When Shad Khan announced Liam Coen as the new HC of the Jacksonville Jaguars, he didn’t hold back. “To repeat my message earlier this week, I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville… That’s why I took swift and decisive action this week to hire Liam Coen,” Khan said. But fast forward to Coen’s first game as HC, a preseason loss to the Steelers (31-25), and suddenly, the vibe didn’t quite match the hype. Sure, there were flashes of promise, young guys making plays, the offense moving the ball, but the bigger takeaway? Something wasn’t clicking.

Now, with the season approaching, two issues demand attention: The Jaguars need Liam Coen to clean up lingering problems, especially after communication breakdowns surfaced in that preseason loss. And hovering over everything? Trevor Lawrence’s uneven camp could make or break this season. The pressure’s on. So what exactly went wrong?

The warning signs flashed early during Jacksonville’s preseason opener. While the final score (31-25 Steelers) meant little, the sloppy execution meant everything. Analysts Brent Martineau and Austen Lane didn’t hold back on Action Sports Jax. “Gotta do a better job with communication,” Martineau stressed. “That’s the number one thing. It’s everywhere, even sideline operation. When you’re struggling with the vanilla stuff, that’s a real concern.”

The troubling part? These breakdowns happened while running basic preseason schemes. As Lane pointed out, “If you’re having trouble communicating in the very vanilla stuff, how much of a red flag is that?” When your offense can’t execute the fundamentals, the fancy plays won’t matter.

We saw it on the field – a promising 44-yard opening drive derailed by two careless penalties in just 13 snaps. What should’ve been seven points became three, and Coen’s post-game frustration was palpable. At Monday’s presser, he made it clear this goes beyond X’s and O’s: “Until we don’t beat ourselves, we’re not going to consistently beat anybody.”

For a coach brought in to elevate Trevor Lawrence’s game, these early stumbles raise tough questions. Coen turned Baker Mayfield around in Tampa by fixing these exact issues. Now Jacksonville needs him to work that same magic – and fast. But here’s the problem nobody’s talking about yet. Coen can fix all the communication issues in the world, but none of it matters if Trevor Lawrence doesn’t find his groove. And right now? That’s looking like the Jaguars’ biggest question mark of all…

Trevor Lawrence’s camp struggles cast long shadows

Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report perfectly captured the Jaguars’ situation when he pegged them as this season’s ultimate boom-or-bust team. Everything hinges on Trevor Lawrence. In the best-case scenario? “Trevor Lawrence finally comes through thanks in part to the tutelage of a new regime and the emergence of young talents Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr.,” Gagnon wrote. “The Jags win the AFC South.” That’s exactly why Jacksonville brought in Coen – the coach who helped resurrect Baker Mayfield’s career last season.

But there’s a flip side to this coin. What if Lawrence continues to struggle? Gagnon’s worst-case scenario doesn’t mince words after the camp: “Lawrence again struggles with consistency and/or durability, the defense remains a liability following a lack of improvements, and the team as a whole fails to adapt to considerable offseason changes.”

We’re seeing both possibilities unfold in real time at camp. There are days when Lawrence looks like his old self – his throws crisper, his decision-making sharper under Coen’s guidance. But then there’s the lingering concern about his durability after back-to-back seasons cut short by injuries. Every time he takes a hit, the entire organization holds its breath.

The Jaguars have done everything possible to set Lawrence up for success. They rebuilt the offensive line and added explosive playmakers. They hired a QB whisperer. Now it’s on Lawrence to prove he’s still the franchise cornerstone they believed in when they drafted him. As Gagnon noted, this team should compete for the division either way – but whether they’re legitimate contenders depends entirely on which version of their quarterback shows up.

The unsettling truth? We might not know the answer until the games start counting. And by then, the season could already be slipping away.