Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Press Pass | Liam Coen on Team Mentality, Road to AFC South Title

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Press Pass | Liam Coen on Team Mentality, Road to AFC South Title · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Given the injuries of that position this season.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Sean Khali and Trevor have done a
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: great job of getting everybody prepared.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You know, you really look back to.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: The spring mini camps, OTA's training camps of making sure
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: that we rotated guys in at different positions. You know,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: that's something that I've always believed in personally, thought we
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: did a good job when I was in l A
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: doing the same thing of like at mini camp, training camp,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: thrown guys in different positions. And it does cause a
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: little discomfort even for you guys freaking out about it,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: But because I remember you asked me the question, no
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: you guys all seriously, you know it was it was,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: oh my god, how could they do this? And you know,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: but seriously, it just it's more. The more you can
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: do in this league, right, the more you can do
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: as a coach and as a player is always something that's.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Valued, right.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: Availability in this league is such a huge deal, and flexibility,
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: and I think our coaching staff, as you mentioned, has
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: done a great job of keeping that group extremely tight knit,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: even with shuffling around and guys being a little uncomfortable
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: at times. But it's a selfless position. And they ultimately
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: we go as they go.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he's he's extremely impressive.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: I remember, you know, twenty we played him in twenty
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: twenty and we played him again in twenty twenty two,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: and he did some really good things against us, like
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: stiff arming defenders, throwing the ball down the field a
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: million miles. And I've got a lot of respect for
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: their their coaching staff, I know some of the guys
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: on the offensive staff specifically, and to watch him play
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: the competitor so many playoff games, Division whatever it is,
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: big games, you know, he typically shows up and makes
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: critical plays at critical moments, and that's why he's been
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: an m VP candidate for a long time. Yeah, Angeel, Yeah, Yeah,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: they're damn good to running the football man, they are,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: you know, Aaron Cromer. I've learned a lot of football
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: from from him, and and just sitting and listening to
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: his meetings, his Friday running game intent meetings when I
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: was in LA, you know, just going and sitting in
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: his meetings, you learn something every single day. And he's
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: one of the best out there, honestly, if not the best,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: in terms of how long he's done it at such
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: a high level and at different places doing it. He's
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: extremely like he's cutting edge when it comes to the
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: fundamentals and techniques of the position and has those guys
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: playing at a really high.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Level football.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: In the playoffs.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Oh that was cool, man, that was cool.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: Uh yeah, I think Gabe and and his girlfriend ended
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: up making it, so it's it's cool to actually have
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: fun with it, and you know it's it was really
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: well made.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: It was really well made. That was like there's tags
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: on and ever. I mean it's something you could sell
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: or something. So that was pretty cool. I do not I'm.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Not a bedazzled type, more of a no logo kind
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: of type going. But no, my wardrobe is definitely not
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: that blinging.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: There's a stash.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Yesterday you're going sixty one when trailing after the first quarter,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: which was the best record in the league in that category.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: How did you build a team? It became souer silient
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: because historically the.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: Last couple of years, this is not its rally but
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: down in the first wore the last.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Two weeks back and.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: That's interesting Stata and heard that one. But you know,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I think it's this group specifically, as so many times
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: we talked after Houston is really dug in and really
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: treated every week like a playoff game. Trevor I think
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: said it best yesterday. It was like we were in
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: must wins to win the division and to be in
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: the situation that we're in. We we kind of treated
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: them all that way, and it was one to zero
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: each week. And you know, I think the no flinch,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: no blink mentality of playing four quarter football games and
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: for sixty minutes or longer is the mentality. And so
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: I think these guys, we have enough veterans and enough
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: players on this team that have been through difficult games,
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: difficult years, good winning years, winning you know teams, and ultimately,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: when you have leadership like that and you have continuity
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: and they can then give that information and some of
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: that knowledge to the younger players that haven't been through it,
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: I think that's why you probably see some of the
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: ability to be mentally and physically tough.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: You've been around.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: MVP caliber seasons before Trevor of this running has been on.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Do you think he deserves some consideration.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: For an accolade like that?
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: I mean I think so, right.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, you're you're you're judged as a quarterback by
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: what you know, your team's record by by winning and losing,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: by how much you elevate the team, and and ultimately
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: what you do in the in the playoffs. Right, So
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: much of that gets I think resolved around this time
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: and the best rise, right, the best rise and the
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: best to elevate the people around him. And I think
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: he's continued to do that down this stretch, right, Like
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: so many different names were thrown around for m VP
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: within the first eight games of the season, and some
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: of those teams aren't.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: In the playoffs, so it's like, how can that be?
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: You know, you you.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Definitely the great every season does this for so many
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: different teams, different players.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: It's just the way it goes.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: And there's so many good players in this league, and
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: some guys get hot early and then some guys get
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: hot later, and it's it's really what you do in
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: just in January that matters.
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: Well, you went through this process of assistant last year,
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: just in case any team you know comes one interview,
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: camp or grant.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: What advice would you have for them?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's that's what you ultimately, you know, it's
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: hard to lose coach them. So I saw Sean do
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: it every single year. But it is what you want
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: right at the end of the day, you you do
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: want to continue to grow the game, and you want
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: to surround yourself with good people and that's what we
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: did try to do here.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: And so.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: You know, this week's focus and mentality has to be
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: on Buffalo and has to be on the job at hand,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: and then whatever happens after that, that's it's more so
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: you want those opportunities, though for guys on your staff
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: it's hard. It's not something you look forward to.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Having to to ever replace.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: But you know, I was really fortunate to be in
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: that situation last year, and you want to support those
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: guys throughout that process, even though it might hurts you
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: in the long run a little bit. It might hurt
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: you in some ways, but that's why we're in this profession,
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: is to help guys get opportunities to grow this game,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: to to be able to do those things. And you
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: got to keep hiring good people. Seen the postseason before,
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: a lot of the guys in the locker room might
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: not have Does anything shift.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Change this week, No, I don't think. So.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: We have an opportunity where pads again this week in
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: practice now that the playoffs start back up, so we
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: may throw pads on this week to be able to
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: go based on our health. And you know, I think
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: that it just gets upticked.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: A little bit, right.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: It's just the the ever evolving standard of the way
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: that we operate, the way that we walk through, the
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: way we practice, the.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Way that we meet. And then yeah, Sunday at one.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: O'clock and may be a little faster, right, maybe a
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: little bit more physical.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think that's just kind of what you
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: feel when you know it's one and done, right, and
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: when you know you're in a game that it's win
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: or go home. So I'm sure the intensity level will
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: be upticked a little bit, and but I think our
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: guys will be ready for it.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: To have that game in your backyard at home.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: It's great a to play in front of our fans
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: in our community.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: That's that's massive we've had.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: I just I saw I was watching the game last
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: night at home, the TV copy, and you just saw
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: so many good clips of our fan base in the stands,
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: great signs and cool support.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: So you appreciate that.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: But also from a schedule standpoint for us as a
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: coaching staff and the players being able to remain kind
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: of in.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: A good rhythm.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: We'll have the same schedule that we've had for a
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: number of different weeks, and playing Sunday at one is
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: is a good thing for us.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: But you can't stick.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Your Yeah, look, I know, uh, Coach McDermott and that staff,
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: they've won a lot of football games, in a lot
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: of playoff games, a lot of heart you know, big games,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: and they're gonna look at everything, right, They're gonna look
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: at everything that we've done. They're gonna look at what
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: they do and how to combat those things. Different ways
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: that we create explosives on offense and vice versa, how
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: to defend those things. I think they're pretty buttoned up
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: that way. So it's really about continuing to find things
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: that you're good at, making them look maybe a little
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: bit different, or calling them at different times, whatever it is.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: But you can't get away from what has got you
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: here and and ultimately what you hang your hat on
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: in so many ways. So it's definitely that chess match
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: that's fun about coaching.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Go through that kind of film study.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: Do you go back and look at the game that
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: the Bills and the Jacks played last Year's how players
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: handled their matchups or is it not.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: I am looking at that game. No, you've mentioned every receiver,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: a tight end was actually caught a pass. Yes. Is
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: that to be able to get to everybody, Yeah.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: I think it's great keeps everybody engaged. It keeps everybody,
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: you know, practice preparation, knowing that, hey, everybody's number can
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: get called at any time, and it's their job and
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: responsibility to be ready for the moment, whether it's because
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: of injury, whether it's because of substitution, whether it's because
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: of the score. The standard is to be able to
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: go out, perform your job, do your job to the
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: best of your ability, and execute. And championship execution is championship,
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: you know, is bred from championship preparation, and that's the standard.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: But Morris is kind of defined.
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: Where you guys are looking for him player, how rewarding
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: wasn't just to see him, you know, getting that touch.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was awesome.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: It was actually supposed to be strangers, but Monty had
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: come out, and you know, we just had a little
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: switch in the rotation. So Quinn was playing at F
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: and and Brent was that why and so well I
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: wasn't really calling it for Stranger, it was just that's
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: how we had practiced it in the week.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: But it's great for Quinn. Seriously, he's.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: I really appreciate quin Morris. I really respect his his
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: journey is the way that he's continued to help our
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: team when regardless of what the role is. And it started,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: you know, really big on special teams and gaining the
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: trust of Heath and Luke and myself and the staff
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: on teams and then boom, you go on offense and
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: do a good job when your numbers called, and and
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: that's what all we can really ask.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: For when you go in the locker room after a
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: win and you don't has that feel?
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Is that something that just something you've always said?
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: Is that something that maybe it was spontaneous early in
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: the season you just let it ride. Where's the origin
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: of that?
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: My dad?
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was all my high school buddies
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: text me and they all reach out to him too
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: and stuff, and you know, I think it's kind of
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: cool that we have the same you know, I that
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: I kind of took that on. It was the same
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: exact you.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: Know deal he did.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: We were pretty good when I was when I was playing,
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: so we said it a lot, but he's been doing that.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: He was doing that, i think since since college and
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: when he came to coach me in high school he
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: did the same thing. So kind of took that one on.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: Media departments have such a good job of putting out
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: when those first few moments when you walk into the
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: locker room after a victory, short of like life altering
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: experiences like marriages and births and things like that. Is
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: there any more awful place in a football locker room
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: after after a big win.
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: No, not many, but not many better places, honestly. You know,
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: a lot of work goes into this preparation, a lot
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: of work, a lot of time, a lot of physical, emotional, mental.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Time and energy goes into this thing.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: And to see the players enjoy moments. That was something
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: we talked about Saturday night in the team meeting, was
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: to to stay in the moment, to enjoy every moment
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: of that game yesterday, every play, every single second of
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: the game is its own moment, and to stay in
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: the moment, to live in the moment, and then to
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: enjoy the moment right and knowing that there's a lot
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: of work to be done, that nothing is truly you know,
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: finished right now. I think that a lot of our
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: players said that yesterday is you know, there's still a
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: lot of work to do right now, and really it
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: gets gets amplified at this moment. But to enjoy yesterday,
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: that was cool to see the players and everybody juiced up.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: Last question, Oh good that Parker touchdown. Was that an
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: example of going from the practice field.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: To the game field.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: It looked like that was something you guys worked on Rome. Yeah,
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: we repped that on Friday.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Where it was a mirrored type concept where Trevor had
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: the ability to kind of give those guys a little
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: audible or if you will, or a double move off
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: of a route and he could have done it to
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: either side, so he The way we had set it
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: up was so that you know, it could go to
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: either way, and he ended up sending it that way
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: and it was very similar look to how we had
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: practiced it.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Against.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: The look on Friday was the same exact coverage. So yeah,
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: practice performance equals game reality, right. That's so much of
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: what we talk about and those details that go into
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: every single play, every single moment.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: That's fun.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: I mean, we scored the touchdown of Strange was the
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: same exact play that we scored on him in the
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: first game, just out of a different look. So that's
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: what you're ultimately trying to do, right, is give your
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: guys different ways to get to the same areas on
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: the field that you feel like you're trying to attack,
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: but just stress it up a little bit differently, and
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: and it's on the players to go and learn those
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: little tweaks and those details throughout the week, put those
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: details in preparation into practice, and then go execute it
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: in those moments in the game.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that's that's rewarding to see for sure. Thank you.