What Liam Coen told Jaguars after brutal playoff loss to Bills

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the playoffs with a record of 13-4, but they were then bounced from the postseason tournament when they suffered a tough 27-24 wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon.

Following the defeat, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence shared what first-year head coach Liam Coen said inside the losing locker room in the early moments of Jacksonville's offseason.

Trevor Lawrence shares high praise for Liam Coen after loss to Bills

"He talked about how proud he was to coach this group, how much fun it was, rewarding it was to coach us," Lawrence said about Coen's message, per Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated. "...We feel the same way as players. We’re all in this together, the camaraderie between the players, but also between the players and staff. It was a really cool team, special year. ...He had a good message for us. We appreciate him. He’s a helluva coach. I can’t think of one better."

As Erich Richter noted for the New York Post last week, Coen ended the regular season third among the betting favorites listed by FanDuel Sportsbook at +700 odds to win the NFL Coach of the Year Award. On Sunday, the combination of Lawrence and Coen helped the Jaguars grab a 24-20 lead with roughly four minutes remaining in regulation. However, reigning regular-season Most Valuable Player Josh Allen then guided the Bills on a nine-play, 66-yard drive that ended with Allen scoring a late rushing touchdown. In the game's final minute, Lawrence's last pass of the outing was picked off.

Liam Coen learned a lot in first year with Jaguars

"It’s an honor to be the head coach of this football team, this group of guys, this organization, people I’m fortunate to work with on a day-to-day basis," Coen added during his postgame comments. "It has been extremely gratifying to be in this role, obviously. You learn so much in your first year doing it." 

While Sunday didn't go as those associated with the Jaguars wanted, the future seems bright for a team that finished the 2024 campaign with a record of 4-13. Pass-rusher Josh Hines-Allen indicated he's confident the Jaguars will compete for more than just a playoff berth under Coen next season.

"This is a growing step for us, a growing moment," Hines-Allen said after the loss, per ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "And obviously this team's not going to be the same next year. And we felt like in the moment, this was our opportunity to go take advantage of it, and we didn't. But we've got a lot of guys that's hungry. And we're going to attack this offseason, grow from this offseason, and come back ready to win the whole thing next year."