Why Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence is 'excited' to begin working under HC Liam Coen

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is spending the early days of springtime workouts recovering from surgery he needed on his non-throwing shoulder as he learns under Liam Coen, the third full-time head coach Lawrence has had since the Jaguars made him the first overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. 

While it's still early days in that relationship, Lawrence sounds optimistic regarding the franchise's future. 

"It feels great, just the energy in the building," Lawrence explained while speaking with reporters on Wednesday, as shared by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "I’ve been here a lot just because of rehab and trying to get my shoulder healthy, so I’ve been around this offseason a lot more than maybe even typically. Just to have all the guys back in the building, bring some energy, some juice, I know from a players' standpoint, everybody’s excited, everybody in the locker room is pumped to be back. And the coaching side, you can feel the energy and excitement."

Lawrence and Co. are coming off a frustrating and odd handful of months that featured the 25-year-old struggling during games before he was shut down in early December and before he briefly became the subject of an out-of-nowhere trade rumor. The five-year contract extension Lawrence signed last offseason included a no-trade clause, and there's no indication Coen wanted to work with a different QB1 before he accepted the Jacksonville job this past winter. 

In his one and only campaign of having Coen as an offensive coordinator, Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers produced the best regular-season numbers, to date, of his career. Lawrence sounds confident he can follow in Mayfield's footsteps en route to guiding the Jaguars to a bounce-back season.

"I really believe in it," Lawrence said about his new coaching staff. "I believe in the process. Obviously it’s early, but as far as what the main priorities are going to be for us, how they see the game, our offense, what we want to build it around, all those things, I’m in alignment with."

Per Pro Football Reference, Lawrence finished the 2024 regular season ranked 28th in the NFL among qualified players with an 85.2 passer rating and 35th out of 36 quarterbacks with a 60.6 percent completion percentage. One wonders if the type of trade rumors that hovered over the Jaguars this past February could resurface if Coen doesn't get better production from the quarterback position this coming fall.