Why Jaguars Star Believes Liam Coen, New Staff Is Different

Jaguars veterans report for training camp in just 19 days, but no one needs to remind Josh Hines-Allen. The two-time Pro Bowl defensive end said Monday he’s more excited for this camp than any of his previous six.

“I love the energy that we have this year,” Hines-Allen told Rich Eisen on Monday’s edition of the Rich Eisen Show. “For the organization, consistency has been up and down throughout the years but I feel like this year, everybody's going to say, it feels different.”

Different is certainly what Shad Khan had in mind six months ago when he fired general manager Trent Baalke and hired Liam Coen a short time later. And when James Gladstone shocked the league by moving up three spots at the top of the draft to get Travis Hunter, even Jaguars veterans knew this regime was anything but average.

“I think the coaching staff, everybody that we brought in, has been awesome thus far,” said Hines-Allen, who’s had four head coaches since the Jaguars drafted him in 2019. “Throughout the challenges, we’ve competed with every single day. They've been level-headed, competitive, want the best out of everybody, demanding. But also knowing that it's going to take a village to get to where we need to get to.

“And I think they have the patience but they also have the assertiveness to get it done, get it out of us right now.”

Right now, expectations are not high. The Jaguars can certainly sneak up on the league. Coen and his new staff can guide the way, Hines-Allen said. They’ve earned the trust of their players entering camp.

“I think they can continue to lead forward and I think if we can just get more consistency throughout the whole organization, I think we can continue to keep building on successes that we have. And hopefully this is the right go-round.”

If so, the Jaguars would love it, partly because they’ve invested significant dollars in contract extensions over the last two years, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence, tackle Walker Little and Hines-Allen, who signed a five-year, $150-million extension last spring.

Hines-Allen posted eight sacks in 16 games last season, a year after his career-high 17½ in 2023. He said the coaching staff has instilled such a competitive culture that he knows even he’s competing to keep his starting role.

“Competition, it's at an all-time high right now,” he explained. “I got to compete every single day. I got guys coming in every year, younger guys. If you look at my position, guys are coming in younger, stronger, faster. … I'm a dad of three, so I got to really find a way to stay on top and really compete with myself and compete with the others and push myself.

“Because, what are our limits? What is my limit? I don't know. We'll see at the end of it. So, every day, that's my motivation.”

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