An unusual hiring process appears to be coming to an end as the Jacksonville Jaguars are making Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen their next head coach, per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.
The Jaguars have a verbal agreement in place with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, per sources. Pending the negotiation of a formal contract, Coen will be their next head coach. Simply put, what Jacksonville put in front of Coen was too much to walk away from.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 24, 2025
Coen initially withdrew from consideration for the Jaguars' head coach position on Wednesday after reportedly agreeing to a contract that would make him the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL. Following Coen's withdrawal, the Jaguars parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke despite initially retaining him at the end of the season when they fired Doug Pederson.
The hiring process took an unusual turn of events when Coen re-entered himself into consideration for the position after Baalke's firing. Coen met with the Jaguars on Thursday for an interview, and the Buccaneers were reportedly unable to contact Coen as he spoke with the Jaguars.
Per reports from Adam Schefter and Josina Anderson, the Buccaneers could not reach Coen. Schefter later added that Coen did reach out to Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles to notify him he was interviewing with the Jaguars again. According to Breer, his record contract with the Buccaneers was contingent on him not interviewing with the Jaguars again.
After a messy process, the Jaguars have finally gotten their guy.
Coen emerged as a head coaching candidate in this year's cycle after his success leading the Buccaneers offense during the 2024 season. Under Coen's guidance, the Buccaneers offense ranked top-four in total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, and points per game. He also helped quarterback Baker Mayfield to the best season of his career, as Mayfield threw for a career-high 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns.
In Jacksonville, Coen will primarily be tasked with improving the play of quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars' offense. The 2021 No. 1 pick has had flashes of brilliance, but has yet to find the consistency that made him a generational talent coming out of Clemson. Along with Lawrence, Coen will have strong pieces to work with in Brian Thomas Jr. and Tank Bigsby.
The Buccaneers will now lose an offensive coordinator for the second season in a row, after Dave Canales left to become the Carolina Panthers head coach last season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jaguars Hiring Liam Coen As Coach After He Reversed Decision on Buccaneers.