The Jacksonville Jaguars are building on their last season’s 13-4 record and are top of the AFC South division this season, with a record of 4-2. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has credited much of this success to his head coach, Liam Coen. But in his praise of the current head coach, he might have indirectly thrown shade at former Jags HCs Urban Meyer and Doug Pederson.
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“Yeah, definitely,” Lawrence answered when asked if Coen has taught him more than ever about football on the Backyard Breaks podcast. “I mean, especially up to this point, now that I have a year and a half with this staff. It’s just the way the system is run. It’s different from any system I’ve had.”
Lawrence continued with the notion, saying that he didn’t know about the different “defensive recognition and structures and protections,” and also talked about the lack of fundamental football knowledge before Coen took the helm.
“And my past systems were a lot different. They didn’t put quite as much on the quarterback’s plate in terms of multiple plays called in the huddle, all the adjustments in the run game, and all the protection adjustments. I had some of that in my other systems, which got me a little bit prepared for this, but this is a whole other layer of how to diagnose the defense and what you’re looking for.”
Lawrence was a star quarterback coming out of Clemson, having led the Tigers to a National Championship in that stint. He was drafted No. 1 by the Jaguars, to eventually be their franchise quarterback. Unfortunately, the QB struggled immensely in his rookie year, racking up 17 interceptions.
The Athletic’s Mike Jones reported that Lawrence’s rookie season was “handicapped” by “toxicity and dysfunction” during Meyer’s stint.
Doug Pederson took over after Meyer. While the first two seasons went well under Pederson, with Lawrence earning his Pro Bowl honor in 2022 and the team posting two winning seasons (9-8), 2024 marked Pederson’s last season with the team.
Then came last year, when Coen took charge of the Jaguars. This was when things started changing for Lawrence, and for the team. While it looked like another down season for the Jaguars, with the team being 5-4 in the first nine games, the second half had a different story written all over again. The Jaguars went 8-0, and Lawrence found his mojo again.
Lawrence also admitted last month that there “is that comfort in the relationship piece” of the game, between him and Coen. That relationship has perhaps played a part in Lawrence sitting tied for the most touchdowns (14) in the league this season.
Now, with the Jaguars going for another playoff season, Coen trusts his players more than ever. That was seen in the message he gave for the bye week after a 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans.
“To be six weeks in and to feel confident that your team is going to respond, that we’re made of the right stuff to respond,” he said. “We have so much football left that you’re excited about getting things corrected.”
The Jaguars will now play against the Indianapolis Colts next.