JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Jimsure from DBS
Should I be worried that every other new coach is hiring coordinators and assistants, but we have only retained one person?
Absolutely not. Head Coach Liam Coen already has retained special teams coordinator Heath Farwell, and he is currently interviewing offensive and defensive coordinators. The staff is coming together and will continue to come together in the coming days. Assembling an NFL coaching staff is about hiring capable people who share a common vision with the head coach. It is not a race and should not be viewed as such.
DuvalJag95 from J-ville
We keep hearing about all these defensive-coordinator interviews, so when do we start hearing about a new general manager? Asking for a friend.
Owner Shad Khan on Monday said the Jaguars will hire a general manager by the end of February. I expect a defensive coordinator hired soon, an offensive coordinator next, then a general manager. When will you hear about a general manager? In due time, I suppose.
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O'/King of all Funk, so our new head coach said "Duval" in a slightly different way. I don't care how he says it if he turns this franchise around and wins us a Super Bowl.
We seem perhaps a bit locked in on Coen's rather unfortunate – though heartfelt – "Duvaaaaaaal" at his introductory press conference. You're correct that all will be forgiven if he wins big. Most will be forgiven, anyway. People will forgive him, right?
Marc from Oceanway
If Liam Coen wins a Super Bowl with Jacksonville, we should ALL start saying Duvaaaaaaal!
I imagine we would. At least I imagine some would.
Jason from Suffolk, VA
My favorite part of the press conference is when Liam Coen made the comment that it's players not plays. Do you take this to mean that we will not use free agency as a focal point any longer, and only use it to supplement the roster? Drafting and development would be a welcome change and provide long-term stability as long as they're drafting and developing the right players.
I took Coen's comment along these lines to mean that he understands this is first a player's league and that there's therefore a limit to the importance and effectiveness of the sacred task of play-calling. I didn't take it to mean anything regarding free agency, though loyal O-Zone readers – and he knows who he is – know I would looooove nothing better than to see the Jaguars significantly ratchet down their longstanding overemphasis on this area.
Ray from Jax
John, wait a second. I thought you said three years ago that former Head Coach Doug Pederson had changed the culture of the team. Now, we are told the new coach will likely change the culture. It's always culture in the NFL.
When you win, your culture often is good. When you lose, it's usually bad. When a new head coach takes over, the reason is most often that the team didn't win enough and there therefore is a bad culture. It's sort of the NFL circle of life.
Marcus from Jax
I know that NFL rules allow teams to interview and hire coaches who are taking a step up without needing special permission. That is clear in cases where an assistant is being interviewed for a coordinator position, or a coordinator for a head coaching position. But what about all these new titles? Is a passing-game coordinator a coordinator, or an assistant? Does the title "assistant head coach" attached to an assistant coach make them anything more than an assistant? If so, are these titles strategically invented to circumvent these rules, and how might that affect the Jags in their coordinator search?
A team must allow an assistant to interview with another team for a head coaching position. A team as of 2020 also must allow an assistant without a full coordinator title to interview with another team for a full coordinator position. All other moves are considered lateral and can be blocked.
Evan from Cocoa, FL
Hey, O-Zone. Do you think that the Houston Texans having a new offensive coordinator brings Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence on equal footing since they will both be learning new offenses? I believe all things being equal that Trevor is more talented. Thank you, KOAF.
Stroud and Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence both will be working with first-year coordinators moving forward. That certainly means both will be learning new verbiage and a new approach. It means they will on the same "footing" in that sense.
Limo Bob from Neptune Beach, FL
Is the Rooney Rule working? Seems to me more black candidates interviewing for top coaching and coordinator positions?
The idea of the Rooney Rule is to "encourage hiring best practices to foster and provide opportunity to diverse leadership throughout the NFL." The rule originally was to increase the number of minorities in head-coaching positions. It since has been expanded to include general-manager and executive positions. Teams are now required to interview at least two minority candidates for vacant head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. One minority candidate is required for quarterback coach positions. There are undeniably more minority candidates being interviewed for these positions. Whether there are enough minorities actually being hired is a matter of discussion and debate.
Robert from Elkton
Zone, how are these for a guiding philosophy on free agency and the draft? Every draft, first three rounds: defensive line, corners, receivers and offensive tackles. Never sign them as so-called first-tier free agents (they will break your salary cap). Rest of the draft is best player available. Use free agency only for cheaper positions: guard, center, tight-end, safety and linebacker. Even top-tier ones are cheaper than other groups. Second-tier free agents can be any position if cap friendly. Franchise quarterbacks break the rules.
It is of course impossible to use any specific template to build an NFL roster. But you didn't say "specific template." You said "guiding philosophy." And as a guiding philosophy, this isn't bad at all.
Nicholas from Fort Cavazos, TX
KOAF: People getting fired from any job is always a tough thing even when it's expected in professional football. For the current coordinators, do they have any duties left to perform as they wait for their official "pink slips?" Do they still get paid during this time while in "limbo?" Wish them and their family all the best moving forward.
When a head coach is dismissed as Pederson was dismissed the day after the 2024 regular season, coordinators and other assistants essentially are immediately in limbo. There's a lot of desk-cleaning, hand-shaking and farewell-saying in the first few days after the head coach's dismissal. The assistants often are seen around the facility, but there's little work to be done until a new head coach is hired. Sometimes, the new head coach will interview assistants from the former team. More often, those assistants are free to interview and accept jobs with other teams. They get paid because they are usually under contract for multiple seasons.
Jagschik from Sanford, FL
Hello, John! As a resident of Central Florida and STM (section 103) I am wondering when the team will announce the temporary home of the Jags for 2027. The opportunity to draw new fans from the Orlando market seems like a no-brainer to me over Gainesville. Do you know or have any idea when the location will be announced? Is there a preference in the Miller Electric Center for where the games will be played?
I'm guessing the Jaguars will play home games in Orlando in 2027, which is the season they will play home games away from Jacksonville as renovations on what is now EverBank Stadium are completed. That's a guess. It's only a guess. The folks in the MEC are either getting hired or waiting to see who's getting hired, so they're not thinking much about '27 yet.
Greg from Section 122, Jacksonville, FL
I want to get my hopes up, but it's hard because it has been so bad for so long. Even with former General Manager Trent Baalke FINALLY being let go, I'm just not confident Jaguars Owner Shad Khan is going to make good choice for general manager. One note, though, is Coen is going to have a challenging task ahead of coaching the team during our stadium re-build. Lots of changes to navigate, I really hope he is our Tom Landry or Bill Cowher. We need a generational leader to coach our generational quarterback.
Confidence for many Jaguars fans won't be found here in the O-Zone this offseason. Nor will it be found in their hearts. Those hearts have been broken and punched too often in recent seasons. Confidence must be earned and the only way to earn it is by winning.
Paul from Lake City, FL
I'm pretty sure Tony Boselli, the Loyal Reader and I all know where to find you - napping under your desk, or Sbarro's.
I think we all realize there's a decent chance we'll find Boselli in Sbarro's, too.