The decision to make Liam Coen head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars was an immediate success; Coen took a 4-13 team that just barely missed being last in its division, and turned it into a 13-4 division champion. He got the best out of his players, most notably Trevor Lawrence, and built an entirely new culture in Jacksonville.
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One of the players who seemingly benefitted the most from Coen's leadership is Parker Washington, who had a breakout year in 2025. In a new appearance on the NFL's Insiders podcast, he discussed his relationship with Coen, and why so many of the Jaguars are working so hard for him.
"I just feel like he has our back and when you know that your coach has your back it just makes you want to go out there and make those plays for him and not only just for yourself." @CPW11_ on Coach Coen.
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) June 12, 2026
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"It's been exciting," he said. "I feel like just how he can connect with the guys and keep everybody together is really impressive, and I feel like that's why we've had the success that we've had. And of course we want to continue to take those steps to get better as a team and work on that, but I just feel like he has our back, and when you know that your coach has your back, it just makes you want to go out there and play for him, and not only for just for yourself. So it's really cool what he's done with this organization and I know he's excited. We're excited."
Washington's comments were echoed in the most recent NFLPA report card for the Jaguars, with "head coach" being one of the areas that had the most improvement. Under Doug Pedersen, that grade was a "C," and it rose to an "A-" under Coen. Pedersen specifically came in last place in the entire league for listening to player feedback:
The players felt that Pederson was somewhat receptive to locker room feedback on the team’s needs, ranking him 32 of 32 head coaches in the league.
It would seem that this is an area where Coen has improved, and his players almost universally speak about him in glowing terms. That, along with Washington's comments, makes it clear that Coen has built a team where he connects with players, supports them, and creates an environment they want to play in.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars' Parker Washington on Liam Coen's impact