JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When the Jacksonville Jaguars announced the hiring of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive Coordinator Liam Coen to be the franchise’s next head coach, fans were elated to add a young offensive mind to help Trevor Lawrence.
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While Liam Coen’s impact will no doubt be felt in the Jaguars’ passing game and the growth of Trevor Lawrence, his impact in the Jaguars’ run game might be even more crucial.
It’s no shocker how much the Jaguars’ rushing attack has struggled in recent years, despite the running backs’ best attempts. Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby have both outperformed expectations at the position the last two seasons given the offensive line.
There’s more to the running back position than just running the ball, however, and that’s the focus of this article. Can Liam Coen help Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby in pass protection and as receivers?
The two backs have struggled as 3rd-down backs. In recent years, proficiency in pass protection and as a receiver out of the backfield has become essential to the position. It’s a big reason as to why teams have gone to running backs by committee.
These are a couple of areas in which Liam Coen’s Bucs thrived last season. In 2024, Jaguars’ RBs saw just 15% of targets, 24th in the NFL. In contrast, the Bucs finished 4th, seeing 21% of team targets.
When the Jaguars’ backs were targeted, it wasn’t pretty either. Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones had a combined 67.9 NFL Rating when targeting RBs. In theory, it should be easy to see a high NFL Rating as it’s mostly short, easy completions.
That wasn’t the case, however, as the team’s 67.9 NFL Rating ranked 31st in the NFL. Liam Coen’s Bucs, however, were 3rd best as Rachaad White (393) and Bucky Irving (392) finished just one yard apart as receivers, placing eighth and ninth in receiver yards for running backs.
It wasn’t pretty in pass protection either for Jacksonville running backs. The unit allowed 19 pressures, most of any team. Travis Etienne alone allowed 13 pressures, the second most, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Jaguars’ staff didn’t feel comfortable with Tank Bigsby on 3rd down in 2024, but the grass wasn’t greener on the other side. Whoever the RB was, the player struggled in both aspects of the passing game.
Liam Coen instantly flipped Tampa Bay’s running back position on its head, turning Rachaad White and rookie Bucky Irving into one of the league’s best units. The Jaguars have seen just how good Etienne and Bigsby can be. Can Coen get the most out of them?
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