JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s a new era for the Jaguars. Fans saw that throughout the spectacular turnaround authored by head coach Liam Coen.
It was furthered reinforced during Thursday night’s NFL Honors ceremony where Jacksonville players and Coen dotted the broadcast and made the interview rounds leading up to it.
Recommended Videos
There were no awards coming home for the Jaguars, although both Coen and Trevor Lawrence made good showings in their categories. Coen finished as runner-up for Coach of the Year (New England’s Mike Vrabel topped Coen), and Lawrence was fourth in voting for Comeback Player of the Year and fifth in voting for MVP.
“So proud to be able to coach this team in general this year. It was a fun year. You want a different result, but our process, I’m very proud of,” Coen told the NFL Network.
“And Trevor to be able to be the leader that he’s been for us, for our team, the way that he played for the second half of the season, using his legs as a weapon. There was a lot of guys playing good football, and he was right up there with the best. And for him to be honored for some of these awards, I mean, that’s what you do this for, truly.”
Lawrence was an extreme longshot in both, but just being a finalist was a nod of respect to the quarterback and the franchise. He played the best football of his career over the second half of the season, leading Jacksonville on an eight-game winning streak and division title. It was the type of football Jacksonville expected when they took Lawrence No. 1 overall in 2021 but had only seen in small samples. Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski helped develop Lawrence into an MVP candidate and a true franchise quarterback.
He finished third in the NFL in total touchdowns (38) and fifth in passing yards (4,007).
The next challenge will be seeing that production from Lawrence over the course of a full season. The last time he played at an elite level comparable to what fans saw in 2025 was the second half of his sophomore season in Jacksonville. Lawrence was one of the league’s top 10 quarterbacks during that second half, capped by wining the AFC South and an epic playoff game against the Chargers.
Despite an 8-3 start in 2023, he never looked fully comfortable and dealt with a rash of injuries as Jacksonville missed the playoffs. The 2024 season was an outright disaster and ended with Lawrence on injured reserve and undergoing shoulder surgery. With Coen and Udinski back in 2026 to help developing Lawrence, the ascent should, optimistically, continue for the sixth-year player.
For Coen, who had never been a head coach at any level of football before the Jaguars hired him to replace Doug Pederson, led a massive turnaround in Jacksonville. The Jaguars were 4-13 in Pederson’s final season. Coen guided Jacksonville to a 13-4 record and AFC South title.
The Jaguars lost 27-23 to the Bills in the AFC wild-card round, but the season was a massive success. When asked what advice Coen would give to himself, he said to soak up everything from colleagues but stay true to what you know.
“I think you you work with so many great coaches, and you’re around so many people, and they impact and influence your life and and your character, your coaching philosophies, but truly stay true to yourself,” he said.