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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Meghan L. Hall

Liam Coen’s wife defends his actions amid Jaguars coaching hire and Buccaneers drama

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s reported acceptance of the Jags head coaching job is getting really awkward.

Coen’s recent activity has a lot of moving parts, making it hard to keep everything straight. Here’s what we know.

Earlier this week, Coen told Jacksonville he was removing his name from consideration for their head coaching job. It was assumed that his decision stemmed in part because general manager Trent Baalke’s poor track record during his tenure.

The Bucs then swooped back and offered him a contract extension, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid coordinators.

The Jags heard about this, fired Baalke and then essentially hit Coen with the “Hey, big head” text, asking him to reconsider.

Per The Athletic‘s Diana Russini, Jacksonville’s owner told him they would let him pick the next general manager, and he would get Ben Johnson-level money and multiple years in the contract.

WILD.

Here’s where it gets strange.

Coen allegedly hadn’t signed his Bucs contract yet and resumed his chats with the Jaguars. Meanwhile, his communication with the Bucs was seemingly very spotty. By the time he told Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles about the interview, Bowles reportedly already knew about it.

That’s kind of, well, awkward. Right? Where was he?

It turns out he was at the doctor with a sick child, which his wife confirmed Thursday with multiple social media posts.

Now, Coen is expected to accept the Jags head coaching position after all that. What a ride.

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