Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen emphasizes an 'attacking' approach as the team begins its 2026 offseason program. Coen aims to enhance communication and relationships among players while focusing on individual and team development.
Key points
Liam Coen emphasizes an 'attacking' approach for the offseason.
Coaches and players are focusing on communication and relationships.
Injured players will use a virtual meeting room for mental reps.
Trevor Lawrence is expected to improve his pre-snap decision-making.
The Jaguars traded Maason Smith for Ruke Orhorhoro.
Mentioned in this story
Liam CoenTrevor LawrenceTravis HunterCole Van LanenJourdan LewisMaason SmithRuke Orhorhoro
Jacksonville JaguarsAtlanta Falcons
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen speaks during a press conference at the Miller Electric Center, Monday, April 20, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesJacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen speaks during a press conference at the Miller Electric Center, Monday, April 20, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Players are back in the building at the Miller Electric Center today as the Jacksonville Jaguars begin the first phase of their 2026 offseason workout program.
âFeels like the â26 season kinda gettinâ started- gettinâ a kickoff in a lot of ways,â head coach Liam Coen said to begin Mondayâs media availability.
âGreat to get them back because so much of the work that gets put in throughout the offseason with the coaches, you start to get sick of it,â Coen joked. âYou want to get some of that stuff put into practice is really what I mean, with fundamentals, techniques, concepts, three better/three best with our players. Like youâre kind of chomping at the bit.â
The coaching staff also receives âthree better/three bestâ offseason goals, and some of Coenâs own include continuing to trust those around him and not dwelling too much on past decisions that didnât work out.
As for the players, Coenâs initial message is all about attacking.
âWeâre attacking this offseason, and weâre attacking the details, weâre attacking our relationships, weâre attacking our communication, because thereâs new, thereâs change, thereâs different communications and relationships that need to be blended and matched. Pouring into each other from a details standpoint, I think thatâs going to be key and critical.â
Not much later, the Jaguarsâ social team posted Coenâs actual first speech to the players.
Not every current rostered player was present â attendance is voluntary at this stage â but Coen seemed pleased by the participation. âThe guys were locked in, answering questions in the meetings, very engaged in the team meeting.â
âWe just appreciate guys taking the time and anybody thatâs not here, itâs totally been communicated and understood. Thereâs no surprises. The guys are all seem like theyâre in a good place.â
When asked about the teamâs general health coming out of last season, Coen highlighted the facilityâs âvirtual meeting room,â where players like (LCL), (knee), and (foot) can simulate some of the on-field reps theyâll be missing.
âWeâre not expecting those guys to probably hit the grass this spring in competitive situations, but theyâre going to get a ton of reps. We expanded the downstairs with that virtual meeting room to make it a little bit more realistic. And so those guys are going to be able to utilize that room a lot of times during practice to be able to go get some mental reps and I think thatâs going to be huge for those guys this offseason.â
One player who *will* be healthy is quarterback , who didnât throw for much of last offseasonâs workout program due to a 2024 AC joint sprain that required surgery.
Coen wants to see Lawrence carry over his play from the end of last season â âthe expectation is, hey, we pick up there and letâs rollâ â so that every position group can level up. âThatâs something that is important for us, to go take a next step as a receiving group, as a tight end group, running backs. Everybody thatâs involved in the pass game specifically.â
âFor him, to be able to take that next jump of complete ownership, complete ownership of what weâre getting accomplished pre-snap, that whole operation, so we donât snap it under five [seconds], and then to be able to execute once you get the ball in your hands. Because look, so much happens for the quarterback, pre-and-post snap.â
âWe would like to be able to give him more ops to play faster, too. Thereâs that fine line between being in the perfect play, having a number of different cans and kills and alerts, versus âMan, letâs just call and run it, let those guys just go play.â And I think if anything, weâd like to lean more into that this spring.â
For each play that the quarterback goes to the line of scrimmage with the option to call, there are that many potential problems and solutions to think through before snapping the ball. âThat now makes the quarterback, âAlright, post-snap, Iâve got to have the three-deep answer, quarters answer, man answer too, and Iâve got to know where those are, and find a completion.â Sometimes when you live in the can and premier world, youâre almostâI donât want to say paralyzing the player, but youâre not letting them maybe be as creative as possible, and youâre dictating to him where the ball should go. So, itâs that balance.â
âIf he can take that growth of complete ownership this spring, Iâm excited about getting an opportunity to do it.â
To wrap up, Coen also commented on Jacksonvilleâs recent trade that sent to the for .
âI have a lot of respect for Maason Smith. I hope he has a heck of a career. He did nothing but what we asked him to do from a work ethic standpoint, from doing the right things and what we asked of him, and we felt like we had an opportunity to potentially get an ascending player that can provide a little bit in the rush.
âItâs hard to find big men that can move like that on the interior part of your defense without giving up in the run game. Thatâs something we want to continue to be top-notch at, which we were in the NFL this past season, but something we want to look at that Ruke gives us an opportunity toâbig man that can move, that can get in the rush plan as well and showed the ability to get to the quarterback a little bit. So that was something that we felt like was going to fit for us.â
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Q&A
What is Liam Coen's main message to the Jaguars for the 2026 offseason?
Liam Coen's main message is to adopt an 'attacking' approach, focusing on details, relationships, and communication.
Which players are expected to miss on-field reps during the Jaguars' offseason program?
Players like Travis Hunter, Cole Van Lanen, and Jourdan Lewis are expected to miss on-field reps due to injuries.
How does Coen plan to help quarterback Trevor Lawrence improve this offseason?
Coen wants Trevor Lawrence to take complete ownership of the offense and improve his pre-snap decision-making to enhance the team's overall performance.
What recent trade did the Jaguars make and who was involved?
The Jaguars traded Maason Smith to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Ruke Orhorhoro.
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