The Jacksonville Jaguars hired coach Liam Coen to help improve more than just Trevor Lawrence.
Hall of Fame offensive tackle Tony Boselli, who took an elevated role with the Jaguars this season as executive vice president, said that during the interview process Coen impressed with his desire to improve the trenches.
"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 told SiriusXM NFL Radio. "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."
With due respect to Boselli, while highlights might focus on the big passing plays, the true football-knowers understand it all starts in the trenches. Ben Johnson and Kellen Moore, two young first-time head coaches, came from systems that leaned heavily on the ground game behind top offensive lines. Coen's offense in Tampa highlighted a stellar ground game and improved offensive line play.
Coen is right to focus on improving the trenches in Jacksonville. Lawrence's improvement hinges on his protection being better in 2025. The Jags' run game also struggled behind suspect run blocking last season. Particularly boosting the interior of the O-line would be big Jacksonville. A better pocket would help Lawrence's precision passing game. It'd also boost the ground attack.
Jacksonville's secondary certainly needs to be improved, adding beef along the interior defensive line through the draft or free agency should also be a priority.
The five-win Jags have many holes entering the offseason, but focusing on improving the trenches is a smart place to start for Coen.
