JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen has informed the team of his intention to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars after a surprising twist that included him initially backing out of the interview pool, but then reconsidering the job after general manager Trent Baalke’s exit.

It all came together in a two-day span that started Wednesday with Coen declining an in-person interview and accepting a contract extension and a raise from the Buccaneers that would have made him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, sources previously told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Then, when the Jaguars and Baalke parted ways later that day, the team called Coen and asked him to reconsider, according to sources familiar with the head coaching search. Coen agreed to come to Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon.

Negotiations continued late into the evening, sources told ESPN, and late Thursday night Coen informed the Buccaneers he was taking the Jacksonville job.

The expectations for the new head coach are lengthy. He’ll be taking over a team that finished 4-13 and last in the AFC South, underperforming in nearly every area.

The franchise, which is on its fourth head coach in six years, needs some stability.

Taking a closer look, NFL Nation reporters Michael DiRocco and Jenna Laine answer four big questions about the Coen hiring, including what comes next. National reporter Dan Graziano dishes on what he’s hearing about the hire, and draft analyst Matt Miller spins it forward to the draft.

What kind of coach are the Jags getting in Coen?

Coen spent four seasons under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams and credits McVay for his understanding of defenses and the “whys” of playcalling in the run game. He bounced back and forth between the Rams and the University of Kentucky because he wanted autonomy as a playcaller but also wanted to coach in the NFL.

He helped quarterback Baker Mayfield (with whom he worked briefly in L.A.) to a career-best 41 touchdown passes in 2024 after throwing 28 the previous season. The Buccaneers scored 28.6 offensive points per game — the third highest in franchise history, behind 2020 and 2021 with Tom Brady.

“Liam has done an incredible job,” Mayfield said. “The influence he’s had throughout all the guys, teaching the game of football. … [He’s] teaching the details of why we’re doing certain things, why we have certain plays alerted or canned, whatever you want to call it. He does a great job of that and then calling the plays to his players’ strengths, that’s what good [offensive coordinators] do and he’s done an unbelievable job of that.”

Coen’s philosophy is to ensure the quarterback never feels handcuffed at the line of scrimmage and that there are always solutions. He was able to adapt his scheme to what the Bucs had based on personnel, but also with injuries to top receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. — Laine

What makes Coen right for the Jaguars’ offense?

There is hope Coen can help Lawrence shake off what has been plaguing him since the end of the 2023 season. Coen had a big impact on Mayfield in 2024 — who set career highs in attempts, completions, completion percentage, passing yards and TDs — but that shouldn’t overshadow what he did with the Bucs’ run game.

He helped the Bucs go from the league’s worst statistical rushing team, averaging 88.8 yards on the ground in 2023 to the fourth best, averaging 149.2 yards. The improvement came even with three of the same starters on the offensive line, a rookie center and rookie running back Bucky Irving to complement Rachaad White. It also helped offset the injuries to Godwin and Evans and played a role in Mayfield’s performance.

The Jaguars haven’t had any consistency in the run game the past two seasons and the offense has been almost entirely dependent on Lawrence. The Jaguars have averaged 99.3 rushing yards over the past two seasons — 28th in the NFL — after rushing for 124.5 yards in 2022. They have a running back duo of Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby.

The Jaguars need more balance in the offense and the Bucs were the only team in the NFL to finish in the top five in passing and rushing in 2024. Coen should be a welcome jolt. — DiRocco

Was firing Baalke the deciding factor in getting Coen?

Baalke’s presence was one of several reasons why Coen initially declined to make his scheduled in-person interview in Jacksonville on Wednesday, according to a league source — but it was not the main reason. Coen’s decision to initially pull out embarrassed the Jaguars and was the final nudge for owner Shad Khan and Baalke to part ways.

Khan retained Baalke when he fired Doug Pederson on Jan. 6, and said that afternoon a complete organizational overhaul would be “suicide.” He said that if any coaching candidate expressed reservations about the Jaguars’ organizational structure or working with Baalke he would be willing to address the topic.

Through this process, Khan preferred to hire a young, offense-minded head coach to work with Lawrence, the source said.

Coen appeared to be the front-runner for the job once former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson accepted the Chicago Bears‘ head coaching job Monday. — DiRocco

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McAfee wonders if Trent Baalke was impeding Jags’ coach search

Pat McAfee reacts to news that Trent Baalke will no longer be the general manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

What’s the first thing Coen must do?

If he’s going to call plays as a head coach — which is the assumption — his No. 1 priority should be hiring his offensive line coach. That unit has struggled in the run game the past two seasons, especially in the middle. The Jaguars ranked 31st in average yards before first contact per rush (2.15) and 30th in total rushing yards before first contact (1,867) from 2023-24, per ESPN Research.

In Coen’s lone season in Tampa Bay, the Bucs averaged 3.0 yards per rush before first contact (sixth in the NFL) and seventh with 1,448 total rushing yards before first contact. The Bucs had nearly as many total rushing yards before first contact in 2024 than the Jaguars did in the past two seasons on 384 fewer carries.

Coen can’t bring the Bucs’ line with him so he’s going to need someone who can turn a Jaguars unit that is built with an emphasis on athleticism into a more physical and straight-ahead power group. — DiRocco

What are you hearing around the league on the hire?

This one is wild, if only for the way it went down. People I’m talking to are in shock that the Jaguars finally went ahead and fired Baalke, and that they apparently did it because they believed Coen wouldn’t go there otherwise. This is the second hiring cycle for Jacksonville in which we’ve heard chatter about candidates not wanting to go there because of Baalke. The Jaguars ended up with Pederson last time, who was fine with the idea of working with Baalke. But this time they apparently felt he was too big an impediment for them to get their guy.

As for Coen, there’s a lot of respect around the league for what he did in one season with the Tampa Bay offense. And his background with McVay’s Rams is a big selling point. But he has done a ton of bouncing around between jobs in recent years — Rams from 2018 to 2020, Kentucky in 2021, back to the Rams for 2022, back to Kentucky for 2023 and then to the Bucs in 2024. Some people find that aspect a bit odd, and the information that’s coming out about how he ghosted the Buccaneers on Wednesday and Thursday after the Baalke firing doesn’t make him look great.

But the Jags weren’t the only interested team. And again, Coen is respected around the league for his offensive scheme and his ability to coach it. He was part of getting Mayfield’s career back on track when the veteran QB finished the 2022 season with the Rams (and then he of course continued the success Dave Canales had with Mayfield in 2023 when he got to Tampa Bay this past season). So maybe he’s the right guy to get Lawrence back on track. — Graziano

How can Coen improve this offense at the draft?

With the No. 5 pick in the first round, the Jaguars will have options for Coen as he looks to build a better offense. The former regime hit on Brian Thomas Jr. at wide receiver, and the return of a healthy Lawrence will be huge in improving the team’s scoring ability. But if that’s not enough, that fifth pick is a great spot to invest in offensive help.

There’s a shot that Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter could still be on the board, and he would immediately boost the pass game catching passes from Lawrence (while also helping the Jags at corner on defense). Should Hunter be gone, 6-foot-5 wideout Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) would be an awesome complement to Thomas’ deep-threat speed with his ability to attack the ball in 50-50 situations.

The offensive line seems set with bookend tackles Walker Little and Anton Harrison, but the interior could be addressed with Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas) or Will Campbell (LSU) making a move inside to guard. The No. 5 pick is rich for a guard, though, and I expect Jacksonville to address that position in the later rounds.

Yes, defensive playmakers will also be on the board for Jacksonville, and the team has big-time needs in the secondary. But with Coen taking the head coaching job and a new general manager coming in, the team might ultimately favor the offense. In that case, McMillan is the move. — Miller