Is money and power really everything for someone to change his mind just like that? Well, the things that happened in the last 48 hours in Tampa could be an example of how cash and influence can do wonders. Just when the Bucs thought they wouldn’t have to lose another offensive coordinator in a repeat of last year’s Dave Canales situation. Liam Coen handed them a reality check, saying—that it’s not done until it’s done.

See, Coen was supposed to have his second interview with the Jags but chose not to appear after agreeing to a contract extension with the Bucs. That contract extension could have made him close to $4.5M per year. So, with such a lucrative deal on the table, Coen was scheduled to sign his deal with the Bucs on Thursday. But neither that announcement of his extension came, nor did Coen ever show up in Tampa. You might be wondering what possibly led to Coen changing his mind in the last possible second.

Well, that’s where the last hurrah of Jacksonville came in. Their decision to fire GM Trent Baalke on Wednesday and promising Coen full autonomy to select his GM worked. On Thursday night around 10:45 pm, Coen finally made a phone call to Tampa that he wouldn’t be coming back. The Jags offered him a contract worth $13M per year and probably lots of power, considering how everything went done. And that process of Coen to Jacksonville didn’t go down well in the eyes of some fans out there, “I know Jaguars fans should be excited with no more Baalke and Liam Coen getting the HC. But I cannot help but feel Liam Coen put himself over the Jaguars’ franchise. Like the way this all occurred just reads power hungry, I’m more important than the team to me.”

You know, everyone is entitled to their opinions about the way the Jags got their guy. Yeah, it must have left a sour taste on the mouths of Tampa Bay. But you can’t really question the appointment. This is a man who has simply given Baker Mayfield’s career a huge lift. The Bucs QB, who had just thrown 28 TD passes last season, ended up recording 41 TD passes in 2024. Talk about the instant impact that Coen brought to Mayfield’s game. Maybe he could do the same with Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.

So, considering how Coen worked wonders with Mayfield, he even spoke highly of the way his OC conducted himself: “The influence he’s had throughout all the guys, teaching the game of football. He’s teaching the details of why we’re doing certain things…He does a great job of that and then calling the plays to his players’ strengths. That’s what good offensive coordinators do, and he’s done an unbelievable job of that.” But it seems both sets of franchises have mixed emotions with Coen’s announcement as head coach of the Jags.

Fans feeling skeptical about Liam Coen’s move to Jacksonville

Coen is off to a franchise that just finished 4-13. His work isn’t just limited to improving the Jags’ results. It also boils down to their struggles in the offense. When Coen joined the Bucs, they were the league’s worst rushing teams, averaging only 88.8 yards. And he leaves them as the league’s fourth-best rushing team, averaging 149.2 yards this season. So, expectations from Coen would be the same in Jacksonville, whose offense only averaged 99.3 rushing yards in the last 2 seasons. But it seems like one Tampa Bay fan isn’t praying for the success of Coen in Duval County, “Liam Coen is a snake. I will be over here praying for the Jaguars’ downfall if you need me.”

However, that’s the Bucs, who would obviously be angry with Liam Coen for the way he left them. As for the Jaguars, their fans are already urging Jags ownership to build a statue of him, “Dude got Baalke fired by not taking the job then comes back and takes the job…build him a statue outside the Bank #Jaguars.” See, without the Jags pulling the plug on Baalke, they wouldn’t have convinced Coen to switch alliances. Baalke’s departure and Coen’s arrival were almost interlinked with each other. 

Now, there was another Bucs fan who called Coen’s decision to leave Tampa a possible career s——: “Going from a stable situation and being future HC of the Buccaneers to being HC of the Jaguars is a career s——, especially the way he did it, just saying.” Considering the Jags had just recorded their 10th 4-win season in the last 13 years under Shad Khan’s ownership. This move could go south, judging by the history of coaches in Jacksonville. Coen would be the third head coach with whom Lawrence would play. And his fourth play-caller in just five seasons with the Jags. So, what do you think will this possible power shift in Jacksonville work out? Or will this just come back to haunt the Khan ownership, with the Bucs having the last laugh?