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Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and QB Trevor Lawrence
Leading by three points in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals, Trevor Lawrence zipped a ball off the hands of receiver Dyami Brown. The pass was slightly off-target but catchable. In most games, it would have been an innocuous second-down incompletion. But head coach Liam Coen’s heated sideline gesticulations made the play, and Lawrence’s dismissive reaction, go viral.
After the ball hit the turf, Coen was seen animatedly pounding his chest, apparently telling Lawrence to put the ball right on his receivers’ numbers. Lawrence turned away and waved off the first-year coach. The Jaguars went on to lose the game 31-27.
Coen gave a blunt response but downplayed the incident in his postgame press conference.
“That was just one throw. I was pissed,” he said. “It is what it is. That’s emotion. It’s not personal ever. That’s just kind of me getting worked up.”
Coen then praised his quarterback for a throw that came two plays later. Facing fourth down on Cincinnati’s seven-yard line, Lawrence threw an incompletion that bounced off the hands of receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
“[Trevor] threw a dime in the back of the end zone,” Coen said. “We don’t make a play. I was very pleased with his competitive nature. The way he stayed calm on the sidelines. He’s pretty even-keeled, which is good for me. I need that.”
What Lawrence Says About the Incident
Lawrence also spoke openly about the fiery exchange but quelled the fire, saying he actually fed off of Coen’s enthusiasm.
“Coach is really passionate, which is something that I’ve noticed ever since he’s been here,” Lawrence said. “I love that about him, and we’ll get fired up. There’s times where I’m not always that way, I’m kind of a little more like this [holding his hands on a level line], but he’s honestly brought a little bit more of that out of me, which I think has been good for our offense.
“I’ve kind of fed off of him and there’s times we get excited and get fired up.”
Lawrence had an up-and-down game, going 24-of-42 for 271 passing yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He finished with a subpar 34.9 QBR.
Frustration Boiling Over
While the Jaguars showed flashes of a team that could be in the playoff hunt, it was a frustrating result. They led for the majority of the game, and it seemed particularly in their control after Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow left in the second quarter with a turf toe injury. Cincinnati didn’t take its first outright lead until there were 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Backup quarterback Jake Browning also had an up-and-down performance but did just enough to move the Bengals to 2-0 on the season. Browning went 21-for-32 for 241 passing yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Losing to a backup QB who throws three picks is a tough pill to swallow for Jags’ fans.
Jacksonville, falling to 1-1 on the season, takes on the division-rival Houston Texans at home next week. Fans will certainly be on the lookout for more in-game fireworks between Lawrence and Coen. However, it looks like today’s incident was simply a heated moment during competition, not an issue that will linger between head coach and quarterback.
Derek Rose is a sports journalist covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. His reporting focuses on his local Seattle Seahawks, as well as the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans. He has over seven years of experience in digital media, writing for sites that include Forbes, SPY, and Angi. Derek received a B.A. in Journalism from Marist University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. More about Derek Rose
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