NFL Rumors: Liam Coen Told Baker Mayfield, Bucs He Was Staying Before Taking Jags Job

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Amid the wild saga that saw Liam Coen leave his post as Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator to become head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars this week, Coen reportedly informed key member of the Bucs organization at one point that he would be staying.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano (h/t ESPN’s Michael DiRocco and Jenna Laine), Bucs general manager Jason Licht asked Coen what it would take to keep him in Tampa after his first head coaching interview with Jacksonville.

Coen reportedly wanted to be the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL at between $4 million and $5 million per year, which Bucs ownership signed off on as long as Coen did not take a second interview with the Jags.

On Tuesday night, Coen reportedly texted Licht, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, quarterback Baker Mayfield and other Bucs players to say he was staying in Tampa.

However, Coen never officially signed the contract, and he took another interview in Jacksonville after the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke. The Jags then hired him as their head coach Thursday night.

The 39-year-old Coen has made several stops at the collegiate and NFL levels, but he seemingly first rose to prominence coaching under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams.

After serving as an assistant wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach with the Rams from 2018 to 2020, Coen served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky in 2021.

He returned to the Rams in 2022 as their offensive coordinator after the Minnesota Vikings hired previous Rams OC Kevin O’Connell as their head coach.

Coen went back to Kentucky one more time in 2023 as the Wildcats’ OC in 2023, but it was another one-year stint, as the Bucs called him back to the NFL.

In 2023, Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales resurrected Mayfield’s career, as the veteran quarterback set what were career highs at the time with 4,044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns.

Canales did such a good job with Mayfield that the Carolina Panthers hired him to be their head coach and a mentor for your quarterback Bryce Young.

Bowles brought Coen in as a replacement for Canales, and both Mayfield and the offense as a whole got even better with Coen calling the plays.

Tampa went from ranking 23rd in total offense and 20th in scoring in 2023 to third in total offense and fourth in scoring in 2024.

Also, Mayfield had a career year, completing 71.4 percent of his passes for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns, although he did lead the league with 16 picks.

Even the rushing offense improved dramatically, going from 32nd in rushing yardage in both 2022 and 2023 to fourth in 2024 thanks largely to the emergence of rookie running back Bucky Irving.

Now, Coen will look to do something similar in Jacksonville and he will have some high-end talent to work with in quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

Despite their talent, the Jags went a highly disappointing 4-13 this season, but Jaguars leadership clearly believes Coen is the right guy to get things back on track.

As for the Bucs, they have now churned out two consecutive head coaches from the OC spot in Canales and Coen, and their offensive coordinator opening figures to be among the most coveted assistant coaching positions available.