Liam Coen - Head Coach, jaguars Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-11 | Full transcript (primary source).
Liam Coen addressed the media during a press conference for the Jaguars on September 11, 2026, following the team's preparations for the upcoming NFL season. The session focused on the team's training regimen and the importance of maintaining focus and intensity as they transition from training camp to regular-season play.
Transcript
Coen: Yeah, I think so. I thought the guys went through the process of the work week the right way, game planning, the intentional work, the attention to detail. I thought they did a nice job of working through the work week and kind of getting back into that flow. It's a little bit of a different flow than training camp. And obviously, OTAs and all that, there's just a lot more detail that goes into each day, a lot more true focus and not being able to just, all right, take a rep to take a rep. Every single rep that we take within the course of a week is extremely important. And for the guys that aren't getting those reps to be extremely locked in and focused to take those mental reps, I've been pleased with the way the guys have come out this week.
Coen: No, I think you assume and understand it's probably not going to always be perfect. You have to go into it knowing that, yeah, it may not always be perfect, but it does have to be violent, and it does have to be physical. And we're all going to make mistakes, try to make them at a million miles an hour, and go play the next play. That's the mindset and mentality. It's trying not to focus on some of the anxieties or some of the things that could come up, where every player, every coach, is aware of those things in game one, but you try to just go and let these guys go play and move on.
Coen: Yeah, absolutely. I think he's really done some nice things over the last few days, especially, putting himself into some compromising positions and going through some hot practice days out here and getting some good work in. So I've been pleased with him. I know he's confident. He's starting to really feel better and better each and every day, and so we'll definitely take that up to game time.
Coen: Yeah, he's definitely, I think, taking a step in his understanding of the system, breaking the huddle, always knowing what he's doing, where he's going, working through some of the intricacies of each play and concept, the rapport between Trevor, obviously, and then Parker, BT, and those guys, I think has been amplified throughout the entire offseason program, those guys being on a better page, understanding what they're trying to really get accomplished on each and every play. Yeah, he doesn't make a ton of mental errors and mistakes, which is great, and so you can really, truly go focus on the ball and the details of route running, the concepts, the coverages. You can really pour into those things more, as opposed to, hey, this teaching each concept over and over again. He picks it up pretty quick.
Coen: I think there's always a little bit of a transition for any Rook going in and playing their first NFL game. I think the type of guys that we have, I think they'll be fine. You think that you look at the way they've performed in some of the joints and some of the competition in practice, I think they've raised their level of competition and been able to kind of rise up and do those things, which is nice, and when you have the right kind of dudes, the right competitors, they usually rise to the occasion. And so, are you counting on every single rookie to make every single play? And are you going out and dialing things up for all of them at all times? I mean, I don't know if that's the way things are going. You have to kind of get it in the flow of the game and make sure that those guys are settling in, but got a lot of confidence in these guys to go out and perform.
Coen: Yeah, a few times, for sure. Yeah, it's more so like you go back, like I went back and watched the Carolina game again, and by no means was it perfect, but you can make up for a lot when you play the game violently and you play the game as the aggressor. And typically you can maybe not overthink when you're just going out to play fast and to play violent and to go and be the aggressor. Maybe you're taking some of the anxiety out of it, you're taking some of the thinking out of it, and yeah, there may be some mistakes that we'll have to coach up, we all know that. That's why we're here or else we wouldn't have jobs. And so, not expecting all these guys to go out and perform perfectly, but the standard in the way that these guys are gonna go play will be violent.
Coen: We're still gonna work through that. Yeah, gonna still see it today and kinda continue to work through it.
Coen: Yeah, I did a little bit at UMass and Maine, and actually at Brown we had a fullback. I think that you watched last night's tape of San Fran and see them use Use Check and some of the different things that you can do to create an extra gap in the run game, specifically. It's a different body type, which in some of the, with the kickoff and kickoff return, that body type can function in those areas now, whereas before it was starting to go away a little bit because of the space, the amount of space that they're playing in and some of those body types. I think that they can continue to fit. I know that a lot of teams like to use a fullback to elicit maybe a run defense in order to throw the football, right? I mean, Buffalo's used one for years now. They continue to find different body types to use in those settings. I have an appreciation for the position for sure, but we just don't really have that exact body type on our team right now that I'm hunting up using. I prefer to, all right, you can take a tight end and maybe put them back there and be able to use some of those similar skill sets, but I definitely think with the kickoff rules, you can get a true fullback out there to play on special teams. I think Seattle's got a damn good fullback that's like their best special teams player for those guys in their phases. So I think that's where it starts. Like can the guy play in space? Can he play on teams while also being able to contribute to the offense?
Coen: Yeah, I mean, I think my typical routine on Fridays, like today after we cut out of here for the day, I mean, I'm gonna go in the ocean. I mean, I'm going in the ocean. Like every Friday in the evenings, five o'clock, six o'clock, I'm gonna usually be out there and that's kind of my wussa time. That's a little bit of the time to go hang out with my kids and go for a swim, go hang out and get away from it a little bit. And usually that kind of helps me get a little bit centered and to be able to wake up on Saturday morning and just feel fresh, feel confident, feel calm. I would have already had my meeting with Trevor. We do that today after practice to kind of go through the priority calls, go through the call sheet, go through what we really like, maybe want to hold for second half calls, whatever it is. Once I have that meeting done with him, that's when I feel like, okay, I can maybe take a deep breath, go relax with the family and then kick it off tomorrow.
Coen: It is. I think as an assistant, probably did not do it enough. Didn't get away from my desk enough throughout the day to go work out and to go take a walk, like go bop around and just kind of keep moving a little bit as opposed to you can get stuck in front of a screen and watch too much football and watch too much tape. There is such a thing. And so I think as a head coach, well, you make the schedule, you make the time. If you don't do it, there's nobody else to blame. There's nowhere else to look. So I think that that's been a positive for me personally, because you can, especially as the head coach and play caller, like you can live and die by every call. You can just pour yourself into it a little bit, especially when you're a coordinator, regardless of being a head coach, you put a lot on yourself to help put these guys in a position to succeed. And when it doesn't work, yeah, you take it personal. And so to be able to take the time is necessary without question. I don't really believe in balance, but I do believe in the priorities of what you do believe in and what can help you maybe come to a little bit more of a centered mindset.
Coen: That's huge, man. I think our training staff, strength, athletic training, sports science are second to none. And they have worked tirelessly throughout this off season with Cole, both obviously on the grass while they're doing some of the work in the weight room, in the training room, but also in the mindset part of it and continuing to encourage, to be honest when necessary and needed, to obviously have them potentially available at this time is huge. I mean, it's a testament to the work that he's put in, but also to the support staff that we have that I truly believe in. And I think that these guys, they do it at a high level.
Coen: That was part of our team meeting this week in terms of just, hey, where's he at? And what are the possibilities of what you could get if you just, you don't know quite where they're gonna put him, all that stuff, but you know, all right, he's in the game. Let's have an alert for what could possibly come. Am I to his side? Am I away from his side? What could be the possible gadgets or different ways that they try to get the ball in his hands? I have a lot of respect for him as a player coming out of A&M. I mean, we had a lot of like for him personally and in this building. So I have a lot of respect for him. Hopefully as a pro, right? I think, you know, we gotta be aware. We absolutely have to be aware.
Coen: Yeah, just with, I think first and foremost, body language and demeanor starts there. Like any Rook usually, you know, it comes in unless you're LeQuinn. You know, a little bit more head and eyes down. Like, you know, you're just trying to stay in your lane in ways and not necessarily get you know, always be in the mix. And I think that's what I mentioned to him this spring was like, I just see him walking around the halls more with his head up and saying hello to people and being engaged. And then I thought he had a really good spring. And the last two joints really is where I've kind of seen that growth of do just when you hit it and you hit the hole and it might not always be perfect in terms of what it looks like. But when he just sticks his foot in the ground and goes, good things usually happen, right? I mean, he's strong, he's got a center of gravity that I appreciate and he can roll. I mean, he can flat out roll. So when he is playing decisive and firm and doesn't second guess himself or overthink it, that's where I've seen some growth out of him is and really schematically as well. I mean, in the protections and understanding the run concepts and some of the schemes and the motions and things that we ask our backs to do. And I think he's, Chad does a great job coaching those guys up, but I've been very pleased with Tuten's progression.
Coen: Yeah, I mean, I'm confident in it. I think that these guys are eager to get it going again and to go put it on tape. Like some of the adjustments things we've done over the off season, the course, whether it be fundamentals, techniques, scheme, concepts, whatever it is, at the end of the day, it takes all 11 to run the football. Everybody's got a role to play in that. Our receivers need to go put it on tape. Our tight ends need to go put it on tape. Our quarterback's got to continue to put us in and out of the right calls and get us into some of those positions and I'm eager to see what it's gonna look like, right? I mean, I think you always are gonna have to have and strive for balance in your whatever's working, you wanna try to go with and continue to work with. But I'd like to be able to stay balanced throughout a course of a game. Whatever's happening, let's keep staying the course. Just keep staying the course and not bounce around. Okay, that didn't work. Let's move on to the next, right? Like, hey, man, it was really, what was the reason why it wasn't as successful for whatever reason? And let's get it fixed and come back and continue to reload it. So just having more patience as well.
Coen: I think it's very similar. You know, it was great yesterday, being out at practice, you know, it was 12, 30 or so. So it was very similar to kickoff time. The sun, you know, the sun on some of the kicking games specifically were things that we were working on and talking through yesterday, you know, was specifically on the punt returns in that way. So we typically try to, especially early on in September, October, practice at a similar time to when game would be kicked off. I haven't noticed anything or heard anything from the stadium that would be much different, but the guys were aware of it, especially yesterday.
Coen: Yeah, I would think so. I mean, I think that, you know, you're going to continue to try to get him in positions that he can do things that he's good at, right? Like that's what we're trying to do. I mean, those are different ways of getting him the football while also letting them just go play too. It doesn't always going to go scheme to him when he's in the game, right? Like he's a damn good blocker. He can run routes in terms of maybe the ball is not schemed up to go to him and still get open and still have a chance to play. I'm not obviously having a count in my head with how many plays and what we're exactly going to do with them, but he definitely will play both.
Coen: Yeah, he's the guy right now, absolutely. We've messed around with a couple other guys being able to catch punts back there and be able to do some different things. You know, at some point here, Travis will get some of that stuff too. You know, like we have to continue to put him in positions to get the ball in his hands and see what that looks like. And, you know, right now it's Parker though, absolutely.
