Jaguars head coach Liam Coen oversaw a major turnaround in his first season with the team, but the ending was still a bitter one in Jacksonville.
The Jags went from 4-13 to winning the AFC South with a 13-4 record, but a Josh Allen touchdown run with a minute to play and a Trevor Lawrence interception on the next play meant that the Bills got a road win in the first round of the playoffs. On Monday, Coen said that the final chapter sent a clear message about how much they accomplished last season.
“This team understands there was meat left on the bone,” Coen said, via the team’s website.
Coen said that the way the Jaguars “attacked this offseason is representative of that hunger” and noted the number of players who remained on the field after Monday’s practice as an indication of that commitment.
“It has become a standard,” Coen said. “It has become something that we don’t have to ask them to do anymore. We don’t have to necessarily encourage it. They’re doing it and they’re taking the time out of there, rest and recovery, to go get some extra reps. That’s important.”
The Jaguars jumped from also-rans to division winners in Doug Pederson’s first year as head coach in 2022, but they weren’t able to take the next steps. That led to Coen taking over last year and he’ll need to avoid the same plateau if he wants to assure himself of a longer run in Jacksonville.
