Liam Coen informed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night (Friday morning) that he will be the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars just one day after he agreed in principle to become one of the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL. However, the 39-year-old was entirely unreachable throughout the day so a bizarre saga of complete uncertainty proceeded to unfold.
His wife, Ashley Coen, broke her family’s silence on the mysterious disappearance but the math is just not adding up.
This kind of sudden job movement has become a common theme for Coen. It has been a crazy five (now six) years for the fast-rising offensive mind with a lot of flipping and flopping.
- 2020 — Los Angeles Rams, Assistant Quarterbacks Coach
- 2021 — University of Kentucky, Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
- 2022 — Los Angeles Rams, Offensive Coordinator
- 2023 — University of Kentucky, Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
- 2024 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Offensive Coordinator
- 2025 — Jacksonville Jaguars, Head Coach (reportedly)
Tampa Bay finished with a top-five offense in the NFL last season. Baker Mayfield had a career year.
As a result, the Buccaneers wanted to keep Coen in Florida for at least another year. He reportedly agreed to a substantial raise to stay with the organization as offensive coordinator on Wednesday.
According to Albert Breer, it was going to make him the highest-paid assistant coach in the league. The three-year agreement effectively removed Liam Coen’s name from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching search. Or so it seemed…
More detail on the Liam Coen situation—the Buccaneers offered a 3-year deal on Monday to make their OC the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history. It was contingent on him not taking the second interview with the Jags. Which is the reason for the secrecy on the Jax visit.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 24, 2025
That was on Wednesday. Things completely changed on Thursday.
Liam Coen went missing, kind of.
Although he agreed in principle to a new deal with Tampa Bay, Coen never put pen to paper. The Buccaneers wanted him to do so on Thursday but, according to Rick Stroud, they did not hear from him at any point during the day. Not even a phone call. Not even a text.
Here is where things get murky.
Stroud and Jenna Laine reported that Coen finally texted Tampa head coach Todd Bowls around 5:50 p.m. to say that he was at the doctor’s office with one of his kids. He also said that he was circling back on the head coaching job in Jacksonville.
Meanwhile, multiple reports claimed that Coen secretly met with the Jaguars during the day on Thursday. Coen informed later the Buccaneers that he will be leaving after all. According to Dianna Russini, Jacksonville agreed to let him pick his own General Manager (hence, the sudden ouster of Trent Baalke) and will pay him “Ben Johnson money” for multiple years— meaning around $13 million. Nothing is official.
Liam Coen has informed the Buccaneers that he'll be taking the Jaguars head coaching job, per sources.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 24, 2025
So was Liam Coen really at the doctor’s office? Was he lying? What is going on?!
Coen first mentioned his sick child at the beginning of December. It is unclear as to whether he was referencing the same child or if that was a different incident.
Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen says “there’s just NO time” to be worried about NFL head coaching searches. What’s on his mind? Winning a championship, having a “kid sick throwing up at home,” scoring points and stopping Micah Parsons. pic.twitter.com/auZuJA3MQs
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) December 19, 2024
Either way, Ashley Coen backed up her husband’s claims about his whereabouts on Thursday. She broke her silence on Friday morning to confirm that Liam was indeed with their son at the hospital.
I hate that I even have to say this, but when people are negative about my kids, I will not be silent. Our son is sick, we were at the hospital yesterday seeing a specialist for his autoimmune disease. Please don’t spread misinformation and assume because you heard one side.
— @ashleyfordcoen / X
But here’s the thing.
If Coen was at the hospital, a one-sentence text would’ve helped to clear things up. Something like: “Hey, sorry for the radio silence, my child is in the hospital.” No?
Tampa Bay could not reach Coen, find Coen or get Coen on the phone on Thursday. When Coen finally reached back out to Bowles at 5:50, he was already halfway out the door. An agreement with the Jaguars was finalized around 1:10 a.m. The deal is done.
So was Liam Coen at the hospital with his sick child like he and Ashley claim? Perhaps.
However, Ian Rapoport reported that Coen flew from Tampa to Jacksonville, received his pitch and outlined his desired outcome for the job, and then flew back to Tampa from Jacksonville during the day. If that is true, how was he also at the hospital?