The NFL offseason has already begun for some franchises. With the onset of a new season on the horizon, coach hiring and firing are in full swing. You know, in most cases, it’s the firing of coaches that takes people by surprise. However, something extraordinary was in store thanks to Liam Coen’s exit from Tampa Bay. Like his departure was so controversial that even his family had to be involved.

See, everything was trending in the right direction for the Bucs. Liam Coen had just refused to show up for a second interview with the Jags. That decision came on the back of a lucrative $4.5M contract extension the Bucs offered him. But on Wednesday, something happened that made Coen reconsider his commitment to the Bucs. Jags GM Trent Baalke’s exit from Jacksonville led to Coen seemingly ditching the Bucs contract. Then, in an astonishing turn of events, reports started to emerge that he had secretly traveled to Jacksonville.

And the Bucs couldn’t get a hold of him until Thursday afternoon. That’s when Liam finally contacted Todd Bowles, as per Rick Stroud, in which he said, “He had been with one of his kids, who had taken ill, at a doctor’s office.” But when it was all done and dusted—with Liam being announced as the new Jags head coach. It seems his reasoning for his kids falling sick didn’t go down well in the eyes of Tampa Bay supporters.

Their negative comments led to his wife, Ashley Coen, addressing the situation, “I hate that I even have to say this, but when people are negative about my kids, I will not be silent. Our son is sick, we were at the hospital yesterday seeing a specialist for his autoimmune disease. Please don’t spread misinformation and assume because you heard one side.” 

Here’s the thing: Liam has two kids with Ashley, Jackson and Callahan. But prior to his Jags saga, there weren’t any reports of his kids being sick. So, maybe those fans thought Coen used the family card to evade the Bucs contract. And you know what? If he was really committed to the Bucs, couldn’t he have signed that extension after coming back? This shows he was indeed in Jacksonville working out a deal with the Khans. All he did was ghost the Bucs until he reportedly signed that $13M per year contract with the Jags.

Yeah, this must have ruffled a few feathers in Tampa, which lost its second OC in consecutive seasons. For the Jags, this is a huge win, no matter how bad it looks. They are getting a coach who simply worked wonders with the Bucs’ offense in just 1 year.

Will Liam Coen’s arrival offer a resurgence to the Jags?

“Being unpredictable is, I think, modern football, and we have to be able to show that on the field.” Those were Shad Khan’s words when he was asked to express his thoughts on what he preferred in a head coach.

And maybe Khan’s wish has finally come true with the arrival of Liam Coen. This man leaves Tampa Bay’s offense in the top five with 250.4 passing yards per game. He took over a rushing yards department that only averaged 88.8 yards per game. From there, Coen’s magic led to the Bucs posting 149.2 rushing yards per game. Besides those yardages, Coen’s offense scored 29.5 points per game with a red zone efficiency of 66.7%.

His offensive talents truly caught the attention when Baker Mayfield went through a transformation. After he had just scored 28 passing TDs last season, Mayfield finished with a career-high 41 TDs. So, here’s the thing: Will he be able to work his magic with the Jags’ offense? See, he does have a former No.1 overall pick, Trevor Lawrence.

Besides that, the Jags also have the No.5 overall pick with a $50M cap space. So, Coen will have ample opportunities to improve the Jags roster. And don’t forget, he will also bring his own GM to Jacksonville. That was the X-factor which lured Coen back to the Khans. Right now, it’s hard to predict which way this appointment will go down. But seeing Coen’s experience with offenses, maybe the Khans have finally struck gold in the former Bucs OC.