Liam Coen didn’t blink when asked what he saw in Trevor Lawrence. It wasn’t arm talent or athleticism alone. It was something more familiar. “You see a lot of the same intangibles (between Lawrence and Baker Mayfield),” the new Jaguars Head coach said, drawing a parallel between the old No. 1 pick in Jacksonville and the quarterback he coached in Tampa Bay. To some, that may seem an odd comparison. But to Coen, the similarity is in the nuances. How they prepare, the urgency they apply in the field, and the passion they exhibit behind closed doors.

Grit, however, won’t be enough to cure Jacksonville’s persistent problems. And in a frank discussion on The Eu & Deivson Nascimento Show, Trevor Lawrence spoke to them straight up about chemistry with wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. “Last year, I mean, we didn’t really get to play that much together.,” Lawrence said. “I missed half the season or a little bit more than half the season. He missed a little bit of time in the first half of the season. So, it was kind of weird. I feel like we didn’t really get going, like get our connection going last year, fully, uh, before I was hurt.”

Trevor Lawrence, who‘s recovering from a rough, injury-plagued season in which he played only 10 games, completed 2,045 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, and had a QBR of 59.5. His passer rating (85.2) spoke of a quarterback struggling, even as he recovered from a shoulder injury, a concussion, and a mid-season reboot.

That disjointed beginning is now at the forefront of the Jaguars’ 2025 rebuilding effort on offense. Though Thomas Jr. showed flashes of All-Pro ability in Year 1, quarterback-wideout chemistry lagged behind. “You kind of restart in some ways because you have a new offense, new scheme,” Lawrence added. “But I really feel like we’re starting to get that chemistry down.” It’s a low-key concession but a telling one. In all the ballyhoo about Thomas Jr., Jacksonville’s biggest priority this camp is repairing a relationship that never really took off.

Lawrence dove deeper into that process, explaining how every spring rep is now handled like a game rep under Coen’s regime. “Being on the same page on all the one-on-one opportunities, like treating all those like those are our plays and we got to go make them.” he said. “So, we have to be on the same page on every situation. So I can throw with anticipation….. we’ve taken some big steps.” The best news for Jaguars fans is that there is still time in training camp to wrap up. But to Lawrence, it’s obvious: this isn’t just about building chemistry, it’s also about recovery and urgency.

That sense of urgency is what makes Coen’s hiring feel pertinent. A year ago in Tampa, the 39-year-old offensive coordinator assisted Baker Mayfield in reviving his career by focusing on speed reads, tempo control, and layered passes to create the most spacing. The system didn’t require Mayfield to be a superhero, it required him to be surgical. In Jacksonville, Coen wants to see Lawrence ride the same developmental curve, even if the personalities are different.

Liam Coen asks Trevor Lawrence to learn from Baker Mayfield

The Jaguars’ new head coach imported that same footwork-first, mobility-driven playbook to Jacksonville, and he’s already drawing up the blueprints. “So much of what worked for us last year with Baker was his running ability, making plays,” Coen said at training camp. ”Our defense doesn’t give you the No. 1 read open all the time, so he needs to work on it.” That focus on improvisation and progression reads is a stark departure from the cleaner college-style situations Lawrence experienced with Doug Pederson.

And Coen’s point of reference for excellence? The same Mayfield who set defenses ablaze in 2024 with a 106.8 passer rating and 378 rushing yards. The same Mayfield who has more combined passing TDs over the last two seasons (69) than anyone else in the NFL.

But Coen isn’t necessarily invoking Mayfield as a model; he’s attempting to follow the blueprint. What succeeded in Tampa is being reconfigured for an arguably more talented arm in Lawrence. But whereas the physical ceiling in Jacksonville can be higher, the mental approach is where Coen is working hardest. “We’re working the heck out of progression drills,” he said. “And also, hey, man, like, let’s get used to using your legs as a weapon a little bit too. Like, you can run.” In Tampa, Mayfield converted broken pockets into scrambles and outlet passes into sideline verse. It meant that despite 16 interceptions, he kept the Bucs offense running…literally. For Coen, the same instinctual creativity is missing from Lawrence’s current game.

And it isn’t solely about Lawrence. Rookie Travis Hunter is the other wild card in this new-look attack. A dynamic two-way talent, Hunter is being used in offensive packages early, and Coen has already seen glimmers. “I thought when he had the ball in his hands and he operated, he operated at a high level,” Coen said. That versatility could mimic what Chris Godwin brought to Tampa’s slot-heavy scheme, just with more vertical juice.

If Hunter clicks and Lawrence absorbs the Mayfield-like urgency Coen is teaching. Jacksonville’s gamble on a new coach and a generational athlete might just pay off. After all, the last time Coen had so much say, Mayfield revived his career. Now, Lawrence is up next.