When Liam Coen accepted the Jaguars’ HC position in early 2025, he made no guarantee of fireworks. He guaranteed a function. “We’ve got to build it around him (Trevor),” he said at the time. Coen wasn’t hired to rebuild a brand. He was hired to restore faith in a quarterback everyone thought was slipping from the elite group. After two consecutive second-half meltdowns and deterioration from Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville wasn’t in need of noise. They needed a man who could look past it. Hence, Coen’s coming was about resetting a franchise that had become too accustomed to chaos. That backdrop made his response to Tuesday’s training camp mishap all the more revealing.
Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. struggled, dropping several contested passes and finally limping off with a minor ailment. But Liam Coen didn’t bat an eye. “I don’t necessarily think it was a bad day,” he said, discounting the errors. “We got a ton of opportunities to make plays… We just didn’t make ’em.” It was a gaffe to someone watching. To Coen, it was merely another page in a very long book. No overcorrection. No panic. Just process.
Indeed, his evaluation appeared based on a more fundamental conviction. The Jaguars aren’t constructing upon perfection; they’re constructing upon accountability. Coen made a point to say the run game flashed and that the team “got on the right targets.” He wasn’t being defensive, but it was instructive.
The sort of tone a locker room might actually hear. Brian Thomas, their first-round draft choice, might not have shown superstar stuff on Day 3, but Coen wasn’t going to throw a rookie under the bus. Rather, he recast the day: “We gotta go make those plays,” he said again and again. Simple. Straightforward and no blaming.
And this is the part that might interest fans: Coen’s not peddling false hope. He’s working with something real. In 2024, Coen’s Buccaneers offense was fourth in points per game (29.5), even after losing key talent, Chris Godwin Jr., who fractured his ankle in Week 7. His capacity to adjust on the fly, not to throw in the towel after a spotty series. It was among the things that got him this Jacksonville opportunity. He’s already extrapolating that same reasoning to camp. Day-to-day performance will be important, but one poor stretch won’t define the season. And if the Jaguars are to make it through a loaded AFC South, they’ll require a coach who can look beyond it all.
Liam Coen’s QB Trevor’s Health and Thomas’ Timing Throw Camp Into Limbo
However, the long-term view doesn’t eliminate short-term realities. Jacksonville’s expectations this season depend on the health and calm of Trevor Lawrence, and currently, both are uncertain. The No. 1 overall pick in 2021 is managing what the team has termed as “minor shoulder tightness,” though reps have been restricted. Lawrence has not thrown at all in full-team drills all week, and although Coen maintains that it’s precautionary, the offense did indeed seem flat on Tuesday without him leading the rhythm.
And then the Brian Thomas Jr. scare. The LSU product who replaced Calvin Ridley’s deep-threat value had been gaining steam in the first two practices. But after a wobbly plant on a red-zone route, Thomas hobbled off to the sideline as he bruised his right shoulder during mandatory minicamp Wednesday. Team officials termed the injury as not serious, but no wonder, it came at the worst possible moment. The chemistry between Lawrence and Thomas was already fragile due to limited reps, and now that timeline might stretch longer.
For Jaguars fans hoping to see Year 5 Trevor take a leap under a fresh play-caller, this isn’t the ideal start. Lawrence regressed in several areas last season, most notably his red-zone decision-making, and his mechanics were inconsistent under pressure. The Coen recruitment was meant to reset that path, but injury? Uh….no matter how minor the interruptions are. Staff will not rush Lawrence into full throttle before he’s good, but each rep missed with Thomas delays the implementation of Coen’s vertical ideas.
Coen has already stated he doesn’t consider Camp to be a panic laboratory. “It’s about instilling confidence in small moments,” he said in May, when queried about coaching through challenge. That attitude is being tried now. If Lawrence is again throwing by next week, this is an asterisk. But if the tightness persists and Thomas keeps missing games, the Jaguars might be facing an ugly preseason and a slowed-down timeline for their franchise quarterback to adapt to his third play-caller in five years.
The silver lining? Coen’s offense isn’t about one guy winning every contest. It’s about timing, progression, and simplifying things for quarterbacks with the ability to process rapidly. Lawrence, even in the regression of last season, still excelled on layered ideas and intermediate timing throws. That’s where the staff will most probably gravitate if Thomas’ availability becomes a concern.
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