Feb. 5, 2026, 9:59 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Liam Coen narrowly missed out on being named the NFL’s Coach of the Year.
Coen was among the five finalists for the award and finished in second-place with 16 votes. Just ahead of him and winning the award was New England’s Mike Vrabel with 19 votes.
In Coen’s first season, the Jaguars went from winning just four games in 2024 to tallying 13 victories this year, along with being the AFC South champs.
With Coen in charge of the offense, we saw a resurgence from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is a finalist for the MVP and Comeback Player of the Year awards.
During the Jaguars‘ eight-game winning streak to end the regular season, the Jacksonville offense averaged almost 33 points per game during that span.
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.
The Jaguars would set a new franchise record in 2025 for most points scored in a season.
Overall, in 2025, the Jaguars ranked seventh in points per game scored.
Whatever buttons needed to be pushed in a given week, Coen always seemingly new which ones to press.
Coen became the only first-time head coach in NFL history to win 12 or more games in his initial season after taking over a team that had four or fewer wins during the previous season.
However, perhaps what stands out the most about this Coen-led Jaguars team is their resiliency.
The best example of this came after blowing a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to Houston. At that point, the Jaguars were 5-4, and it felt like a fork in the road moment for this team.
But Jacksonville would go on to win eight in a row, secure the division title, and host a playoff game, which tells us a lot about the makeup of this team under Coen’s leadership.
Vrabel’s Patriots made a similar turnaround, going from four wins in 2024 to 13 wins this season as well. New England will be playing for the Super Bowl on Sunday.