JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are back in the building and back to work, ready for Year 2 of the Liam Coen era with some much-needed familiarity back, too.
At this time last year, the Jaguars were in the beginning stages of a franchise overhaul that included a new head coach (Coen), general manager (James Gladstone) and executive vice president of football operations (Tony Boselli). There were new faces all over the building, and a mountain of uncertainty along with it.
“I think that’s a big part of it is just when it’s your first time with a new staff and new players, coaches, all those things, when it’s all new, there is a level of just discomfort I would say,” said quarterback Trevor Lawrence. “And you don’t really know how things are going to go or what the schedule’s going to be and you haven’t built the relationships yet with all the new staff to where you know each other really well.”
Jacksonville is coming off a 13-4 season and AFC South title in Coen’s first season. The expectations are certainly raised across the franchise. Lawrence was an MVP finalist. Coen was runner-up for the coach of the year to New England’s Mike Vrabel. Can the encore outshine the original? Coen said the benefit of this season is that the foundation has already been laid, and now is the time to build on it
“It’s huge. Mentioned that this morning to the guys that we have to attack our relationships, the communication, the way that we operate with each other on a day-to-day basis,” Coen said.
“Because there are new faces, there’s a lot of familiar, which is great, continuity, which is awesome, but we have to attack our relationships in the way that we approach every single day at a high clip for us to be able to go where we want to go.”
How do they build off last year?
For the longest time, Jacksonville felt like a locker room that was destined to always come up short. Losses or bad luck felt pre-ordained. Ex head coach Doug Pederson was asked about that situation time and again. The Jaguars just didn’t know how to win, especially when the intensity of games cranked up in the second half. The Jaguars lost an NFL-record 10 one-score games in Pederson’s final year in 2024. They were 6-3 in one-score games under Coen and ended the regular season on an eight-game winning streak.
“I’ve heard the word ‘win’ a lot, guys are telling me, I just want to win some games,” Coen said. “And so, if we have a ‘we above me’ mentality, which I believe that room of guys does, and they do it the right way, you can definitely feel maybe a little bit more confidence in the standard and confidence in the continuity of how we operate.”
Confidence is elevated
At this point last year, Lawrence hadn’t even started a full throwing regimen after shoulder surgery. The offense was coming off an awful season and the defense was one of the league’s worst. Owner Shad Khan hired Coen, who hadn’t been a coach at any level of football. Coen tabbed 29-year-old Grant Udinski as the offensive coordinator and Anthony Campanile as the defensive coordinator. Neither Udinski nor Campanile had ever served as a coordinator.
Fast forward to now, and both Udinski and Campanile both made the rounds for head coaching jobs in the offseason. Opposing coaches have raved about Udinski’s football makeup. Under Campanile, the Jaguars defense was excellent against the run and forcing takeaways. That’s a 180 from how Jacksonville entered the 2025 offseason.
“When I can come into a situation knowing that I’m coming in and giving it my all and I’ve got a coach that’s speaking to me, giving it his all, it’s a recipe for success,” edge Josh Hines-Allen said. “Not only do I feel like that, but all the other players as well. So, we love Camp, we’re going to fight for him. Now we kind of know what he’s about, and it just brings the love and trust a little bit further.”
Lawrence on Etienne pronunciation
Lawrence joked that even he was surprised about former running back Travis Etienne’s disclosure that people had been pronouncing his name wrong for years. When Etienne signed with New Orleans, he revealed that his name is actually pronounced “Achane” and not “E-T-N”.
Even the Jaguars listed his pronunciation as E-T-N. Lawrence said that since he arrived at Clemson a year after Etienne did, he wasn’t aware it was pronounced differently. Etienne told Clemson teammates his freshman season how to say it correctly, but wound up rolling with the latter pronunciation.
“I was like, I’ve known him for eight years and didn’t even know that … I guess he didn’t mind too much,” Lawrence said.
Injury updates: Lewis, Hunter, Van Lanen
The Jaguars have limited on-field work planned for three starters; offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen (knee); cornerback Jourdan Lewis (foot) and two-way player Travis Hunter (knee).
Lewis played in 12 games before suffering a foot injury that required surgery. Hunter suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice that needed surgery. Van Lanen injured his knee in the regular season finale against the Titans.
“We’re not expecting those guys to probably hit the grass this spring in competitive situations, but they’re going to get a ton of reps [in virtual meeting rooms],” Coen said. “I think that’s going to be huge for those guys this offseason.”
Team picks up option on OT Anton Harrison
As expected, the Jaguars picked up the fifth-year option on right tackle Anton Harrison. He was the No. 27 overall pick in 2023. Teams have until May 1 to exercise fifth-year options on players who were selected in the first round of the ‘23 draft. Fifth-year options are fully guaranteed.
According to Pro Football Focus, Harrison graded out as the 34th-best right tackle last year.