For the third time in five seasons, a new era begins for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday when the team hosts the Carolina Panthers to kick off the 2025 campaign.
Liam Coen makes his debut as the eighth full-time head coach in Jaguars history in the culmination of what has been a meteoric rise. He’s just two years removed from being offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Kentucky in 2023, and was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024.
“I do have to take it in. It’s a cool moment for me personally and professionally,” Coen said of his debut. “You’re eager to go and try and put a product on the field that people are proud of.”
Coen will be opposing the man he replaced in Tampa. Dave Canales, offensive coordinator for the Bucs in 2023, left to become Carolina’s head coach at the end of that season, opening the hatch for Coen’s rocketing trajectory.
Canales is looking to build off late-season momentum from his first season in Carolina. After a 1-7 start that included five losses by 18-plus points, the team went 4-5 over its final nine games, with three of those defeats coming by one score.
A big part of this positive trend can be attributed to second-year quarterback Bryce Young coming into his own. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Young was benched two weeks into last season after he threw three interceptions and no touchdowns during an 0-2 start.
After a reprieve to reset, Young looked like a different QB down the stretch. He threw 12 touchdowns and three interceptions over the final eight games.
The addition of Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 overall pick in April’s draft gives Young another receiver option to pair with second-year wideout Xavier Legette.
With Year 3 on the horizon, Young is looking forward instead of back.
“Honestly, I’m not a big look in the rear-view kind of guy,” Young said. “I’m excited for this year. I’m excited for this group this year, and I feel great. We all feel great as a team, and we’re excited to compete.”
There’s hope in Jacksonville that Coen can provide the stability that has been missing. After the Jaguars had just two coaches in their first 17 seasons (1995-2011), Coen is the sixth non-interim Jaguars coach in the last 14 years.
While a first-time head coach could be considered a risk if stability is desired, Coen was a raving success last season in Tampa, leading an offense that ranked third in the NFL in yards per game (399.5) and fourth in points per game (29.5) behind only the Lions, Bills and Ravens.
The vision is that Coen can have the same impact on Jags starter Trevor Lawrence as he did on Baker Mayfield, who threw for a career-best 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns last season.
After making his lone Pro Bowl in 2022, quarterback Trevor Lawrence hasn’t looked like the same player the last two seasons, taking a step back in 2023 and appearing in just 10 games last season due to an AC joint injury which required surgery.
“Constant communication throughout practice,” Lawrence said of how he’s built his rapport with Coen. “Even right after a play, he’ll give me his feedback on what he’s thinking, what he sees. All that stuff I’ve been taking in.”
The Panthers have had their hands full preparing for exactly how the Jaguars will utilize two-way superstar Travis Hunter.
New Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone made the splash of the draft in his first offseason when he traded up three spots to take Hunter with the second overall pick.
Hunter won the Heisman Trophy last season at Colorado with 1,258 receiving yards, 16 offensive touchdowns and four interceptions. While Hunter’s college coach, Deion Sanders, dabbled briefly as a two-way player in the 1990s, the last true NFL two-way player was center/linebacker Chuck Bednarik, who retired in 1962.
There have been skeptics, but the Jaguars have been adamant Hunter can play both ways. In his lone preseason appearance, he played 10 offensive snaps and eight on defense.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do with him. I don’t know how they’re going to use him in different ways,” Canales said Wednesday. “As a traditional wide receiver, is there gonna be gadgets that come out of that? Defensively as well, is he just going to play the corner spot? Is he going to return punts for them?”
Panthers left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who has started 49 games over the last three seasons, did not practice on Wednesday. He was listed on the injury report with an illness but hasn’t practiced since an appendectomy. If Ekwonu is unable to go, Canales cited Yosh Nijman and Brady Christensen as potential replacements.
Guards Damien Lewis (shoulder/ankle) and Robert Hunt (foot) and cornerback Damarri Mathis (knee) were also limited participants in Carolina’s practice.
Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown (ankle) and offensive tackle Wyatt Milum (knee) did not practice while guard Cole Van Lanen (shoulder) was limited.