The news dropped on Wednesday morning that Liam Coen was taking his name out of the running for the Jaguars’ head coaching opening to remain with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their offensive coordinator.
We’ve since learned some additional details behind Coen’s decision to turn down the Jaguars.
According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Coen is getting a pay raise to stay with the Bucs. Coen’s new contract will be “similar” to Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s who earns $4.5 million per season.
This bit of information is already noteworthy because while Coen may now be among the highest-paid coordinators in football, that $4.5 million amount is likely quite a bit less than he would have gotten as the Jaguars’ head coach.
Stroud would also add that staying in Tampa Bay doesn’t come with any guarantees when it comes to being the Bucs’ next head coach.
“No promises were made to Liam Coen by the Bucs,” reported Stroud. “There is no coach in waiting stipulation in his new contract similar to what the Patriots did with Jerod Mayo. Coen simply believed that remaining with the Bucs as offensive coordinator was the best opportunity for his future.”
So along turning down more money that comes with being an NFL head coach, he also has no guarantee of getting the opportunity to fill that role with the Bucs at some point.
These reports from Stroud further illustrate a possible issue that the Jaguars were going to run into this offseason with their head coaching search and is something that NFL insider Jordan Schultz highlighted after the news broke that Coen was staying in Tampa Bay:
“It’s been no secret around the NFL since the season ended that the Jaguars would have a hard time attracting a top head coach if they kept Trent Baalke,” wrote Schultz on X. “They stuck with him — and here we are.”
Still interviewing for the head coaching opening are Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham. Saleh is now potentially considered the new favorite to land this role, but the Jaguars could look to bring in additional candidates for a second interview, including Bills’ offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
