The Athletic’s Mike Jones recently highlighted several NFL Coach of the Year Candidates, including the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Liam Coen.
“Coen and company find themselves in the driver’s seat in the division and in line to end the organization’s playoff drought,” wrote Jones.
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After winning just four games a season ago, Coen has the Jaguars at 9-4 as they enter Week 15. Jacksonville is the leader in the AFC South and is the three seed in the AFC playoff picture.
This collective Jaguars team is playing its best football at the moment.
The Offense ranks ninth in points per game and has been surging since the bye week, totaling 30-plus points in three games, while scoring at least 25 points in all six games.
The defense has been stingy as well, with the front getting after the quarterback with more consistency as of late. Jacksonville has also forced numerous turnovers in recent games.
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However, perhaps what stands out the most about this Coen-led Jaguars team is their resiliency.
After blowing a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to Houston, the Jaguars were 5-4, and it felt like a fork in the road moment for this team. But since then, Jacksonville has won four games in a row, which tells us a lot about the makeup of this team.
I don’t know how much that specific moment would factor into any Coach of the Year voting, but the Jaguars’ response under Coen was extremely impressive.
Along with Coen, Mike Vrabel, Kyle Shanahan, Ben Johnson, Mike Macdonald, Sean Payton, and Sean McVay were the other candidates mentioned.
Jones believes that the award will go to either Vrabel or Shanahan.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL Coach of the Year: Analyst has Jaguars’ Liam Coen among candidates