Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen has a new fan.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians once went from hot-shot offensive coordinator to first-year head coach, and he made the transition as well as anybody. And now, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach has made it clear that he thinks Coen is making the jump just as well.
Bruce Arians says Jaguars' HC Liam Coen would be his pick for Coach of the Year @heykayadams | @BruceArians | @Jaguars pic.twitter.com/9PTeyMqtD5
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) October 2, 2025
Asked to pick a coach of the year after the first four games, Arians went with Coen over fellow AFC South head coach Shane Steichen.
"But for me, its probably Liam Coen ... Because what Liam's doing early with Trevor Lawrence, I'm really impressed with that defense is playing lights out," Arians said.
What exactly has impressed Arians about the job Coen has done? For Arians, it starts with the way Coen has developed Trevor Lawrence so far. Lawrence is not lighting up the score board or stuffing the stat sheet, but he is also not costing the Jaguars any games in the early stages of the Coen era.
"I think he's got him playing at a very calm level. You know, take that Superman cape off. We don't need that **** anymore, and just play football," Arians said.
"Just play quarterback. And, you know, every now and then he'll get high and hot down the middle, but I think he's in an offense now that they run the ball really well and, and that's what he's always had. He had that great running back situation in Clemson. So you give him a good running game, give him great play action game, and the kid can throw it. I mean, he's, he's a number one pick for a reason. I mean, there's, he's no bust, that's for sure.
To Lawrence's own credit, he himself has made the Superman comparison.
“I mean, just looking at what it is, it's been the team to beat in the AFC. They've been the top dog and they've kind of ran the conference and this is an opportunity for us to show what kind of team we are," Lawrence said.
"That's all I think about is just how this is a good opponent and just what we have to do to win this game, and we have to play well, and it's like Liam talked about, you don't have to be Superman or anything like that, but you have to play well. It's a good team. So, I do think of a team that obviously has played a lot of good football and you’ve got to be on your Ps and Qs if you want to beat them just because they've won a lot together and they know how to win. Got to play a full 60 minutes.”
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