08, was a four-year starter and roommate of UMass legend Victor Cruz. He currently holds six passing records at UMass. Coen was one of the top head-coaching targets across the league, as he conducted several interviews across the seven organizations with vacancies at the position. Ultimately, the 39-year old landed a job with the Jaguars as the fourth-youngest head coach in the NFL.
“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 in a statement. “This doesn’t happen without the support and opportunities that my family and I have been afforded throughout my career, especially during this past season in Tampa Bay… 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… Jaguars fans should expect nothing less, and that’s what we plan to deliver and more.”
During his playing days in Amherst, Coen was the starting quarterback under head coach Don Brown and a team captain in 2008. The Minutemen held stellar 37-14 and 25-7 (conference play) records with Coen under center. He led UMass to the 2006 NCAA FCS national championship game by going 69-for-109 with 837 yards and six touchdowns in the FCS playoffs. Coen led the Minutemen the postseason in 2007, and quarterbacked them to conference championships in 2006 and 2007.
Coen spent several years with the Los Angeles Rams, learning under one of the game’s greatest offensive minds in Sean McVay. He was a quarterbacks coach in 2020 and the Rams OC in 2022. Back in 2014 and 2015, Coen spent time at his alma mater, UMass, as the program’s pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke earlier this week, and it’s believed that Coen is to play a huge part in who the team brings in to replace Baalke. That perhaps was a main reason in why Coen changed his mind and decided to take the job in Jacksonville.
“To repeat my message earlier this week, I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville,” Khan said. “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.”
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