Press Pass | Head Coach Liam Coen: "...the sky's the limit."

Published Jan 27, 2025, 11:31 PM
Jaguars Owner Shad Khan introduces Liam Coen as the eighth head coach in franchise history, followed by questions from local media.

Good afternoon everyone. To the man of the hour, Liam and his sons right there, Jackson Callahan, his dad, Tim, mother in law, Edna, it's my pleasure to welcome you all to Jacksonville, Florida, and to everyone watching online, thank you for joining. We're here today because we're coming off of very disappointing season. Our fans, our partners deserve better, much better, and that's why three weeks ago I announced that we would search for a new head coach. When we interviewed ten remarkable candidates for the positions, two things became clear to me. Number One, that this wasn't a moment of regret for the Jacksonville Jaguars. This was a moment of progress, optimism, and confidence that we will achieve the ultimate goal as long as we have the right man. And number two, that man was Liam Cohen. Why Liam's outstanding body of work speaks for itself. Quarterback development is the bedrock of modern NFL, and Liam has delivered that wherever he's coached. His outstanding reputation preceded our first interview on video, and everything we heard about him from top people throughout football, solicited and otherwise was confirmed. When we met Liam here last week. Liam was bright, prepared, ambitious us, and he inspired us. I knew then that Liam was our man, and we got our man. So with that, it's my privilege to introduce to you the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Liam Kohn.

Thank you, Sead.

As I said last week, this is a moment of a lifetime. I'm grateful for your confidence in me. I also appreciate that you're saying that you inspire that I inspire you because you do the same to me.

It's amazing to hear.

I want to thank people along this way in terms of the process to get here, Tony Kahan, Tony Boselli, Mark Lamping, and Ethan Waugh. I genuinely thank you for your honesty and trust throughout this process. I owe a great debt of thanks to a lot of the coaches that I've gone through the process with and given me opportunities to.

Coach because that's what I love to do.

Todd Bowles in the Tampa organization, Sean McVay and the Rams, Mark Stoops at Kentucky, Mark Whipple at UMass, my alma mater, Phil Estis at Brown, and Don Brown, who is my coach, as a player and a mentor to me in this profession. They were all great football minds, but one thing they had in common was leadership. And that's what this is all about. It takes complimentary football at.

All three phases to be great.

Offense, defense, and special teams. How do we want to play the game and that's fast, fundamentally sound, attacking, situational masters, and tough both mentally and physically. You see players in the room right here, Guys that I've had conversations with already. It will always be about you, always. It is players over plays. How do we make this as much about the players and making this about bringing out the best in you? That's what this is about. Jacksonville, the community.

Do all.

How do we do this together? This has to be collaborative.

I want it to be as collaborative as possible for us to go to the next level, take the next step, and for us to have found a home for the first time in a long time that we can maybe plant some roots and truly being a community and a family that we love and trust. Onto the theme of family, you're told at.

A young age when you meet the one.

And what that does for your life and I met my one five years ago. Ashley, you have made me a better person every single day and I would not be here without you. You make me better, You make us better. You will make Jacksonville better. I love you. My sons, Jackson and Callahan Wild Jackson, Jacksonville, Callahan Town.

I mean, here we go.

What an opportunity for them to see these guys. That's who I want them to see. That's who I want them to be around. That's where I was in locker rooms, on the field with those guys from all different walks of life, all different backgrounds, all with the same goal. I want my kids to be them. Edna Kevin, my wife's family, truly thank you for the support. Jock, my agent, but a friend, first guy to pick me up on the plane, off the plane in LA. We'll never forget it, man. And to my dad, my best friend. I was lucky enough as a kid to grow up and have my hero the dream and my best friend in the house. That's something, guys, we all know.

That's special.

And I've learned so many things from you, Pops, going through this process of life, and I cannot thank you enough for your support and love and finally to my angel up in heaven, my mom, Elizabeth.

I wish you could see it. I wish you could see it, because this is pretty cool.

This is pretty cool.

I cannot thank you guys for this moment. Shod You just made a dream absolutely come true. And we're gonna work our tails off to bring championships to Jacksonville.

Thank you so much, and we're ready to get to work.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, gentlemen. Now we're going to open up the Florida questions from the media. We have microphones flanking both sides of the room, and we just asked that you identify yourselves and your media outlet before asking the question. And if you could be direct, you know, clear of who you're directing the question too, that would be helpful too. So why don't we begin. Who's got the first question today?

Gene?

This is for Liam. Congratulations though, welcome to Jacksonville. Before I get to forward, thinking about your opportunity here, could you just briefly go over last week a lot of reports that you were going to stay in Tampa for a substantial pay raise, then you changed your mind decided to interview here. Could you talk a little bit about what made you change your mind and was there any in any way any misgivings in your mind about changing your mind, not about pursuing ahead coaching opportunity.

Thank you, Geene.

Look, the opportunity to coach in Tampa was was a phenomenal one to get my feet wet in the NFL as the offensive coordinator, and I thank them so much for that opportunity. As you continue to do more research and gaining more information as you go, it started to become, you know, more clear with every hour that this was an opportunity that you just can't pass up for so many different reasons, and you ultimately want to do truly what's best for you and your family, and that's what this came down to. I will always love and remember those guys in Tampa, my players, those guys, love them to death. But this is an opportunity to also go and do it with some new guys, right, and to go reach and touch people, because that's what coaching and teaching is and that's what this opportunity is all about.

And extremely thankful for that.

But head forward, eyes up, and we're moving forward.

Just just to be clear, was that did this have anything to do with the change in the front office structure.

This was completely about an opportunity to work for an owner and a group of people with a group of players that needed some help. And that's what coaching is, right, That's what coaching is all about, is trying to go help people and be around people.

So no, that was not that was not the factor.

Okay with okay, beyond beyond the opportunity to develop a quarterback like Trevor. What is it most that excites you about this opportunity?

Right?

You see this place, Look at this right now, right, look at this the community, what we're doing in the future, the opportunity to be a part of something different. Right, Let's be honest, this is different.

That's awesome.

That's that's exciting for me and for my family to truly be a part of something different, to go impact and influence football players and people and staff.

That's what this is all about.

It's about trying to be a part of change and improvement and go try to go do something different and win. Right, Winning cures a lot. Winning cures a lot, and that's the goal.

Okay, We're gonna go over here on the right.

Rick bolue Blase, Well I'm welcome to Duval Rick Blue with nine A two point five FM and ten ten XL. Been a lot of speculation, but we haven't heard it from you. You will be calling offensive plays.

Yes, Rick, absolutely, we'll be calling football plays.

How important is it for stability?

You know, stability?

Now with Trevor, this will be the fourth different play caller as he gets ready for his fifth year, with just a perfect scenario for you, as far as you know what you've seen so far in his four years and where you believe.

You can take him.

I was telling Trevor this the other day that I've watched him, you know, live as a freshman in high school. It was Beauford High School against Carrol Wood Cartersville. Excuse me, sorry, I was in the South George. I was in Georgia. Man, that's all I knew. And I was seeing this freshman in high school play the position at a high level, standing tall, making throws, delivering, and I walked out of there like, man.

This guy's this is different. I had no idea who he was.

And then you fast forward to now right, how do we make Trevor Lawrence in this offense as dynamic and explosive as we can be. Right, we've got to build it around him as well. Right, We've got to make every part of this about improvement, and he will be a part of that process.

He's earned that, right.

I cannot respect his toughness and mentality and work ethic more than I do already from Afar and this will all be about Trevor right now.

Jamal Saint Cyre News for Jacks, Mister conness is for you, what was this search process like and what was it about Liam that convinced you that he was the right person for this job.

Well, I think we, you know, interviewed ten potential candidates, and I think with the lack of success we've had here, certainly over the last year and a half, you know, it's a chance for reflection from me. I think what was the fundamental thing that we need to address? And the number one thing obviously is the quarterback position and our commitment to Trevor.

I think it's.

Well known and I you know, we believe in him. So it started with that and that was the fundamental question really to all the candidates, how would they do it? And after we got done with that, it was very evident to me that Liam was the guy.

And you know, I never met Liam.

Till the process started, but I had heard about him quite a bit over the last year from really, as I said, solicited and un solicited. NFL has several events and you know I've been to him. The topic comes up and his name was prominently mentioned. So I really wanted to make sure that he was.

Part of the ten.

And as we went through the process, I mean it was, you know, absolutely compelling.

He's the right guy for us.

And can you take us through how everything kind of came together last week because it seems like it may have been a bit of a rollwind a couple of days.

Well, it's very quick. He's our guy, and you know we got him, simple as that.

Okay, let's go Demetrius if we could kid him Mike.

Dimitrius Harvey with the Flourida Times Union of Liam. Just you were able to be here in Jacksonville during training camp, during joint practices, I'm curious what you were able to learn about maybe the team a little bit, and then obviously the facility and all that.

Great question to Metris. That was a huge opportunity for me to see this. I walked through these halls and oh my, this place is awesome, and you start to see it.

And then during the course of practice those few days, you're obviously.

Competing against the defense on.

One side of the field, and I kept hearing oohs and ahs on the other side, and you start to you go back and wash the tape and you see them throwing the football and BTJ going down the field and these guys making plays, and that was cool to see.

I got an opportunity to talk to Josh heinz Allen that day.

I got an opportunity to talk to Luke Fortner that day, Guys that I had had a you know, relationship with, if you will. Those were all little parts of this right where you got you have an opportunity to look back and say, man, that thing's got a shot, right, and that that gets you excited. And I think that that was the beginning, as you mentioned, of really looking at this as the opportunity that it became.

I'm curious to you sort of touched on it, But just from what you've seen from Afar about Trevor and the rest of the team, what do you sort of make of it? You know, heading into this sort of new chapter.

I've mentioned this to the guys, this isn't a four win team.

Yes, that is the that is the the record, but this is not a four win team.

Okay, how do we go.

From winning games to not losing them? I think that that's something we've got to address and that is got to be in our veins, our in our DNA. The culture of winning. I've learned it from the Los Angeles Rams and from a ton of other great organizations on how to go win football games, and.

So I think that that's something that it has.

We have to start as a team as a group and show how we're going to go do it straight ahead.

Joe with amrprom Wsad and Savannah. I have a question for Liam and for the owner. First, Liam, you can start working with with your team on April seventh, because you're a new head coach. What are you hoping to gain in that two week process.

That's a great question.

Culture first and foremost, like, what is the culture that we want to establish, the direction in which we're going to go and how we're going to get there, that's first and foremost. After we start to establish the standard and how we want to do things, then we'll get into the fundamentals and techniques in which we want to participate and play the game at Then you start to get into the scheme while continuing to educate and address the culture, the culture, the standards. And that's where it's going to all start, is when these guys get in the building, and it'll probably start before that with the staff building and trying to get this thing within the building itself.

Me and then Mark, oh ahead of course, Oh sorry, owner, what can you give us a quick update on the timeline for the GM search and like, is there a date, like an end all date, because you want to prepare for the NFL draft to be prepared.

I think that date is February twenty eighth. I believe that's the NFL mandated. I think our priority is obviously to get Liam settled in and you know, have him build his staff and then you know, start the search. But you know, we're hoping to be done by that date.

Yeah, Hi, Liam, nice to meet you. Me, Obrian Tenon xcel A lots of good How are you? A lot's been made about going back and forth between college and the pros. I know you've spoken about it before. How you feel play calling, getting those reps. That was what was paramount. That's why you moved back and forth. If you could just describe the last four or five years going back and forth and perhaps how strategically, maybe even this has set you up for this opportunity.

Here today, that's a great question.

The foundation of my career started in college and locker rooms in Maine and Brown and UMass, places that, let's be honest, don't have a ton of resources. So you learn kind of your DNA as a coach in some of those places, right, And then in the last few years, you get an opportunity to go coach in the National Football League, which has been the dream. Then you make a decision that ultimately was a little dicey at the time, I'll be honest. You go back to a place where you just had success and had a great opportunity to be at, but that was all done to go call plays again, right, And that was the experience that I kind of missed that year in LA. Knew why I was going to take that job, but ultimately probably underestimated some of the leadership that goes with calling plays and truly running the show on offense. Things have changed in the landscape of college football, right, that's we all know that. And when you start to have a young family, things change, your priorities change, and the National Football League does provide a little bit more of an opportunity to be a father and a h been and a friend. And that's kind of why we've done the back and forth for the last few years. But I'll be in the NFL hopefully for a while.

And one more just from me, Shot, at what point during the search did it become a parent that there needed to be a parting of ways with Trent and the organization?

Well, you know, after the ten video interviews were done and we were ready for that was a transition, transition point for me to reflect and what was the right thing for the organization. And that's when I decided that it was time for a change.

Okay, Mark, along with ap Shot, you were so matter of fact saying he's our guy and we got our guy. But like, there had to be some work on your end. That last Wednesday, Trent's out and I assume you got on the phone with Liam and convinced him to change his mind and get back to Jacksonville and let's get this done.

You know, Mark, one thing that was different about this search that I was directly involved with the candidates and their representatives. Okay, so you know I was involved with all of them specifically.

How did you How did you get that he was going back to Tampa? How did you get him on Wednesday night on the phone to change money at bactor Thursday?

Does say a lot about your conviction.

That he was never I mean I believe that, Yes, I believe he's the right person. And as I said earlier, I mean I'd heard a lot about him and then to get to meet him on video and why this I felt was just a great fit the Jaguars and Liam modern football and uh so you know that's how things went.

Dan, Let's go ahead, please, Dan Hickin tend to XL and CBS. Mister conn Liam, Welcome to Jacksonville. Shot. I'll start with you as you formed this front office, reports that you used Tony Boselli helped you out, and the coaches searched with you in the forefront. Is there a role for Tony going forward in the front office or no?

Well, you know we are going to have a position and you know we're checking with the league what the rules are when we have to follow and you know, and then we'll take it from there.

Okay, and Liam, real quick, welcome to Jacksonville. Just want to know how you were able to take a ground game that struggled in Tampa eighty yards a game, eighty eight yards a game and make it one of the best in the NFL in one year.

That's a great question. I think those guys at first started with their willingness and openness and a little bit of humility to not want to be at the at the bottom anymore.

That was the reality right last two years.

The previous two years, those guys they wanted more from themselves.

They wanted a.

Different respect level around their peers than around the NFL. And so all we did was come in with the mindset of it takes all eleven, all eleven to get better in the run game, Mike Evans Hall of Famer, digging out support on the front side of runs, selflessness, quarterback being involved, everybody being involved. And you started to show them examples of that. Whether it's in La Minnesota, whatever it is Green Bay, a ton of different places run a similar system and have had similar success running the football, which now also helps the past game. The defense the special teams, and so I think the buy in was pretty quick, but those guys knew it had to happen.

Rock please Mike Rocco with ESPN, Liam who has sort of been the people that have really influenced you in the way you call plays, the way you kind of design your offense, and you know obviously work with Sean McVay. So would you consider yourself part of the Sean McVay tree.

Definitely. Yeah.

I think it starts off with him my dad right here in terms of the mindset. He was a play call, an offense, offensive designer, you know, and he always instilled the player's overplays mentality. And then you go to Brown with Phil Estes to you mess with Mark Whipple and then continue to go and then yeah, I think getting to the rams in with Sean that was where I learned truly the game. I think in a lot of ways, right, I got my if you will, PhD in coaching and learned at a different level to be around him, the Kevin O'Connell's, the Zach Taylor's, those guys, the Matt Lafleurs, to be around them to see how they operated. This is the way I would like to do things. You're always going to have your own twist on it, but I'm proud to say I'm in the Sean mcvatrie.

Thanks for your patience, Brent.

Brent Martineau from CBS forty seven, Fox thirty Action Sports Shock Shot. Just begin with you. Do you regret three weeks ago not hitting the reset button with front office and coach? And over these last three weeks? Have you learned something different in this process maybe than previous processes.

You know, my goal is to do the right thing for the team, and you know I believe I'm doing that.

Have you learned anything in this process?

Every day is learning.

Okay.

If you're not learning, you're dying.

So life for me is about continuous improvement and continuous learning. Okay, I've learned a lot today. Okay, me too. Okay, Liam welcome, Okay, so let's it.

Please throw some easy questions like that.

Okay, Liam, welcome to Jacksonville. How much does what is a head factor into how you viewed this? Because obviously I have this year, but it's a limited capacity inside the stadium in twenty six, no home games in twenty seven, new stadium in twenty eight? Was that a part of the equation for you when you're looking at this job.

I've actually looked at that as an exciting part of this honestly. You know, my wife been in the military, born in the Philippines, moved all over her childhood. I've moved around a lot throughout this process and throughout my career here, so we're kind of used to that. Honestly, we embrace that and to try to bring home wins to Jacksonville. That is important to protect our home turf. It's going to be a little bit different, it's going to be a little complicated over the next few year years. But if we don't embrace that, then we have no shot, right if we can go start to build something that people are really proud of over these next two years. In year three, wherever we're playing, we want people to come and then to go into this next one that we're coming into. I mean, sky's the limits. So that's something that we're excited about.

Is that a mentality, by the way, to embrace even the London games and how much do you embrace the idea we're this team has played and at times played well over there.

My wife's favorite city, you know, it's a great place.

It's something cool, unique, different that ultimately, like I mentioned before, that you want to be a part of you want to be a part of change. You want to be a part of something unique, and that's what this opportunity does present.

It isn't the norm. Nothing about this has been the norm.

But that's really cool. That's really cool to be a part of that. And we're excited about it.

And front row straight ahead, Alessander.

Please, maam Alexander pomp brand news for Jacks. What about this team excites you the most?

I think the leadership first and foremost.

I believe that you look at Josh Heinz Allen the person, right, Trevor Lawrence the person. I mean, these guys have done unbelievable things throughout this community already, right, so we know and I know that I'm going to be going to work with unbelievable people first and foremost. Right, then you look at twenty draft picks over the next two years. Right, you look at some of the players already currently on the roster that did some great things this year. Well, everybody needs a coach, everybody needs a player, We need each other. And I am so looking forward to doing this collaboratively with them, with this staff, there's so many good pieces.

You got a rookie wide receiver that you can do a ton with.

You got two running backs that you can do so many good things with, and a defense that, man, they can go. We just got to put them in some of the better positions to be successful, and I think we can do that. Special teams what a great shining spot for you guys this year. We got to continue to do that and be special on special teams. There's so many good things about this roster, and like we mentioned before the future the next few years, that's truly what's exciting as well.

My fault you mentioned it earlier. How are you going to change this franchise into a consistently winning culture?

Starts with communication.

It starts with the alignment in communication at every level, right building first and foremost the best staff that we can build, because it's, like I mentioned, it's about these guys. So how do we put the best coaches in place to help these players reach their full abilities? Okay, now with the front office, how do we continue to build there and get this thing fully in alignment so that then when we go into the off season program. We're all on the same page. We all understand the vision and the goal. When I walked into the Los Angeles RAMS building in twenty eighteen, I had never felt anything like that before in my life. It was a different introduction to coaching. And you saw a building. Every single person that was in that building, and a part of that thing was in alignment.

And I think that's the key. Okay, we got room for two or three more.

We're going to go, John and then Hayes.

Liam, John Shipley on Sports Illustrated. Working for guys like Sean and Todd and Tampa. What did you learn from them? Just what it takes to be a leader of an entire program. That's a good one, John.

I think the vulnerability to be honest with yourself when you do make mistakes, being able to own up to them, to be able to move on. If we can all be honest with each other in this building, we'll be able to grow.

I think that's the first thing. The ownership.

The ownership's not just in the good times, it's truly in the adverse times. And how do we handle success while also being able to handle adversity.

Those were things that I learned from Sean.

We had to learn some hard We had a difficult season in twenty twenty two that formed us, that changed us. We've talked about that year and how difficult that was, but we're better from it. And so those experience is that ultimately helps mold who you are, what you're made of, and I hope to be able to bring that here as well.

Heyce, please congratulations gentlemen. Heyes, carline with ten ten xl shot. What's your vision in terms of putting the fifty three together and how much, say Liam will have in the construction of the team.

I think you know, obviously a head coach, he's the head coach, and you know we've never had a player come in here that the coaches didn't want, you know, so I think it's imperative that you know he's involved in every player coming in is someone he wants.

And then Liam once again, congratulations. How do you assess the lines of scrimmage here and where do you guys need to get better?

I think we would all you know, agree that it needs to improve, right. I think that when when you look at first and foremost the offensive side of the ball, you know you want that you in that group. It's the first thing when you break the huddle that the defense sees. I want that to mean something. We want that to mean something, and it will. And that's a mentality. That's personnel, that scheme, that's technique, that's fundamentals, that's attitude. That's something that we need to make sure we instill. And then on the defensive side of the ball, I think we all know that we've got some talented dudes there. We've got some guys that can really go. How do we continue to ensure the inside? But we got three We've got multiple guys up front that can do some good things. We've got to put them in a position to be successful.

That's our job. The guys are there.

We can continue to add in that room, right, add multiple different positions as well.

But that's where it starts.

As you mentioned, to go in playoff games and to go do it, you've got to be able to run the football and stop the run first and foremost,