Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen talks with Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the first quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Why Trevor Lawrence Is an Obvious MVP Candidate in 2026

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Feb 3, 2026 10:00 AM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off one of the best seasons they have had in a while. A huge reason for that is the pairing of head coach Liam Coen and quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

These two were great last season, and they were one of the best head coach and quarterback duos last season. It was a lot of growing pains for both of them, but that is what made them better. These two want the best out of each other, and they challenged each other last season.

Lawrence had the best season of his career, and that was super important. Going into last season, a lot of people around the NFL were questioning if Lawrence's days in Jacksonville were numbered. But Coen took Lawrence and made him better.

Lawrence had to answer the call, and he did last season. The quarterback finally got his offensive-minded head coach, and it is going to be interesting to see how they continue to grow and how they will do next season in year two.

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Coen will make major challenge for Lawrence in 2026

Now Coen and Lawrence will have expectations, and we are going to see how they handle that. There is no worry from either side as they both expect to be better next season. But for Lawrence, he will even be pushed more by Coen next season. Coen is going to challenge Lawrence to do something huge. Coen is going to challenge Lawrence to win the NFL MVP next season. That is something Coen wants for Lawrence, and Lawrence will accept that challenge if it is put out there.

"Look, you throw the whole playbook at somebody within the offseason and in training camp, and then once you're in the season, some things are game-plan specific, and some things are something we need to get done and need to rep," said Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.

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"Well, it's going to be more about unloading the rest of the playbook on him. Then, hey, how much can we continue to add? What layers can we continue to add to the offense?"

"His trust, the growth that he did make, his openness to be coached and coached hard. I think he would be one of the first ones to tell you there's a lot of work to continue to do and to be done."