Jaguars HC favorite's wild Ben Johnson pivot has Trent Baalke written all over it

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received some tremendous news on Wednesday morning, as offensive coordinator Liam Coen turned down an opportunity with the Jacksonville Jaguars to remain with Baker Mayfield and Co. Coen is very good in his current role, and has a lot of say in Tampa's offensive game-plan given Todd Bowles is a defensive-minded head coach.

Still, it was rumored Coen would cash in his chips for a head coaching job this offseason. He's earned that right, after all, helping Mayfield turn around his career and leading one of the best offenses in the NFC. Offensive-minded head coaches are all the rage right now.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, fresh off another disappointing season in which they wasted another year of Trevor Lawrence's prime, are looking for a young, innovative offensive mind to help their quarterback take the next step – and hopefully the team as well. Coen fit the bill, until he didn't.

Liam Coen's last-second decision has Jaguars, Trent Baalke written all over it

Per Schefter, Coen took himself out of the running, leaving two defensive-minded candidates in Patrick Graham and Robert Saleh as the only two remaining. Saleh was fired by the Jets midseason, while Graham doesn't have any head coaching experience.

While Coen's Ben Johnson-like turn was surprising, perhaps it shouldn't have been given who he'd be reporting to. Johnson didn't want to coach the Commanders under a new ownership group, and while that turned out to be the wrong choice, it was well within his right. The same can be said about Coen.

Many around the sport were shocked when the Jaguars opted to retain general manager Trent Baalke for another season despite his disastrous record in all facets the last few years. Just nine of Baalke's 38 draft picks from 2021-24 have become full-time starters, per ESPN. That's unacceptable, but apparently good enough in Jacksonville.

It doesn't help that Baalke is evidently a pain to work with and doesn't give head coaches much of a say in roster development, per reports. Why would any new head coach – especially one with intriguing prospects in the years to come like Coen – sign on for that experience?

Baalke is not the only reason the Jaguars are bad, but Jacksonville had a chance for a fresh start this offseason, and they decided to meet their fanbase halfway. That's not remotely good enough, and it explains why they missed out on Johnson and now Coen in rather embarrassing fashion.