The Jacksonville Jaguars are starting anew. They fired head coach Doug Pederson and, after an extensive search that included multiple coaches turning them down, eventually fired general manager Trent Baalke, at which point former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen reversed course and agreed to become the Jags’ next head coach.
With Baalke still yet to be replaced, one of the highest-ranking executives in the organization is Tony Boselli, the five-time Pro Bowler and Hall of Famer whom the Jaguars took with the second overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. And Boselli seems encouraged by the conversations he’s had with Coen, for a very specific reason.
“What came off the page with him for me was, we’re sitting there talking in the interview and his main focus — we talked about Trevor, obviously, and the quarterback — but his main focus was the offensive line,” Boselli said during SiriusXM NFL Radio appearance.
“Line of scrimmage. He says, ‘Listen, we have to get the O-line right. If you can’t control the line of scrimmage, if you can’t run it, and you can’t protect your quarterback, you can’t win.’ And then he says, we need to get the D-line right. His points of emphasis were the O- and D-line, which you don’t hear from most of the OCs today because they’re talking about throwing it all over the yard. And that’s when I said, ‘OK, this guy gets it.’ He understands. His philosophy aligns with how we want to do it. And I believe that’s the way you have sustained success.”
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It’s no surprise that a former offensive lineman would be encouraged by a focus on the line of scrimmage. It’s also no surprise that an executive would be encouraged by such a focus in the wake of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory. And it’s no surprise that a coach would bring it up in his conversations — they always do.
Ultimately, the quality of players on the roster will likely determine the degree of success Coen has in Jacksonville. That’s why the Jaguars’ current general manager search is just as important as any particular focus that their coach has when it comes to team-building.
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