At the Pro Bowl, Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield was asked about that initial Facetime call with now Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
“I left him on read for a little bit, just like he left me on read,” Mayfield said. “I made him beg. It was good. I know people are going to be upset about it, but for him, Ashley, and their kids, you can’t argue with that decision. I can’t be mad at that. As much as I would want to have him still here, it is what it is. Life goes on, and I’m happy for him.”
#Bucs Pro Bowl QB Baker Mayfield on Liam Coen FaceTiming him and the OLine in the Bahamas to tell him he was taking the Jaguars HC job. “I left him on red a little bit,” he said. But Mayfield understood it was an opportunity Coen couldn’t pass. pic.twitter.com/6mQPiCXbjq
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) February 1, 2025
As has been well documented by now, the Bucs offered to make Coen among the highest-paid coordinators in football, which he initially agreed to and withdrew his name from the Jaguars’ job opening.
However, before signing that new deal with Tampa Bay, Coen would end up taking that second interview with Jacksonville, and from there, things moved quickly with him then becoming the next Jaguars’ head coach.
“It started to become more clear every hour that this was an opportunity you can’t pass up, for so many different reasons,” Coen said. “And you ultimately want to do what’s truly best for you and your family, and that’s what this came down to.”
In his one season with the Bucs, Coen helped build one of the more effective offenses in football, with Tampa Bay ranking top-five in scoring, passing yards per game, and rushing yards per game.
At the top of his to-do list in Jacksonville will be putting quarterback Trevor Lawrence in a position to find that kind of success.
