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Press Pass | Liam Coen on Prep for Browns, Setting the Tone for 2026 Season · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm sure he's going to have to probably take
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: it all in. As we all know, practice, walkthroughs, meetings
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: are all exciting to get back on the practice field,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: but there's nothing like the emotion of a game, of
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the stadium, you know, opponent, um, all those that go
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: into it. And now look, he's been doing this for
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: a very long time at a high level and he's
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: played in big games. He understands, you know, he's had
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: to come back from some injuries, obviously not as, as
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: large as this one, but, um, you know, I do
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: trust that, you know, he may have some jitters or
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: whatever it may be, but I'm sure a lot of
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: guys will have similar ones being game one. Um, you know,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: and I just, I'm happy for him. You know, I'm
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: happy to get him back on the grass, doing something
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: that he loves to do and that he's passionate about
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: doing and energetic about doing on a daily basis. So
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: excited about that for him for sure. Yeah. He's got
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: a relentless motor, relentless motor. He's wiry in his, in
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: his physicality. Like he's, I mean, he's strong. He's, he's
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: rocked up and all that, and he can run down
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: your face. But he's rangy, wiry. He's slippery in ways. Like,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: he'll be in a nine technique and then come crashing
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: down when nobody can see it. Like, on the snap
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: of the ball, it's hard. I mean, he's just crafty.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: You can tell he understands the game of football. He
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: definitely makes a lot of different things challenging, whether it's
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: in pass protection or in the run game that you
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: have to have a plan for. Obviously, I have a
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: lot of respect for him for what he was able
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: to do to us and in preparation leading up to
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: our game, had a lot of respect for him. So
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I know that he's taken on some of that, you know,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: mindset there in Cleveland to kind of let it rip
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: and him be a guy up front that really leads
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: the way. So definitely need, you know, a plan in
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: both the run and the pass. Yes. I mean, so
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: much of... um what we're doing in game one is
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: you know you're trying to do what you do best
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: right just because like i have no idea what rudy's
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: gonna play defensively like i really don't have a clue
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: so um you know you have an idea of some
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: of the things that maybe they've they've done before in
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: the past you go back and look but you know
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: they they have a little bit of i want to
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: say an upper hand but they have our tape from
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: last season i don't have his tape from last season
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: of his defense, right? I've got an idea. We've got
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: some thoughts, we've got some cutups and all that. But
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: so in game one specifically, I think you would just
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: have to really be ready to adjust. You've got to,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: it sucks to kind of carry volume, you know, cause
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: you don't want to have too much volume, but you
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: also need to have answers for maybe what they could
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: throw at you. What kind of game it becomes. And yeah, you're,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: you're always a little bit, I don't want to say
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: at a disadvantage because we're all very even in terms
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: of going into week one. Like we don't, we could
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: have wrinkles obviously that they're not aware of that we
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: didn't put on tape last year. Um, but we're kind
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: of going in a little bit more blind than maybe
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: they are. What stands out about Harold Fannin? I'm a
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: huge fan of his. I loved him coming out of
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Bowling Green. Um, I thought he was super like underrated
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: last year going around, um, and watching the tape, like
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: just crossover tape last year, really started to become a
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: fan of his. And then obviously in the lead up
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: in preparation for this game, you're watching what they're doing
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: with them. I mean, I watched them block. I think
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: it was Micah Parsons on a duo and he was
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: in line and he held his own and, you know, was,
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: had a stalemate there and it was a good run.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: And then you see him flexed out running wheel routes and,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: option routes, and then he goes all the way out
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: to be the single receiver and is running daggers in
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: like 20-yard in. So I think it's a good fit
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: for Monk and for what he likes to do, and
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: you saw what he did with Likely in Baltimore as well.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: And so I got to believe there's going to be
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: some of those parts of Fannin's game that are going
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: to be able to translate to what Monk likes to
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: do with some of those tight ends. or just the
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: first time as a head coach, you've obviously seen the
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: take from Baltimore through the power drinks. Here's the thing
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: I always know about his offense. It's going to be
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: multiple shifts, motions, multiple in the run game. They don't
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: just say, all right, we run zone, and that's what
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: we do. There's going to be multiple different auxiliary runs, gaps, traps, whams, perimeters.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: I've always had a lot of respect for Monk. Monk
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: helped me out tremendously when I got the Kentucky job.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: And we talked a ton about game planning, about the
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: field dimensions, about splits, about tempo, about all that stuff.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: So I've got a lot of respect for Monk. I
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: think he's legit when it comes to being able to
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: adapt to playmakers and to his personnel. And he's proven it.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: So it's definitely a challenge because, you know, you watch
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: the Baltimore stuff. Well, yes, they had Lamar, but, I mean,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: there's going to be some similarities. There's absolutely going to
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: be carryover to the things that they did well in
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Baltimore that are going to continue to carry over to
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: what he believes in in Cleveland and then adapt a
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: little bit to their personnel, right? I mean, they're excited
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: about those receivers. Like we mentioned, Fannin being a weapon
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: in the pass game, and then they've got a good
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: physical contact balance back in Judkins. And I think the
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: Samson kid is 22, correct? Dylan Sampson. I like him.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: He's like a little scat back. They got Raheem Sanders,
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: who's a physical back. So, you know, I think the
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: personnel really fits maybe what Monk wants to do. Is
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: it funny? I mean, Sampson, Tennessee, Sanders, South Carolina. Yeah, yeah.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: That's what I mean. Malachi Corley, we were recruiting him
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: from Western Kentucky to Kentucky. but yeah to see like
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Dylan and like I recruited Raheem Sanders a little bit
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: too trying to get him to transfer so it's wild
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: to see this though Isaiah Bond we talked to recruited
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: you know so it's it is pretty cool and you
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: know I think that they have like I said like
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Denzel Boston Concepcion I think Judy's a really good route
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: runner in this league he has been he's put it
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: on tape for a while so they've got some skill
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: players that are obviously young, but they have a lot
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: of confidence in those guys, and I think Deshaun will
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: give those guys opportunities. How much of a settle are
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: you now that you do not have to learn everything
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: on the fly as a head coach? Yeah, I think
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: you're settled a little bit more in terms of the operation,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: the weekly schedule, the rhythm, the routine, the game management
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: aspect of it and trusting and knowing the guys that
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: you've hired. you believe in that you trust that are
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: going to be on the same page about maybe some
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: of the ways that we want to be in terms
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: of aggressiveness not aggressiveness punt no punt field goal all
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: that stuff and to continue to be able to adjust
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: and adapt to how the game's going but I do
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: think that it's you have a routine in place that
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: is we feel has worked and that's where I feel
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: a little bit more settled I would say like in
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: terms of just trusting our process that, okay, like, we
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: do feel like it works. Our process works. And so
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: the result, obviously, we have to see of a new
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: 2026 Jacksonville Jaguars team, those results, like, yeah, I'm unsure of, right?
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: What's a certain part of the unseen, the unknown? It's
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: doing you, you want to make sure, like, Like I
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: was saying before, the volume piece is the unknown. And
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: making sure that you don't overload the guys in week one.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: Because there's going to be anxiety. There's going to be
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: all those things, right? You're really trying to keep it
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: simple in ways. But you also need to have answers.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: And I think that's the balance. That's the unknown kind
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: of angst that it can cause in ways. It's not...
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: And you just want to get the ball snapped. But
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: I also really need these next three days of practice.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: Like that's that unknown, that balance that we kind of
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: fight is, man, we want to play somebody else, but
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: it's Wednesday. Like we need to get better in these
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: next three days of practice for Sunday. But because you
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: just want to see what's going to be their thing, right?
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: Like what's going to be their unscouted look? What's going
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: to be their answers that may be we've been talking
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: about now for, you know, six months. Right. So that's the,
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: the part that's a little uneasy at times. Yeah. Yeah.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: I think, you know, it'll be a game time decision.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: I would imagine working them out before the game and
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: seeing what that's going to look like. Just using every
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: op we can to, to get him to potentially be
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: ready to go. So we'll kind of take it all
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: the way up to game time with that one. You know, yeah,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: you want to get them in, like you, you want
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: to be able to get them some work, get them
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: some reps, get them feeling confident in a game like setting,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: missing the joints and all those kinds of ops that
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: our other guys obviously had throughout the training camp. And,
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: but I've really liked his mindset. I've liked the way
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: he's attacked, putting himself in maybe precarious positions and owning it. Like,
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: you know, man, I wasn't great when that happened. Or, man,
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: I felt really good when I got stuck and I
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: was sideways. And, you know, so those I think he's
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: been very intentional about that and has been fearless with
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: putting himself in some of the positions that he has
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: throughout the course of practice. So I've really appreciated that.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: And then we'll see what it looks like on Sunday.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: but do you look at week one as kind of
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: a tone setting kind of thing? You can kind of
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: set the tone for the year, how you start? For sure.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: You know, I think you always want to start off fast, right?
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Like you want to start fast. You want to win
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: for momentum purposes for, you know, going on the, whatever
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: the next steps are. But I don't think, you know,
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: there's so many teams that obviously start, have poor starts
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: and end up having really good years. So it's like,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: try not to live and die by every game, especially
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: not the first one. You know, you're like, there's enough
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: on these guys as it is. There's enough anxiety for
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: week one in general. I mean, we've got a game tonight.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: So it's like, it's wild to say that we're here. Like,
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: it's here, it's now. We want to try to stay
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: in the moment. But, yeah, it's important to have a
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: fast start and to set the tone of kind of
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: how you want these guys to play. Like, you hope
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: that your play style– does show up in week one because,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: you know, you know that that gives you the best
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: chance to win is when we play the way that we,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: you know, can have proven to be able to do
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: so at times. Coming back from injury and is he
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: also a game time decision? Who's that? I'm sorry. Yeah,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: he'll be exactly very similar to Cole that way where
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: we'll work him out. We'll get a game time decision
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: from him, you know, It's been a while, right? So
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: we'll have to work through it. But I have a
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: lot of faith in LaQuinn and trust in him to
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: be able to know the game plan and give us
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: a chance if he's ready to go in that workout.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: I'll feel confident that he can come in and help
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: our team. He'll be 11 on 11 team periods during
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: the week? Yeah, yeah. He'll get some. He'll get some.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: It's just going to be a mix and kind of
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: making sure that he can do everything we're asking. John,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: you had something? Go ahead, buddy. You talked after the
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Bucs joined about the coverage scheme kind of changing a
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: little bit, going more challenging guys next. Yeah. Match coverage.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: What went into that decision? How much anticipation do you
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: have kind of just seeing it in a game? Yeah.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Not just a joint practice. Yeah, I think like, you know,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: we played man coverage last year. It was just maybe,
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: you know, in some different situations and, you know, just
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: That's been a point of emphasis all offseason. So you're like, yeah,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: you want to see it come to fruition. You want
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: to see it have the impact on the front that
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: you're hoping that it can have. And while still, I mean,
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: we're remaining true to our core. I mean, that was
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: pretty successful for us, obviously, is being able to play
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: vision zone, have our eyes on the quarterback, get tips
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: and overthrows, be able to cause some of those tight
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: window throws. that zone coverage can do and can be
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: challenging on any quarterback but also knowing that hey man
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: there's times where we might need to go and challenge
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: these guys and be able to get up in there
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: so it's always that balance especially in zone coverage I
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: think we do a nice job of rerouting in zone
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: and then when you're in man or match you're not
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: rerouting anymore you're not truly disrupting all the timing and rhythm.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, they can win quick, easy wins, too, or
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: create rubs and picks, and those are the challenges of
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: man-match coverage. So it's always a balance, but, yeah, you
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: definitely want to see things that you've been working on
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: come to fruition in game one for sure.