Coaches suggest Jaguars' Liam Coen could have Trevor Lawrence problem

Those running the Jacksonville Jaguars hope that first-year head coach Liam Coen will help Trevor Lawrence become an elite NFL quarterback. 

Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers posted the best regular-season numbers of his career when Coen was Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator during the 2024 campaign. 

On Monday, Mike Sando of The Athletic revealed that a panel of six general managers, six assistant general managers, six former general managers, five other executives, eight head coaches and 19 other coaches recently ranked Lawrence as the 18th-best quarterback in the league and as a "Tier 3" player at the position for the 2025 season. Sando wrote that a Tier 3 quarterback "is a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win."

While speaking with Sando, multiple coaches shared concerns they have about Lawrence. 

"I thought he would be better," one unnamed head coach said about Lawrence, "but he just isn't naturally accurate."

The previous Jacksonville regime said plenty about its expectations for Lawrence when the club handed him a five-year contract extension worth up to $275M with $142M fully guaranteed at signing last offseason. He then struggled throughout the 2024 campaign as Jacksonville fell to 2-10 on the same day he suffered a concussion. The Jaguars ultimately shut Lawrence down in December so he could have shoulder surgery. 

According to Pro Football Reference stats, Lawrence ended this past regular season ranked 35th out of 36 quarterbacks with a 60.6 percent completion percentage and 28th among qualified players with an 85.2 passer rating. Over 10 starts, he tallied 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. 

"I always thought Lawrence was a unique talent from a body-type standpoint — so athletic for a guy that tall — and the way he played at Clemson was outstanding," one head coach said about Lawrence. "But when I watched him this year (2024), the instinct wasn't as high there. He looked hesitant. He had some ugly tape."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Lawrence briefly became the subject of a trade rumor back in February. Some think a quarterback-needy team could explore a deal for the 25-year-old next winter if Lawrence fails to take a big leap while working with Coen. That's understandable, as Coen wasn't with the Jaguars when they made Lawrence the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft and when the club paid the signal-caller like he was already a top-tier QB1.

"He has missed a bunch of schemed-up shots (downfield)," a defensive coach added about Lawrence. "There is nothing that scares you about the kid. How is he beating you unless he happens to hit on some of those deep ones? I don't know how much of that is scheme versus what he does and cannot do. There is nothing elite about him from a big-picture standpoint."

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Jaguars at +180 betting odds to make the playoffs this season. If Jacksonville doesn't possess a postseason berth when Week 18 wraps up in January 2026, whispers about Lawrence's uncertain future could grow louder ahead of what may become a franchise-altering offseason for the Jaguars.