ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen is taking himself out of the running for the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job to stay with Tampa Bay on a new contract to make Coen one of the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL.
This comes in the same week that Coen was supposed to have his second in-person interview for the Jaguars’ vacant head coaching position. As of now, Jacksonville has two candidates.
Kyle’s update, 9:22 a.m. PT: According to Jordan Schultz, Saleh is flying into Jacksonville on Thursday to meet with the Jaguars brass for a Friday meeting. Schultz also said many around the league view Saleh as a “potential favorite” to land the job. He also qualified that statement by saying it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jacksonville expand its head coaching search. We mentioned some names at the bottom that could entice the Jaguars.
I think it’s fair to say that if a team elects to expand its search, the candidates they already interviewed or are in the process of interviewing aren’t blowing them away. So, the 49ers still aren’t out of it. Yet.
One is 45-year-old Patrick Graham, who has been in the NFL since 2009 and served as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2019, New York Giants from 2020-2021, and the Las Vegas Raiders since 2022. Now, Graham hasn’t exactly been with teams who have a winning pedigree. In fact, you’d argue his history and lack of winning — or success on the offensive side of the ball at the stops he’s been at — would be a deteriminet to a team looking for structure around Trevor Lawrence.
The second candidate is good ol’ Robert Saleh. He didn’t exactly turn the New York Jets into the Greatest Show on Turf. But Saleh has over three years of head coaching experience and was one of the most successful defensive coordinators during his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Plus, he’s well-connected. It didn’t take long for the Green Bay Packers to hire Saleh as a consultant.
Saleh is likely being asked what his plan is on offense and whether he’d bring in a Kyle Shanahan disciple to run the Jaguars offense. One would think he has the upper hand over Graham.
If that’s the case, we might see more interviews for the Niners’ defensive coordinator position after they were reportedly ready to offer Saleh the job. It’s also a reason we talked about waiting for Saleh could potentially backfire.
Of course, Jacksonville could expand its search. The Baltimore Ravens just lost in the playoffs, and offensive coordinator Todd Monken is a popular name during this hiring cycle. The same is true for Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady — two names that may excite the Jaguars more than a defensive mind.
