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Coach Liam Coen is eager to analyze the Jacksonville Jaguars' Week 1 opponent as he prepares for the 2026 season. He plans to start reviewing the matchup soon after rookie camp practice.
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Liam Coen can't wait to dig into Jacksonville Jaguars' Week 1 opponent
By the time you read this, coach Liam Coen will likely have the Jacksonville Jaguarsâ 2026 schedule in his possession. Tough stretches. Manageable sections. Prime-time appearances. Short weeks. And, of course, the season opener.
After the Jaguars' rookie camp practice on May 8, I asked Coen how soon will he start digging into the Week 1 opponent?
âRelatively quickly,â he said. âIt just gives you something a little bit competitive to build on and start to just get your mind going.â
For that reason, the lid-lifter is often the most fascinating regular-season game of the year from a schematic standpoint. Coen was talking 18 weeks and one day from the Jaguarsâ projected Sept. 13 opener and he couldnât wait to start his research.
Awesome, right?
Imagine Coen in his second-floor office at the Jaguarsâ facility, the big projector screen fired up and clicker in his hand, starting to plot ways to start 1-0 for the second consecutive season.
(Oh, to be in that room as an observer. Last October, I was in that office as he rewound, paused, rewound, fast-forwarded, and paused one Jaguars offensive play. I was furiously writing notes without looking down at my pad because I didnât want to miss one of his points.)
The offseason program can have a Groundhog Day feel to it. The returning players are learning the same plays as they were last year. There is no hitting. And Week 1 seems so far away.
But starting to plan for the opener?
âI think it just gives you a little of excitement,â Coen said.
It sure does.
Coenâs rationale for getting a head start on Week 1 is clear: When the Jaguars open training camp in late July, the first several weeks are all about them. Re-installing the systems. Callousing up the players by working them in pads. Evaluating the players in front of the coaches, not the opponent down the road.
The specific opponent for the Jaguars' Week 1 of the 2026 season has not been disclosed yet.
Liam Coen mentioned he will start digging into the Week 1 opponent relatively quickly to build a competitive mindset.
The exact date for the Jaguars' 2026 season opener has not been provided in the article.
Coen considers tough stretches, manageable sections, prime-time appearances, and short weeks when analyzing the schedule.
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âYour focus, itâs so internal,â Coen said. âEverything is self-scout and worrying about ourselves and I want to keep that focus the same.â
The offseason program, though, isnât a race against time. There is no game coming up. To that end, Coen will spice up the voluntary workouts (and next monthâs mandatory minicamp) by presenting potential looks from their Week 1 opponent.
More from O'Halloran: Why new Jaguars WR Ben Patterson picked NFL rookie camp over graduation
âYou start diving into it and we can start to almost incorporate it into our offseason program,â he said. âAlright, letâs throw some stuff (at the players) that we know weâre going to install. And there may be something that pops up on tape that we would know weâre going to run in Week 1 â well, letâs start to sprinkle that in throughout the offseason and see what that looks like. Maybe even throw it up against some of the looks that could be presented.â
Week 1 is usually the time for exotic coverages and pressures thrown at an offense early in the game or throughout on gotta-have-it downs.
To that end âŠ
âI would say toward the end of minicamp, weâll do âBPUâ (blitz pick-ups) against all of our Week 1 opponentâs pressures,â Coen said. âWe will script them and rep them out here without (the Jaguars players) knowing.â
Well, they know now!
Coen has been an NFL play-caller in two previous season openers and the results should encourage Jaguars fans regardless of who they play and where they play in Week 1.
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneersâ offensive coordinator in 2024, Coen directed a 37-20 home win over the Washington Commanders.
The Commandersâ defense had no answers (although they would get their revenge in a wild-card round win over Tampa Bay).
The Buccaneers were 9 of 13 on third down, gained 392 yards on 61 plays, scored on seven of their eight possessions (not including a kneel-down to end the game) and had players with 83, 75 and 61 yards receiving. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 146.4 rating. Tampa Bay built a 23-7 lead and never trailed.
In his Jaguarsâ head-coaching/play-calling debut last September, Coen directed a 26-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The Jaguars gained 378 yards on 63 plays, rushed 32 times for 200 yards and never trailed while building a 23-3 lead. Interesting to me was how Coen kept it simple personnel-wise, using only two groupings â â11â (three-receiver, one-running back and one-tight end) and â12â (two-receiver, two-tight end and one-running back) â in the first three quarters.
On the Jaguarsâ first drive, three players had rushing attempts, tight end Brenton Strange caught three passes for 49 yards and receiver Travis Hunter two for 20 yards.
Coenâs brief track record is of Week 1 offensive production and around 8 p.m. on May 14, Jaguars fans get fired up about how he will attack this yearâs opening opponent.
Contact OâHalloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Thursday (1:15 p.m. in âXL Primetime") and a new two-hour show every Friday ("The Lead," from 4-6 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Liam Coen ready to dig into Jaguars' Week 1 opponent once it's revealed