An important part of Liam Coen’s new job description as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars will be maximizing quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s abilities.
As Lawrence himself said, a top priority this offseason will be staying healthy, but in 2024, his completion rate took a hit and his turnover-worthy play rate has increased each year since 2022, while his passer rating has decreased.
The 2024 Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Coen were one of the most effective offenses in football and accomplished that both on the ground and through the air. The Bucs finished the regular season ranked top-five in points per game, rushing yards per game, and passing yards per game–something that no other offense accomplished last season.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield put together a career year under Coen completing 72% of his passes for 4,500 yards at 7.9 yards per attempt with 41 touchdowns to 16 interceptions.
In comparison to the other quarterbacks around the NFL, Mayfield ranked third in yards and completion percentage, he was sixth in yards per pass attempt, and second in touchdowns.
In an interview with the Bucs’ team site, some elements of Coen’s offense include a heavy usage of motion and shifts, giving the quarterback autonomy to make decisions with multiple play-calls, “different types” of runs, and more 11 personnel, among other things.
“First and foremost, we want to start with running the football and being diverse within our schemes and the way that we attack defensive structures, but it all starts with the guys up front,” said Coen. “It’s a violent game and you have to be able to do it in a physical way. And also being explosive and that’s in both the run and the pass.
“So being able to push the ball down the field while also being able to run the football effectively and also explosively. It’s all about players. That’s all I’ve known. In times of crisis think players not plays.”
Along with Lawrence benefitting from the addition of Coen, so should the Jaguars’ running game. As the numbers show, the Bucs’ run game was among the most effective, and contributing to that success are the “different types” of runs, as Coen put it, that he utilizes to keep defenses off-balanced.
When the run game is rolling, it keeps the offense ahead of the sticks and out of predictable passing situations, thus opening up opportunities for the passing game to exploit.
Last season, with Lawrence missing the last several games, the Jaguars finished 26th in scoring, 26th in rushing yards per game, and 24th in passing yards per game.
“Liam has done an incredible job,” Mayfield said. “The influence he’s had throughout all the guys, teaching the game of football. … [He’s] teaching the details of why we’re doing certain things, why we have certain plays alerted or canned, whatever you want to call it.
“He does a great job of that and then calling the plays to his players’ strengths, that’s what good [offensive coordinators] do and he’s done an unbelievable job of that.”
