Jaguars nab Bucs assistant Liam Coen as new head coach

Image via AP.

The rivalry between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars has not had much heat or history. That’s changing, at least from the Buccaneers’ standpoint.

That’s because of the way the Jaguars’ coaching search has played out.

Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been hired as the new head coach in Jacksonville. That Coen made the move across the state for a bigger job is not the notable detail of the story, however. What’s remarkable is the way it happened.

Coen was the second high-profile offensive coordinator to withdraw from the Jaguars’ coaching search after an initial interview. A second interview, this one in person, was scheduled with Coen on Wednesday. But before the interview, Coen pulled his name from consideration, as had former Lions offensive coordinator (now Chicago Bears head coach) Ben Johnson.

In both cases, it is believed that the presence of Trent Baalke as general manager was an obstacle to filling the coaching role.

So on Wednesday, Coen agreed to re-sign with the Bucs for a deal reported to make him the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL. Then, the Jaguars fired Baalke.

That’s when the intrigue began.

Before Coen could sign the new contract with the Buccaneers, the Jaguars reached back out. As Coen and his wife were at the hospital with a sick child, he was not communicating with the Buccaneers. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Coen contacted head coach Todd Bowles around 5 p.m. on Thursday, telling him he wanted to look back into the Jaguars’ situation.

Khan sent a private plane for Coen and sometime after 1 a.m. Friday, the deal was done, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Buccaneers’ fans and personnel now have a clear reason for the rivalry with the Jaguars to be hotter. The Jaguars and Bucs are not scheduled to face one another in the 2025 regular season, but the two teams routinely play a preseason game. That could be the first opportunity for Buccaneers’ fans to voice their feelings about the situation.

As for Coen’s next steps, he must begin to assemble a coaching staff and has already given input on the direction the Jaguars should take in their fresh general manager search.

Perhaps the Jaguars hired the candidate they would have hired anyway. The consensus around the NFL was that the Jaguars should have moved on from Baalke when they fired head coach Doug Pederson the day after the season ended. Instead, Khan held an awkward video conference with Baalke after firing Pederson where Khan sounded like any suggestion that Baalke should have been let go was preposterous, even calling a total overhaul “suicidal.”

Now, Baalke is out.

Coen inherits a good situation in some respects. The Jaguars have plenty of salary cap room to add free agents. The team has 10 selections in the April draft, more than any team in the NFL. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is still considered a promising prospect, though he must improve his play dramatically. Coen also has a star receiver in Brian Thomas Jr., who led all rookies in receiving in 2024.

The Buccaneers must now search for a new offensive coordinator.