After initially interviewing 10 head coaching candidates to replace Doug Pederson, the Jacksonville Jaguars have brought back three for a second interview.
Those three finalists are Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Now, one of them is off the table.
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Liam Coen removes himself from Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching search
On Tuesday, Tampa Bay Times‘ Rick Stroud reported that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were “bracing” for Liam Coen to accept the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching job. That idea went out the window on Wednesday morning.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Coen has removed himself from consideration for the Jaguars’ job. He’ll instead become the first offensive coordinator to stay with the Buccaneers for longer than one season since Byron Leftwich from 2021 to 2022.
The Buccaneers were able to convince Coen to stay by giving him a raise, signing him to a new contract that makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid coordinators.
With Coen out of the picture, the Jaguars could be down to Graham and Saleh. The 45-year-old Graham has never been a head coach before, but he’s been an NFL defensive coordinator for three different teams spanning six seasons.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicates the Jaguars could also bring in Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady for a second interview too.
With Liam Coen off the board, #Bills OC Joe Brady is a name to watch if Jaguars expand their search to next week. He was on the team’s initial list of offensive minds by which Jacksonville was intrigued.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 22, 2025
