Sports Media Reacts To One Of Its Own In Press Conference

She did not ask a question of the head coach, but Coen appeared to be grateful for Jones’ words.

But her opinion set off a firestorm of other reporters who didn’t care for what she said for a multitude of reasons.

The Media Weighs In On One Of Their Own

Most reporters, like former ESPN SportsCenter anchors Stan Verrett and Trey Wingo believe Jones’ message to Coen was sincere, but that the media’s postgame press conference was the wrong place to do it.

ESPN reporter Jenna Laine pointed out that if she had done something similar when she started reporting nearly 20 years ago, she would have been thrown out of the locker room.

Meanwhile, some reporters, like Mark Long and John Wawrow of The Associated Press, really took a hard line over what Jones did.

This Reporter’s Take On What Lynn Jones Did

Was what Lynn Jones did for Liam Coen Saturday afternoon sweet? Yes, it was.

Did it come from a place of well-meaning?  It certainly appeared to be.

Did reporters who may have been on deadline have the right to be upset for her taking 30 seconds (or however long it was) to voice her opinion and not ask a question?  Undoubtedly.

That’s why I think it would have been better for her to not take less time, but instead a few seconds more for context.  She could have mentioned something like how it was her readers that told her that they were proud of Coen’s job this year, and asked a question in the vein of “What message do you have for those football fans here in Jacksonville who have come back around to the Jaguars because of what you accomplished this year?”

But those thoughts didn’t come up in the moment, and Lynn Jones acted as a human being with feelings and emotions.  Unfortunately, some feel that’s not a good thing.