Jaguars Have More Than One Killer Offensive Issue to Fix

Jaguars' offense has to clean up the illegal-shift penalties

Before the 2025 NFL season, many Jacksonville Jaguars fans likely didn't even know what an illegal shift was. They've quickly had to familiarize themselves with the call, as it's been a recurring plague on this team's offense. The premise is simple. The NFL's rulebook defines it:

"The offensive team must present a legal formation before and after a shift. It is permitted to shift and have two or more players in motion multiple times before the snap. However, after the last shift, all players must come to a complete stop and be in a set position simultaneously for at least one full second."

The Jaguars have been using a lot of pre-snap motion in Head Coach Liam Coen's system. Unfortunately, they haven't been as crisp getting set properly, leading to far too many illegal shift penalties, costing them five yards apiece. Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski was asked what's causing them:

"Well, each one is a little bit different. They’re not all the same mistake happening every single time. At the same time, we’ve got to address those mistakes as coaches and try to put guys in position where they can go out there, play fast, execute, line up without having to think about those things, and worry about some of those shifts and motions that have caused those illegal shifts."

"Then the preparation from the guys and the coaches included throughout the week to master the plan and understand those different things we do. So, each one has been different. Some of them have been guys lining up and moving late. Some of them guys have been lining up wrong. Some of them have been guys breaking the huddle wrong. Some of them have been an adjustment that we don't get communicated correctly. So, it just takes one guy off to cause that issue. So, we have to all be on the same page and really emphasize clear communication and execution.”