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Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen answers questions after the Jaguar’s 12th NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Liam Coen Examines Jaguars' Critical Area of Needed Improvement

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 7:49 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to get back to their winning ways following the bye week, and head coach Liam Coen knows one way to help make it happen.

Simply put: get the running game back on track. After the Jaguars' identity during the first month was as a physical team that was willing to commit to the running game to make the offense as balanced as possible, the Jaguars got away from their identity in their 0-2 stretch before the bye week.

Run, Run, Run

“Yeah, I’ve got to call more runs in general. When we run the football, we're a little bit more balanced," Coen said on Monday when asked about the fine line in being committed and stubborn with the running game.

"Anytime you're more balanced you have the defense on their toes, so it's a matter of like you said, winning first and second down. When you start drives and you have a run, you get a hold and your first and 20 now I'm probably not going to run it on first, who knows? But you're trying to just look for the balance and when you're able to run the football, you see around the league all day yesterday, points being scored and when you can run the ball and be effective running the football, it's something that we've got to get back to being able to do a little bit more.”

Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Coen isn't wrong. Some of the leading teams in the NFC and AFC races are amongst the leaders in rushing EPA/Play and rushing success rate, while a similar correlation is found with the teams on the other end of the spectrum.

In the Jaguars' hot start, the offense flowed through Travis Etienne and the passing game was used to compliment it as opposed to being asked to carry the unit, Etienne is the type of player who relishes in the chance to impact the game, noting in the locker room Monday that he embraces Coen's lead on the offensive strategy.

Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

"I love when the ball is in my hands," Etienne said.

"I feel like I'm very special with the ball in my hand, but for me, it's more so just execute whatever coach calls, you know, having the ability to do best and more, just making myself more special. Just go out there and make plays when my name is called."

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

"I feel like, if you should go back to statistically, whenever the to run game going, we do really well. So I feel like just, we got to find that formula winning and just kind of stick with it and just just come out faster. I feel like we've been shooting ourselves in the foot. I feel like, first and foremost, we got to control the controlables. If we don't ever control that, then us committing to to the run game won't change anything."

Etienne, Coen and the Jaguars will have their next chance to get the running game going in Week 9 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders.

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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