Trevor Lawrence Takes Brutally Honest Shot at Ex-Jaguars HC Doug Pederson While Praising Liam Coen’s Offense

The Jacksonville Jaguars fired head coach Doug Pederson not just because of his win-loss record but also because of his inability to develop quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Initially brought in to clean up the mess Urban Meyer left behind, Pederson produced modest results. He led Jacksonville to the playoffs in 2022 but left with a 22-29 record over three seasons, including a complete collapse to 4-13 in 2024.

Lawrence’s development is the most important thing for the franchise. Drafted first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension in June 2024. They need to hit big on this bet badly.

Hence, the circuitous route to hiring Liam Coen as their next head coach. He’s a protégé of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, bringing an offense and experience of working with quarterbacks that the Jaguars have been lacking throughout Lawrence’s time with the team.

Liam Coen Brings Pass-Friendly Offense to Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville

Lawrence spoke to the media after the first day of the Jaguars’ organized team activities and raved about what he’s seen so far in Coen’s offense. He also took some veiled digs at Pederson without mentioning him.

“I really like it a lot, it has a lot of answers,” Lawrence responded during a media press conference. “You know, it’s great. I mean, it puts a lot of the players, you have to know your stuff, but it gives you all the answers. You’re not, don’t feel like you’re stuck in a play that’s not set up for success. It gives us a lot of answers, and we change the presentation a lot, make a lot of things look the same.”

Coen’s lone year as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator was prodigious. He also helped fully resurrect quarterback Baker Mayfield’s career. The Buccaneers finished fourth in points per game (29.5) and third in yards per game (399.5). Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards (third in the NFL) and 41 touchdowns (tied for second in the NFL) after he signed a three-year, $100 million deal with Tampa Bay ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Lawrence continued, “There’s a whole lot of, without going into too much detail, there’s a lot of things that I like about it, and it’s definitely unlike any system that I’ve learned before. So it’s been cool to learn and just pick the coach’s brain and try to get it down as fast as possible.”

The Jaguars went through what they did to get Coen specifically to develop Lawrence into the superstar they believe he can be. Everything Jacksonville hopes to accomplish on the field hinges on that.