Liam Coen on his unlikely path to NFL head coach, the Jaguars’ 4–13 to 13–4 turnaround, Trevor Lawrence’s growth, why the league is set up for failure, Baker Mayfield, Sean McVay, his biggest regret & the pressure of Year 2 in Jacksonville entering Year 2

Sitting with one of the most interesting and energized leaders in football, Liam Coen chops it up with the fellas during training camp for an honest conversation about his rise through the coaching ranks, the people who shaped him, and the lessons he’s carrying into his second year in Jacksonville. Taking a 4-13 team to 13-4 in his first year as head coach is quite the feat but it also comes with high expectations in year two. Coen opens up on his approach, how he plans to capitalize on veteran talent and utilize young playmakers in every game-plan. Coen takes us through the viral moments of his first year, on and off the field, and gives us an inside look into his journey from college football to the NFL, the success he found in Tampa Bay working with Baker Mayfield, and the impact of learning under Sean McVay. He opens up about his coaching philosophy, the evolution of his career, the one regret that haunts him still and how those experiences have prepared him for his opportunity to lead the Jaguars. He also gets personal, talking about his close relationship with his dad, the role family has played throughout his journey, and the sacrifices behind becoming an NFL head coach. With Trevor Lawrence and a young Jaguars team entering a pivotal season, Coen discusses his expectations, the identity he wants to build, what he sees in his team, and what it will take to take the team to the next level. A conversation about the journey, family, mentorship, leadership, and the pressure and opportunity that comes with building something from the ground up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior like beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Today on the Pivot, we're joined by Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen, who took the Jags from 4-13 to 13-4 in his first season as head coach. Liam's story is about a lot more than football. It starts with family. His dad, a Division III head coach, his mother, a teacher, and his father eventually becoming his high school head coach. He opens up about the biggest regret of his career, which is leaving Sean McVay after just one season as the offensive coordinator. We also get into his unusual transition from Tampa Bay to Jacksonville, the challenges of taking over a franchise that had just gone 4-13, and what it was like to develop Trevor Lawrence in year one. And finally, before we go, he talks about how a kind gesture of affirmation during a press conference turned into a national story.

• 1:15Ryan Clark?

  And now, with the Jaguars coming off of a 13-win season, what comes next? What does Liam want Jacksonville to become and how does he build something that lasts? It's a conversation about coaching, family, sacrifice, leadership, regret, growth, and the pressure that comes with turning a franchise around. So please sit down and enjoy as we go back to duvall as Liam Cohen joins me, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder on the Pivot. And Pivot fam, thank you for pivoting with us.

• 2:04Fred Taylor?

  Man, we glad we can have you.

• 2:06Speaker 03

  Yeah, I love this shirt.

• 2:07Fred Taylor?

  Ah, I know, right?

• 2:08Speaker 03

  Oh, that looks awesome, man.

• 2:10Fred Taylor?

  Oh, it's good? How you doing? You seen the back, right? I'm sure you seen the back. I know you seen the back.

• 2:15Speaker 03

  Aw, shit.

• 2:16Ryan Clark?

  What up, Cole? How you doing? I'm doing well, man. What's up, man? How you doing?

• 2:21Speaker 03

  A ton of respect.

• 2:22Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate it, man. Doing great. We'll take the picture first.

• 2:25Fred Taylor?

  Oh, yeah. They had it during the season. I'm like, I gotta run it back. So I've been holding on to it for a while.

• 2:30Speaker 03

  That's so good.

• 2:31Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, we gotta make it. It's gotta be an edge for us out here. I always thought it was, but I ain't used to crank up until November. Yeah, bro. Kind of get right in that cool stare, like, oh, it's time to go. And then my better games was in December.

• 2:43Speaker 03

  Were they? Yeah, you always did this.

• 2:45Fred Taylor?

  Which is crazy.

• 2:46Speaker 03

  I still got two snaps left.

• 2:47Fred Taylor?

  But this was always that game. I ain't got it.

• 2:49Speaker 03

  Yo, come on, dawg.

• 2:50Channing Crowder?

  You need a third and one, coach. I got you, bud.

• 2:52Ryan Clark?

  I'ma let you know.

• 2:54Channing Crowder?

  That vertical with the tight end ain't gonna cut it no more.

• 2:56Ryan Clark?

  Hey, first time I see the quarterback go play X, I'm just gonna blitz.

• 3:00Speaker 03

  Blitz.

• 3:01Ryan Clark?

  Cause I already know they scoring.

• 3:02Speaker 03

  Keep running.

• 3:03Ryan Clark?

  Cause I already know they scoring up top, coach. I already know. Whole hamstring blow.

• 3:07Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 3:08Ryan Clark?

  Whole hamstring, coach.

• 3:10Speaker 03

  It was cool. We had, you know, had some of the guys here in, in June that were, you know, a bunch of former players came in and it was just such a cool. I was like, if these guys can take one thing from those guys to make us 1% better, like, I got better. Just about that process, the diners, all that, I was like, I got better. You know, so it's really cool, like those moments with Travis, like can he take something from y'all to help his life and his game that much more? So I appreciate you guys being here, man.

• 3:39Ryan Clark?

  Thank you, coach. Welcome to the show. Liam Cohen, head coach Jacksonville Jaguars. This is Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us. Uh, coach, I'ma get to it. Um, you don't back down. My favorite thing about covering you last year was I felt like there was an attitude that you walked on the field with every single time that you wanted to compete. Obviously, being a former player, I mean, UMass Hall of Fame, you understand what it's like to be on the grass, but sometimes coaches want to take that away from players. Why did you feel it was important to show them that you were in the fight with them every single day?

• 4:20Speaker 03

  I appreciate you saying that, first off. It's something that was instilled at a very young age, watching my dad coach D3 Salve Regina, small school in Rhode Island. They'd have to pull out cars at night to, to practice because they, they needed lights and see the players get dressed in the dorms and a coach at Brown to where those kids got into the Ivy League school and they could quit day one and they didn't.

• 4:44Ryan Clark?

  Wow.

• 4:45Speaker 03

  And to just see football at its purest form in terms of like, why are you playing and what's your why? We all have, there's a million reasons, right? But like I want at, at some point, I want a player to like, all right, when I'm running out of whys, like look over in the fourth quarter and be like, man, I, I want to also do it for him because they know that we got their best interests in mind, both on and off the field. And it's a little bit more than just a X, N, and O. And, and I, you're not a line on a piece of paper.

• 5:17Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 5:18Speaker 03

  Like you, I would never want to take your creativity away as a player. I think that's what's the art of the game. It's not the design. It's, it's them. It's those guys doing it. And I can say a lot from holding a clicker and looking at the sidelines, but on, on Sunday, I'm a caddy. You know, like that's how I look at it. Like I'm a caddy, man. I mean, it's, hey, I can suggest this.

• 5:41Ryan Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:42Speaker 03

  Here's the thought process, but we've gone through this already. We've already been through this process through the practice rounds. Like next play, next shot. That's all that matters.

• 5:52Channing Crowder?

  And coach, people call you a player's coach. Some people think of that as a negative. It's like, oh, he's, he's soft, he's hanging out with the guys, they're laughing and playing. And then they, they, the other side's a dictatorship where I'm here and y'all are working for me.

• 6:05Speaker 03

  Totally.

• 6:06Channing Crowder?

  You seem like you have, like, how, how did you find that middle, that middle ground of being cool with the dudes, but when I say something, tighten up?

• 6:14Speaker 03

  Right. Growing up in the Northeast in small school football, I mean, there's a lot of D2, D3, FCS up there. And the only big programs are BC, Syracuse, UConn, and like, it's hard up there. I mean, the football, the day to day, the, what you get, the gear, you know, the work. I mean, it's still long hours, still all the same, and you just don't get the same. And so to, to have a connection and a belief with the players and have a relationship, you learn how to work hard. I, I learned at a young age how to work hard. When I got into the profession, 2010, 16,000, no Bennys, let's, you're the grunt. You're doing video.

• 6:57Speaker 03

  You know, so you learn, do you love this or not, right? And then to, to, so that learned, you learn how to hold a standard. All right, these are some standards, but like what are the things we're gonna really pick on? Like, do I care as much what they're wearing on, on the plane to the game or what matters on the grass? Like the standards of how we really want to operate and what are the, those pillars? Well, does it affect the grass or not? And if it doesn't affect the grass, like I'm cool on it a little, you know, like I don't need to control all that or feel like I have to have power over what they do and dress and say. And it's like, man, does it affect the grass or not?

• 7:41Speaker 03

  And so that's where I feel like maybe that comes into play in terms of, man, there is a high standard of how we want to compete and operate on the grass. But I also want you guys to know that like, I'm, I'm trying to be in this with you guys as much as possible.

• 7:55Fred Taylor?

  Did, did playing or being coached by your father in high school sort of help that? Because I know that, that ride home can be different.

• 8:02Channing Crowder?

  Hey, that ride home, hell.

• 8:04Fred Taylor?

  Are you the son or the quarterback?

• 8:06Speaker 03

  That's right. And, and I'm, I was so blessed though, guys, to, growing up, it wasn't you are gonna do this. I loved basketball. I loved hoop. I loved, you know, all sports, baseball, basketball, football. But then you get to high school and now you're, my dad left being a D3 college head coach. I mean, he was making like 15 grand doing it. You know, he was, it was a part-time gig, but he was the head coach of a Division III college and he left there to come coach me in high school. So that was like an honor for me. And we took a team that was, I think, four and five the year before. We went 12-0, won the state championship. And never, I mean, I'm talking about maybe once or twice, like did we bring it really

• 8:51Speaker 03

  home? I mean, for real, it was, we were, I respected him so much and he was so great with my friends. I mean, these kids, these guys are my friends. Demanding, not demeaning. And all my teammates, all my high school teammates were always at my house. All of them. If you were from Providence, if you were from Warwick, you were from Cranston, it didn't matter where you were from. They would come to my house and that's where we chilled, that's where we kicked it. So they got to know him on a different level too. And so I think so much of that shaped my maturity as a coach and growth to where it's like, man, I want to have a different relationship with these guys. That's all I know though. And so it was a tough, but we won.

• 9:35Speaker 03

  Like I think we lost like three games in high school. And so it was Rhode Island, so it was small, you know, small schools and but we cared a lot about it. We tried to treat it different. Like it was like, all right, we're at LaSalle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, but how much can we go treat this like Buford High School in Georgia?

• 9:56Ryan Clark?

  So you're used to those type of turnarounds. To be able to come here to Jacksonville and take a team that was four and 13 and then flip that and go 13 and four. And I was at a lot of the games.

• 10:07Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 10:08Ryan Clark?

  Could have easily been 15 and two easily. The expectations though, coming into this season, how do you manage those with the guys that will return? And how do you get, how do you get better?

• 10:20Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's a great question. The year two, I think is so important. It's, we've seen a lot of flips of one year to the next, but you know, consistency being the truest measure of performance. It's like, that's what we're trying to build and that's what we're trying to get to. And we had, we left some meat on the bone, as you just mentioned. And I think when we got into this building, when we got back off break, you felt it. Like you didn't feel, man, we're good, we just won 13, like, you know, we're good. You didn't sense that, I didn't feel that.

• 11:00Speaker 03

  Continuity helps, like coaching staff wise and a lot of like-minded people that you're working with. And I reminded them like, hey, Josh, Heinz Allen, like the first conversation we had was, you know, you want to build something, you want this to sustain. Like this, we haven't touched the surface of what we can do and be. Well, all right, we're going to uphold that standard. Like those conversations we had, like I brought them up again a little bit to those guys one-on-one and make sure we're on the same page. Like that, no, we haven't done it yet. And look, the league, I mean, it's set up for, to lose. I mean, it is.

• 11:39Ryan Clark?

  More games are lost than won.

• 11:41Speaker 03

  That's right. I mean, you got 31 losers, one winner. But the process, obviously, it drives those results and we're all hunting up that end result. But we are really hunting up consistency in this building and the product that we put on that field. I want this city to be proud of it. And I want the NFL community to be proud of the product that we put on the field and that's important to us.

• 12:08Ryan Clark?

  You know, you come from a football family. Football families are rough, Coach. You know, I love the fact that you talk like me, right? So I talk with my hands because I can like see what I'm saying, right?

• 12:20Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 12:21Ryan Clark?

  That's how your resume look.

• 12:22Speaker 03

  I know.

• 12:23Ryan Clark?

  Right? You read your resume, it's here a year, here a year, there, you know, and you bounce around. I want to take it to something people don't normally recognize about being a coach is family.

• 12:33Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 12:34Ryan Clark?

  How important was it to have a supportive wife who understood that? You know, now you got your two boys. How important was it for your family to also see the vision, see the dream and make sure they rode with you through all of those decisions as well?

• 12:50Speaker 03

  That is so important. I can't, when I met, when you meet your life, the person that's going to make you better in life, that's what my wife has been for me. Ashley, when I met her, my life changed. My life improved. I became a better man, I became a better human being, I became a better coach. I saw it at a young age with my mom and my dad's relationship. My dad being a local D3 college head coach, but there was travel involved, there's a lot of recruiting involved. And she was a history teacher and those, her students were my babysitters. My players, that, you know, players were the, you know, my babysitters. And so to see the relation, the family atmosphere, like I, that was all I knew.

• 13:34Speaker 03

  I mean, truly, like my dad's players were my babysitters, my mom's students, the same. And so when you get, I met my wife and man, it happened fast. Like I was in LA, I get the Kentucky OC job.

• 13:48Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 13:49Speaker 03

  And you're out and we get, we're pregnant and here we go and life's moving fast. And my wife wasn't really in football before that at all. And so I think the cool thing about moving around and what I vote, when you grow up with teachers, it's always like the impact that you can have. I've always wanted to spread that. And that's why, you know, people have asked, why do you bounce around so much? I was like, well, I'm not saying I went and did that, but I did. Like who else can I help? Like who, where else can I maybe make an impact or who, how can I continue to grow as a person, as a coach by what I teach? But also what I learn and gather from places.

• 14:31Speaker 03

  And so to be on the same page about, with your wife and family about that, about like, we don't want to just maybe go buy a crib somewhere and stay there in the summer. Like let's go travel, let's go see, let's go experience. And we're a young family and I think that's what's really cool that we share, a desire to improve. And not just in football, but in life and to have our kids also experience that. And so like what's cool about Jacksonville is there aren't a ton of distractions. So we can treat it a little bit more like a family and have our players and our, and our coaches and staff members, you know, just be a little bit more connected.

• 15:10Ryan Clark?

  I love that.

• 15:10Channing Crowder?

  And Coach, what, like what are the variables of making those decisions? Because you jump around and then the league, back to college, then back to the league, like.

• 15:19Ryan Clark?

  Then back to college.

• 15:19Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, that's it, Coach, I'm looking at, looking at your resume, that's not a normal progression. What are those factors that make that decision?

• 15:27Speaker 03

  I'll say this, that this was always a dream and the end game. But when you come from Rhode Island and that path, it's just, it's so narrow. I didn't know anybody in the NFL, right? And so I think at one part of life, you're like, man, if I could be the Brown head coach, University of Brown, I mean, that'd be great. But then you kind of, but you're like, that's not what I really want though. And so you get into the NFL and at that point, I'm like, I made it.

• 15:56Ryan Clark?

  That was McVayda first time, right?

• 15:57Speaker 03

  Yeah, and so that's 2018. Zach Taylor had just became quarterbacks coach. Assistant receivers job opens up. I'm like, I'm in, I'm never going to leave. Well, then you're there for three years, essentially kind of getting your PhD is how I looked at it. Spend all your time on that. Kentucky calls and you're like, man, I can go call plays in the SEC, like I kind of want to do it. I want to prove that I can do this and see if it works. Take that opportunity and then Sean calls again, 22. You just left, they won the Super Bowl. I'm like, I bet. But my first year, we went to the Super Bowl, lost to the Patriots.

• 16:41Speaker 03

  And I'm like, oh, this is easy. So I thought Super Bowls were just easy, right? And so I leave and they win the Super Bowl. And now he calls me and he's like, hey, Kevin O'Connell is going to get the Vikings job. I'd love for you to come back as the OC. And I'm like, I was just an assistant position coach there.

• 16:57Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 16:58Speaker 03

  I was the assistant quarterbacks coach. Now what? So that was again, another honor of a lifetime that I'm like, I can't pass that up. And it ends up being our hardest year and the most challenging year. And that was probably one of my biggest regrets in this profession. You ask about movements and what goes into that. Sean, at that time in 22, we had that tough year, won five games and weren't really quite sure what he was going to do maybe in ways. And Kentucky called back and we had just loved it there, right? It was beautiful, it was amazing. We had our first child there and kind of chased some money a little bit. And also an ego decision, I think, was I wasn't calling plays in LA.

• 17:42Speaker 03

  I knew what I was getting into, but I did miss that. And not just calling plays, but leading, like leading your way. And that was my biggest regret going back to Kentucky in 23.

• 17:56Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 18:24Fred Taylor?

  What made a big regret?

• 18:26Speaker 03

  Man, because you know what? I thought it was an opportunity. Hadn't lost a lot in my career. Like I didn't have a ton of losing seasons or like be on like a ton of bad teams. I've been on some. I thought it was just a great opportunity to stick something out with a friend and an organization that gave you your first op that I missed. That I walked away from when it was hard. And went to a familiar place that I had success. So looking at it immediately got back in that spring and yeah, I had a little, I had some regret. I didn't feel great about myself about the decision I made. The end of the day, I wouldn't have probably got Tampa if I hadn't have gotten, gone there.

• 19:11Speaker 03

  You know, so it did work out in the end. But it was my biggest regret of moves in my career.

• 19:19Fred Taylor?

  So with that, now I really don't care what the answer is, but you're here in Jacksonville. I care more about that. Tampa.

• 19:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:28Fred Taylor?

  Was it, was it the challenge fulfilling the dream of becoming a head coach? A little bit bigger bag, don't, don't hurt. You know what I'm saying? So the decision and the confusion in the off season when you got here to Jacksonville from Tampa, like sort of what led to you just saying, all right, I'm going to go and be the head coach in Jacksonville?

• 19:47Speaker 03

  You, you have a successful offense a year and your agent's kind of like, hey, man, there's probably going to be some calls. And you're expecting, you know, he had mentioned maybe a few. Well, one, one ticket came in and it was Jacksonville. And so it's such a tough time because you're playing in the playoffs still and you're going, having to look through that process a little and did the initial zoom. Got a good vibe, thought it was, thought it was, uh, there was a connection with Shad pretty quickly. But moved on very fast. It was like, all right, we got a game to play and I can't think about this right now. And then you, you get a call that like, hey, would you want to come on in person?

• 20:32Speaker 03

  And that's kind of, you know, he turns up a little bit in Tampa. And you decide, hey, all right, I'm going to stick it out, right? Well, I didn't sign a contract. And at the end of the day, I think everybody has a right to change their minds. And, um, you know, it, it just played out. And so you look at, my dad was like, hey, stay in Tampa, you know, just stay and stay. It's safe, it's good. And I loved it there. They gave me an opportunity, Baker and, but then you start thinking about the ops in life and.

• 21:06Ryan Clark?

  Only get so many.

• 21:07Speaker 03

  He only gets so many. And yes, he's young, only been coaching the NFL for a handful of years. But the ops and the, and the alignment of the ops and when they happen and the time. And I, I just felt like it was the time to do it. And when you talk to the people you care about and trust and love and there's, uh, information coming in that you're, all right, maybe there is, this could be something that I could fit. Can I help make that place better? And that's at the end of the day, really all you, you think about. Can I help make the place better? Yes or no? And if the answer is no, probably not the right decision. The answer was yeah, and ended up playing out.

• 21:50Fred Taylor?

  It worked.

• 21:50Speaker 03

  It worked, yeah.

• 21:51Channing Crowder?

  Coach, you had a very viral moment when you did get to Jacksonville. I've heard a couple of stories about it. Duval. Did somebody tell you the wrong accent?

• 22:02Speaker 03

  Nah, I think it's just the Northeast. Also, I was coming from, you know, Tampa to Kentucky. I was there before. I think I had like a fake Southern, like a Southern twang added to it. Cause we're almost South Georgia, you know what I mean?

• 22:15Channing Crowder?

  Okay, so it was a mistake. Cause I heard that, you know, and everybody was talking about, they said you might've done it on purpose just to mess around.

• 22:22Speaker 03

  No, I'm just, you know, I didn't even think about it twice. You know what I mean? Like that was the cool part about having a, I had no idea. Walking off stage that that was like, I didn't even say, I just thought it was like a, a name of a city. You know what I mean? I didn't know it was an actual chant. That was the uneducated version of knowing about this place and this city and this organization. But at the end of the day, when you look at, I, I got really cool advice from Nick Sirianni. Actually at the owners meetings that year. Got there and being in the owners meetings for the first time is like being a freshman in high school again. You know, you're like, you know, peeking what's going, you know, who's who, all that. And you're not talking much. Listen, do as you're told and show up. And Nick kind of, it was cool.

• 23:07Speaker 03

  He said to me, he's like, hey, man, from here on out, just show those guys that you have their backs. Because they're going to get ridiculed and crushed every single Sunday for, and then off the field too. But if you show them like they'll have your backs through anything. And it was a mo, you know, talking about viral moments and all that, or being in the media and being in the, on the cameras. And it was like, dude, just show that you have their back and you can't do, you're, you're, you'll be all right. They'll support you through whatever happens. And that was, that was cool advice to hear from somebody that has been, you know, hit on, on, you know, antics on TV or whatever.

• 23:49Ryan Clark?

  Nick is Nick though.

• 23:50Speaker 03

  That's right, he's himself.

• 23:51Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 23:51Speaker 03

  I'll say that a hundred percent. Off the tick, he is who he is and it is so, it's, it's real. And I can't complain with that.

• 24:00Ryan Clark?

  I think that's what, if you're authentic and you show up to work consistent.

• 24:05Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 24:05Ryan Clark?

  Right, and you're the same every day, coach. As, as players, that's all we want. Cause now I know what I'm getting.

• 24:10Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 24:10Ryan Clark?

  Right, I know how to talk to you. I know how to deal with you. I know if you're getting on me, you're getting on me because you love this game and you love me.

• 24:17Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 24:18Ryan Clark?

  It's those guys that go up and down on you that I can't deal with. You know, so I love that you said that. I want to talk about though, you go to Tampa, you take a bottom tier offense, turn it into a top five offense. You come here and everything is, you go get Liam Cohen, because we saw what he did with Baker Mayfield. And we have Trevor Lawrence and everybody knows he's ultimately talented. You have sort of a rough start offensively, but your defense has turned the ball over. You're playing, well, I'm here the night against Kansas City, coach. I just want to ask about the fall down. Right, what, when, when he falls?

• 24:55Speaker 03

  Oh, man.

• 24:56Ryan Clark?

  What are you thinking?

• 24:57Speaker 03

  Just, I, I couldn't even talk. You should have saw my reaction after the play. It's a cool reaction and I was just like, you just can't even, but you talk about, what I tried to flip that to was look at the strain, the finish, the competitor. Just like, all right, he, he actually felt twice. You know what I mean? But like the guys just competing, it was, it was kind of a, summed up kind of where we were. Also as a team in that moment was like, it was a little scrappy. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't pretty, but we're going, we're going to punch you in the mouth. Like we'll, we'll fight back and we'll finish and we'll play the right way. It, it was not always perfect early on.

• 25:40Speaker 03

  It wasn't, we couldn't throw for 200 yards for a while, but we were running it well. And we were physical and we were playing hard and we were getting a ton of those turnovers defensively. And so at, at the buy, it was, I mean, we got to reevaluate some things offensively for Trev. And what are the things he truly does best? What are the things we need to improve on? But maybe what are the ones that can like go to the off season? We can't work on everything right now. Let's hone in what he does best. And obviously getting Jacoby Myers, you know, help at that time. But we really tried to, all right, Trev, one, two, go, run.

• 26:23Speaker 03

  Like be you, do the, be the athlete that you are. And goes on runs for nine touchdowns for us that year. Forget, he's a, he's a big dude that can roll. And so, and, and he can throw it better going to his left than a lot of quarterbacks on the run. And so it became a moment of, all right, progressions, like one, two, three, four. We got to stay in the pocket and go through them. And it was like, all right, man, how about we limit some of those? And let's just say, dude, go be, go be you, go cut it loose and have fun playing.

• 26:56Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I want to ask you about that, coach, because, and this is just my opinion and watching the games. You know, sometimes they could say a, a player played as well, but there weren't many quarterbacks playing better than Trevor. When you guys went on an eight game run late in the season. And then now, when I look at this team, you talked about Jacoby already, but Parker Washington, in my opinion, is going to be a huge key to how this offense rolls. We know you love physicality. You have BTJ. What's the excitement going into the second year though, coach? With an opportunity to coach these guys again and have them be a step further along than what you want them to do?

• 27:34Speaker 03

  It's so much fun. It is. I mean, it's why you practice, because you're seeing an actual tangible improvement. I mean, talk about not really being great in the pass game from really the spring that we got here, the training camp, the early part of the season. Then seeing when you truly put guys in positions to be them and do what they do best. And then this past spring, see it again. And then see BT really starting to come on and get his swagger going and confidence and the connection and chemistry between he and Trev this spring kind of pop off again. And then start off training camp and like these guys are doing it.

• 28:15Speaker 03

  And so to, going from a team that we were really struggling to throw the 200 yards and the run game was carrying us to like, all right, we just lost TJ. We got a couple of new backs. We got to figure out what they're good, but to know what our skill players and our quarterback are good at, like that's a whole, that's a whole new deal. Something that we weren't there last year at this time. And so to actually see growth and, and, and change and improvements in guys. You mentioned Parker. I mean, you look at 100 yards, 300 yards, eight, almost, you know, 900 plus. It's like, all right, what can he help? What can he continue to do? And he's been showing it out here.

• 28:57Speaker 03

  And so to see that, that's like, it's also knowing like you have to adjust to your personnel. I want to be this, you know, and play action and smash mouth. But you also have to, what we did in the second half of the season, I think was we, we tweaked it a little and adjusted to maybe the percentages and where and why and how. And we ended up getting a better version of our guys.

• 29:21Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior like beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 29:50Ryan Clark?

  Well, I know the media doesn't, but when Brenton came back, you can see things sort of open up a lot more.

• 29:56Speaker 03

  Absolutely.

• 29:57Ryan Clark?

  And you guys, you, McVeigh, you guys love those tight ends, man. You just make the offense that much better. But I did want to ask you, Coach, have we arrived to the point where Trevor's not, no longer just running your, your offense system? Where he's, it's, it's Trevor's offense?

• 30:13Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's, that's exactly where I think we're trending. Absolutely. And I feel like we're as close to that as we've been in terms of what he is handling. Pre-snap and that operation of the protections, the cans, the Oscars, the audibles, the alerts, and then the, the distribution of the game and just playing the game. And just, you're a point guard in a lot of ways. And he has done such a nice job of putting himself in a position to do that. And that's been a lot of hours, man. That's been a lot of work and he's put that time in. And now it's just seeing the consistency, right? Like, we're all talking about it.

• 30:56Speaker 03

  It's been something that he's been aware of and how he wants to go and play consistent football. I think that time is now.

• 31:06Channing Crowder?

  I had a coach tell me once, if my stuff doesn't work, you're doing it wrong.

• 31:14Channing Crowder?

  So hearing you speak about it like this really is enlightening to me. But how difficult is that to like, we're cool, McVeigh, O'Connell, Raheem, all y'all boys. And we, you know, y'all's boys, y'all got that circle.

• 31:27Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 31:28Channing Crowder?

  Was it Shanahan that created that? Cause y'all think of football differently than the coaches that coached me.

• 31:33Speaker 03

  It's so interesting. I, I, it was so infectious in the building in LA. Like when you got in, and I got in there, I was the only new coach really hired that offseason. It was me and Matt Daniels, special teams. And as soon as you got in there, that was the culture of how it's demanding, not demeaning. There's not just one way to doing this. There's not, we don't want to ever make you feel like you're a line on a piece of paper or just an X or no. And so I, the origin, I, I'm sure it probably, honestly, I think some of it, I don't know. I know John Gruden a little bit. We live in the same neighborhood, but I do think some of it was even from Bill Walsh to all the way down.

• 32:17Speaker 03

  I mean, I watched the Bill Walsh documentary not long ago and you see how he coached those guys. And I think it just evolved, kept evolving, kept evolving. And you listen to Gruden and even talk to like Cunningham and just like the communication and relationship, you're like, ah, that's, I can see some of John and Sean.

• 32:37Ryan Clark?

  Energy too, yeah. Absolutely.

• 32:39Speaker 03

  I, I see that. You can hear it and you can see it. And I'm sure there's some of Kyle and Sean in ways like, cause we all take some. Like there's some of Raheem in me. Like I love Ra. I learned so much from Ra.

• 32:53Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 32:54Speaker 03

  My office is across the hall from him in 22. And so like you, you try to take and pull, especially when you have a similar moral compass. And there's the alignment that starts. But you see it as like, hey man, we're, we're a part of their journey. Like, yes, we, we want to win every single game, but we're also a part of a bigger journey for these guys. I think that's probably where it stems from. And I mean, so many of the people that you're trying to bring into your organization and building have the same vision.

• 33:27Ryan Clark?

  Coach, after the, the Bills loss, I mean, I have been a part of losses like that in the playoffs when you feel like there's more you could have done.

• 33:37Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 33:37Ryan Clark?

  You know, and you're at the podium and you said something earlier about you wanted this city to be able to be proud of this team. Then Jones Turpin says that to you.

• 33:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 33:47Ryan Clark?

  And it becomes this whole debate about whether or not, and I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about though, being in that space of loss and hurt and having someone from the Jacksonville community say that about you. How much did that matter in that moment for you?

• 34:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, it was one, I mean, pride. Like you have pride for what you do. You have pride for maybe the impact you've had and the connection and relationship of maybe how people view this team and this organization in, in, in our community and where we live. I live here, you know, like you're a part of it. And to feel that, and I had no clue it went where it went. Like after, I mean, I drove home with Ashley after the game. I have no clue. Get home with family, hanging out, pretty bummed, obviously in a tough spot. And Ashley made it. She's like, hey, this is kind of going out, going wild.

• 34:49Speaker 03

  I'm like, oh, here I go again. But I didn't know, but then you, I didn't know what it was. She didn't mention what it was. She's like, you're on. Oh God. To, to see like genuine, like, I don't know. I think there's a lot of negative stuff in our world and there's a, a tough, it's tough. It's hard when you turn on the TV and you talk about things and, you know, I thought it was just a pretty cool moment that you felt, uh, maybe people are really good, right? There are really good people out there and regardless of the moment, like I think humanity is, is important. That's really cool.

• 35:27Ryan Clark?

  What is you, Coach, from that to, to be able to go on a run like that? You obviously, you're playing the Bills. Tridavious White has a day defensively, had a day. You're playing Josh Allen. He's going to make plays late in the game. Not only just from that game and the way it ended, Coach, but from your first season as a head coach. What are some of the things you feel like you learned that you didn't know going into it as a head coach?

• 35:54Speaker 03

  I think that you're a little overwhelmed early on of thinking, man, I, I got to call plays, the game management, like all the decisions with the officials and, and all the different things that go into just a game. I was probably a little bit hyped up on that going in. And then you, like, just like a day to day, you trust the people around you. And I think that that was something I learned very quickly and throughout is you hired this staff, you handpicked this staff, you recruited your tail off to, to hire these people. Trust them. And you may not have worked with them in the past and we've only worked together for X amount of months, but to trust the people around you to do their jobs to the best of

• 36:39Speaker 03

  their ability. And in moments, you, but you have to trust your gut. And I think in some of the moments that maybe I've, you look back on, when you didn't trust your gut and go with your gut is when it feels the worst. And the hindsight's come in, you're like, man, should I go on for that fourth down? Should I not? Should I have kicked it, this? And you're like, if, if I can go back and look at my decisions and if I feel like it was A, educated and communicated pre with the people around you that you hired and trust to do their jobs, and then you went with your gut, like I can live with it.

• 37:14Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 37:14Speaker 03

  But in the moments that I didn't, that's where I probably have looked back and learned from all those individual moments. And look, you're, you're never going to be, even after a win.

• 37:25Ryan Clark?

  You're not going to bet a thousand, Coach.

• 37:26Speaker 03

  No, you're not.

• 37:27Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 37:28Speaker 03

  And, and you're, you look at even wins, right? And you look at poor play calls, not putting guys in position to be successful. Like those eat at you just as much as, as elves.

• 37:38Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 37:38Speaker 03

  But when you can trust what you did and trust what the people around you are doing to make decisions that are ultimately, you feel like are in the best interest of the organization, you can sleep at night.

• 37:50Channing Crowder?

  Nah, Coach, don't say go with your gut. Cause there's a little stat that says next gen analytics on the bottom of my TV screen. It says there's a 57% chance that they should go for this. Like how much, how much is in the sport? How much is, I don't want to say sports.

• 38:03Speaker 03

  No, no, no.

• 38:04Channing Crowder?

  How much goes into the decision of?

• 38:06Speaker 03

  Yeah, we leverage analytics, absolutely. We leverage it for the data and the information to make a decision, not to make the decision.

• 38:14Channing Crowder?

  Yes, sir.

• 38:15Speaker 03

  That, that's not how it goes ever. It's, you have the data, AI, analytics, it is unreal for, man, how can we get the, maybe the yes or no? Like what are the true decisions that lie in the, in the moment, in the now? And what's the facts that you need to know? Just the data. Well, that's great to leverage and we have game management for those guys. We have analytics department to be able to gather that information. But we are not making decisions just solely based on those numbers. Ultimately it has to come, like I said, the gut and from yourself and from, man, like is this the best decision for the Jacksonville Jaguars right now? Cause that's all you can live in.

• 38:59Speaker 03

  I can't worry about like, man, if we don't get this fourth down, like we may, what's going to happen like next week? You know, like you're right now, you're living in every single play. And I think that that's something that, you know, you can continue to learn and grow from those decisions. And I'm always, you know, I'm going to lean aggressive offensively for sure. And especially in year one, when you're trying to instill confidence, you're trying to instill a mindset of like, yeah, we are good.

• 39:30Ryan Clark?

  Mm-hmm. I believe you too.

• 39:32Speaker 03

  We can go get, get fourth and two.

• 39:34Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 39:35Speaker 03

  We can. And so as you go and you look at all those decisions over the year, well, yeah, I got to learn from them and grow from them or else I'm going to make some, some poor decisions as you go.

• 39:45Ryan Clark?

  I always say, when I'm watching the, the best do the job, whether it's head coach, coordinator, it's part art, part science. You know, you, you got to use them both. And then in the middle is what you feel.

• 39:58Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 39:59Ryan Clark?

  Right? And if you feel, if you're feeling the game and you know Trevor's hot.

• 40:03Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah.

• 40:04Ryan Clark?

  I'm gonna trust it. Yeah, you know, so I think too many times we see that little banner on the bottom of the screen and that don't have anything to do with the people playing the game.

• 40:13Speaker 03

  Like I tell, we talk about momentum a lot as a team. You feel that. Like you feel momentum, you know it. You know when you got it and you know when you don't.

• 40:21Speaker 05

  Yes, sir.

• 40:22Speaker 03

  You know, and so it like I do, I feed off of it as a coach. I feed off the players' energy on the grass. And when they have confidence and they have momentum, I want to roll with it. I want to keep it. And it's like you want to stomp on it, you know, when you have it, you want to, you want to really make them feel it.

• 40:39Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 40:39Speaker 03

  And, and so that's where I think the aggression at times comes in is you want to, you want to hold on to that and keep putting that foot on the pedal. And then as you grow and learn as a coach, one of the times where you may need to, all right, it's okay to kick here, man, we got to kick here. It's going to be one of those kind of games. And oftentimes you go into a game thinking it's going to be one of them kind of games. That could change. You know what I mean? They're like, ah, it's going to be a defensive.

• 41:09Speaker 05

  Right.

• 41:10Speaker 03

  Fight, I don't know, points are going to be hard to come by. And then you end up like both teams are rolling and now you're in a shootout.

• 41:15Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 41:16Speaker 03

  And so, or the vice versa. So you have to be prepared to know the gut, go with your gut, feel this, all what's going on around you to make the best educated decisions.

• 41:28Fred Taylor?

  Coach, I'll say this, I know we'll rap. First, we appreciate your time and sitting down with us first and foremost. But that momentum you speak about, man, the city's behind you, you know, for bringing that back around, just that feeling that's in the air. I mean, it is huge. It is huge. I know I appreciate it, even if they say we only got six Jaguar fans on the planet. These two, I'm snitching, I'm telling on y'all.

• 41:54Ryan Clark?

  We had a great time with Coach and now you're going to hate.

• 41:56Fred Taylor?

  We did. But see, they be representing.

• 41:58Speaker 03

  They, they know this.

• 42:00Fred Taylor?

  But they know where we, they know where we at. And one time on the way out, if we can give a big shout out to, to the people, you ready? On three, one, two, three. Dooboo.

• 42:14Speaker 03

  Appreciate it, man.

• 42:14Speaker 05

  Appreciate you, Coach. That was awesome, Coach.

• 42:17Speaker 03

  Appreciate it, man.

• 42:17Speaker 05

  Yes, sir.

• 42:18Speaker 03

  Thank you, guys.

• 42:20Speaker 06

  Hold up. Limitless, niggas tell me I'm pinning it. I fought the heat to witness it. Got my people feeling militant. Way I'm feeling got me up. On the mission got me up. Knowing me, I got the key. On this bitch, you not gonna trust, trust. Limitless, niggas tell me I'm pinning it. I fought the heat to witness it. Got my people feeling militant. Way I'm feeling got me up. On the mission got me up.

• 42:44Speaker 07

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now it's your time. We go V.

• 42:52Speaker 05

  We go V. Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Somemagnitide injection, 2.4 milligrams a GLP-1. Call 1-8334-WEGOVIE or visit wegovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?