Liam Coen, the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been watching Trevor Lawrence since he was a freshman at Cartersville (Ga.) High School.

“I was telling Trevor this the other day, that I’ve watched him play live as a freshman in high school,” Coen said Monday during his introductory press conference.

“Seeing this freshman in high school play the position at a high level – standing tall, making throws, delivering. And I walked out of there like, ‘Man, this guy’s different.’ I had no idea who he was, and then you fast forward to now.”

Now, Coen is Lawrence’s head coach after officially being hired by Jacksonville on Jan. 24, and Coen confirmed Monday that he will be calling plays for Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense in 2025.

Coen marks the third head coach for Lawrence as he enters his fifth NFL season, so stability for Lawrence when it comes to both head coaching and play-calling will be important with Coen now taking the reins of the offense.

Coen will be tasked with maximizing Lawrence’s talent and potential, and Coen made it clear that the Jaguars’ offense will revolve and be built around their franchise quarterback.

“How do we make Trevor Lawrence and this offense as dynamic and explosive as we can be? We’ve got to build it around him as well,” Coen said. “We’ve got to make every part of this about improvement, and he will be a part of that process. He’s earned that right. I cannot respect his toughness and mentality and work ethic more than I do already from afar, and this will all be about Trevor.”

Since being drafted out of Clemson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 13,815 yards and 69 touchdowns with 46 interceptions over 60 games from 2021-24.

In 2024, Lawrence had a 60.6 completion percentage with 2,045 passing yards, 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions in 10 games. The 25-year-old was placed on injured reserve Dec. 4 after his shoulder injury and concussion, and he underwent successful surgery on Dec. 17 to repair the AC joint sprain in his left shoulder.

The 39-year-old Coen is now the youngest head coach in Jaguars history and replaces Doug Pederson, who was fired on Jan. 6.

Coen has been an assistant coach for 15 seasons, with five of those campaigns at the NFL level. He was highly successful in 2024 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator/play-caller while working with quarterback Baker Mayfield, and now Coen will try to carry over that success to Jacksonville with Lawrence.

–Photo courtesy Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images