Why Sean McVay Now Considers Himself a Jaguars Fan

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen spent a lifetime in football forging a path that would lead to him leading a franchise looking for a resurgence. And now that he is leading it, the team has at least one more fan invested in their success.

A big part of Coen's path to Jacksonville went through the Los Angeles Rams. After Rams head coach Sean McVay gave Coen his first NFL coaching job in 2018, Coen climbed the ranks of the profession.

Coen turned his first job with the Rams into an offensive coordinator job with the Kentucky Wildcats in 2021. And after a successful season, McVay turned to Coen as his next offensive coordinator after Kevin O'Connell left to become head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

In that year, the Rams faced a long string of injuries along the offensive line and at quarterback. To date, the 5-12 record is the only losing record the Rams have recorded under McVay.

"Liam and I went through, what was, I've talked about it before, the most challenging year that I've ever had in coaching. And at the time, it was not fun," McVay said this week at the NFL's annual league meetings.

"But I think we would both say so much growth occurred for us both, having to go through some really hard stuff and challenge a lot of the things that you are built on that you're about, and it revealed some things in me, and I know that was really hard on him, and I could have done a much better job of being the leader that really our team, that he deserved as the offensive coordinator. But I know this, we're a lot closer for having gone through it. It made us both stronger."

After the 2022 season, Coen went back to Kentucky for a year before being hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as offensive coordinator in 2024.

Coen turned the Buccaneers' offense into one of the best in the NFL thanks to blending what he learned in Los Angeles with his own core principles. As a result, Coen became the clear choice for the Jaguars as head coach.

"I think he did a great job in Kentucky. There were some things that he overcame there, and then I'll tell you what. It was really fun watching just the way that he was able to sequence games, the way that he was able to influence and impact," McVay said.

"You see the job that those guys did there. It was a lot of fun. And I thought what was really cool and huge credit to Liam is there's been a lot of things that foundationally he has kind of learned, and then he's also added where, hey, it's his offense. He was able to adjust and adapt to their players. And I'm really happy for Liam. I think he will do a great job with the Jags, and especially because he and James get to be able to partner up and lead together. And so I'll certainly be a Jags fan."